The View From Prospect Hill for the week of Aug. 30

The View From Prospect Hill for the week of Aug. 30

Could a jail help us? Could it be the solution to one of the city’s most intimidating dilemmas? Could it spur commercial activity in the moribund sections of East Somerville? Is this a way to let the taxpayer off the hook for building a new police headquarters? Is this a way to begin the development of Inner Belt?

  No it is not. Building a new jail here is just another way get Somerville to take it on the chin. For too long, Somerville has been a man leaning face first into punches from outside interests.
  Train tracks crisscross the city, yet we have but one stop. The Commonwealth owns 60% of city land and treats us as an absentee landlord treats their undesirable tenants. And this is nothing new, beginning in the 19th century, development in Somerville often  was privately directed by outside interests before the city had any chance to form its own civic identity, structure and institutions.
  Believe it --- a jail in East Somerville is no different. Sheriff James V. DiPaola’s need for a new facility to house inmates is real, but it doesn’t belong in Somerville. DiPaola may do his absolute best to work with us, but a building of incarceration is never good for a community.
   A building in which hundreds of people are caged, lacking freedom, inevitably brings an undesirable criminal element to visit. The areas immediately surrounding jails in Massachusetts have some of the highest rates of car theft in the Commonwealth. And if you want evidence that the anger of the incarcerated goes beyond the walls that close in on them and into the surrounding community, visit the back of the Nashua Street Jail in Boston to listen to the screams of truly confused people.
  Is that what we need in Somerville?
  No, Somerville needs to attract bio-tech industries, increase its affordable housing stock and hold major developers accountable to stir its economic growth. We need more than a deli and convenience store for the friends and loved ones of accused criminals.
  We’re being told the jail would benefit the police. They would be released from a dilapidated, mold-infested building and be able to work in a new, state of the art headquarters. Yet, the Patrolmen’s Union is one of the jail’s most vocal opponents. What does that tell you?
  We do not need a jail in Somerville. We must lean away from what will be another blow to our reputation from outside interests and demand that no jail be built here.   

Comments

[Not In My City (NIMC)]

You're absolutely right! This scheme was cooked up by people who are using Somerville, as you said. Don't forget when they built 93 and cut the city almost in half! And why is it being proposed for East Somerville? I've come to the conclusion that the people in East Somerville are right, and they are nothing more than a dumping ground. Why haven't we heard outrage from Bill Roche and Dennis Sullivan, and even Maureen Bastardi (AAL candidate to be !?!?!?). If theis were being proposed in West Somerville, say, near Tufts University, there'd be an outcry! Build your new jail in Lexington or better yet, Arlington (HA!).

[What?????]

"A building in which hundreds of people are caged, lacking freedom, inevitably brings an undesirable criminal element to visit. The areas immediately surrounding jails in Massachusetts have some of the highest rates of car theft in the Commonwealth."

I'm sure that the communities of Walpole, Norfolk, Gardener, Shirley, Bridgewater, Middleton and others would be surprised to hear that. And these are state facilities.
I am not even talking about the "car theft capitals" such as Plymouth, Dedham (which is built between 128 North and South), Billerica, Nantucket etc., which are county facilities.

Also, the so called "criminal element" are not allowed to visit inmates. It is usually left to family members, Mothers, Fathers, sisters, brothers, wives, children who do the visiting.

Somerville and Cambridge were/are the car theft capitals of the state whether there be a jail or not.

You also said: "visit the back of the Nashua Street Jail in Boston to listen to the screams of truly confused people."
That has been going on for years down there, way before the jail was built.....remember the Regitry of Motor Vehicles used to be there!!

Another lazy reporting job with no facts to back up your column. I guess it has come down to slingging enough shit against the wall and hopefully some of it sticks.

I personally am opposed to building a jail in this city but for reasons other than your unfactual diatribe.

"It's the economy stupid" as was written in Clinton's war room when running for election.

[Dr. Mrs. McCarthy]

The View from Prospect Hill,

Thank you for saying no.

As I said before, if DiPaolo wants a new jail, let him build it in CAMBRIDGE.

If Curtatone wants a new police headquarters, find the money and build it in Somerville.

Somerville needs a new police headquarters, not a new jail.

JUST SAY NO,

Dr. Mrs. McCarthy

[Here is a thought]

I don't see why they can't build the jail and new police station in Cambrdge by MIT or something? The kids there can do electronic survelance experiments on the inmates and visitors. tag them with some chip and see if they steal cambridge cars. Maybe they can build better shock weapons in the MIT labs and test them on the inmates. They should make the school pay for half of the jail too.

[brickbottom]

Dear Dr. Mrs. McCarthy,

They are building a new jail in Billerica. If DiPaolo had any vision why doesn't he add the needed beds to house the Cambridge inmates at this new facility?

The Thorndike St. facility needs to be evacuated because of the asbestos problem and will cost millions of dollars to remove. Instead of wasting that money on an old facility why don't they build a new courthouse in Billerica also? It would be nice and close to the jail and the inmates wouldn't have to go far to get their day in court.

Boy, wouldn't that piss off all the political hacks working at Thorndike St. Imagine them having to drive all the way up to Billerica and back each day! Half the place would retire! The bad part of this is that we would only get about an hours work out of them each day instead of the usual two.

As for the "new" Somerville Police Station it doesn't look like we will see one in our lifetime. It looks like the only solution to this problem is to convert the old Powderhouse School into a Police/Fire Station. Any thoughts?

[brickbottom To Grand Total]

I thought we were talking about prisons on this forum not your SSI check.

[Ron Newman]

Moving the courthouse to Billerica is not such a great idea since it's important for a courthouse to be accessible by public transportation. You would also badly skew the jury pool if only people with cars could serve on juries.

[Brick to Ron]

Ron,

"You would also badly skew the jury pool if only people with cars could serve on juries."

The newspapers do a fine job of that already.

Let's be realistic here, the juror pools are taken from the voting polls and if people are too lazy to vote I'm sure they would be too lazy to attend a juror pool. The last three jury pools (in Middlesex County) I was called for was made up of white middle class working stiffs. So I am sure transportation would not be a problem.

Also, the County doesn't seem to care about transportation for families of inmates that would like to visit their loved ones in Billerica.

[Ron Newman]

Plenty of people without cars can and do vote, since polling stations are usually easy to walk to.

But asking car-less people in Cambridge or Somerville to travel to Billerica to serve on juries is something quite different, and unreasonable.

[Grand total]

Yes, Brickbottom where do you get these outrageous and clearley un-related ideas from? Billerica? You might as well be from a different planet if you think that is at all any more relavent than my comments!

[Brick to Ron]

Ron,

After talking to the MBTA the "Lowell Line" takes you to North Billerica where you can catch a bus to the place where I was talking about building a new courthouse. The same line that some people take when called to juror service in Lowell.

[Dr. Mrs. McCarthy]

Brick,

On stuff like this, I'm a NIMBY and damn proud of it. I don't want a nuclear power plant in Somerville. I don't want a freakin wind farm in Somerville. I don't want a germ warfare testing facility in Somerville. I never wanted 93 cutting the city off from the only waterfront we have. and I will say it again:

NO MIDDLESEX COUNTY JAIL IN SOMERVILLE.

I think Cambridge is just lovely. With the right amount of green space surrounding the jail, those Cantabridgians will never know it's there.

Somerville may rock, but jailhouses do not.

Dr. Mrs. McCarthy

[brickbottom]

"I don't want a freakin wind farm in Somerville"

I believe we already have one of those....it's called City Hall!

[James Norton]

Grand Total and Brickbottom -

I've told you and others a zillion times we don't like links to other websites embedded into comments on here. That's a newspaper weblog policy that isn't going to change anytime soon and I will unpublish them and eventually ban repeat offenders.

Every once in a while a link to another website might be allowed, but only when it absolutely makes sense by either supporting an article on here or specifically links to another article on here.

Brickbottom -

Certainly you didn't think a comment that was purely just a link and nothing else was going to remain on here did you? I'm not looking to start a fight with you or anyone else on here, but come on.

JN

[brickbottom]

JN,

It was only a link to the State Office of Campaign and Political Finance to show your bloggers who's donating to whose campaign.

Is that so freakin' bad...to inform your readers where all the money goes?

Come on JN...it's educational!

[James Norton]

Brickbottom -

You're not understanding my point, and I can understand your frustration. It's not a matter of whether information is good or bad - it's not a matter of whether or not your point was being validated.

Our point is - we don't like links, other than how I described them - it's newspaper weblog policy - and won't be changing anytime too soon.

Nobody is perfect and there are always exceptions to the rule - for example, if one slips by unnoticed by one of us or in the case of a long, involved comment which has explanatory, lucid and not too agenda driven remarks, then possibly one will sneak through.

A comment where the entire thing is one link - nope, not today, not tomorrow, probably not ever. Hope you can understand our position on that.

JN

[brickbottom]

Hey JN,

It's your blog...see fit to do what you want.

It's been fun.

[Ron Newman]

Not allowing links misses the entire point of being on the World Wide Web at all.