Posted on 11/04/2007 5:25:25 AM PST by raccoonradio
Howie Carr thread...various articles and tidbits to follow.
Todd’s just doing what he’s told...I kinda feel bad for him, stuck between a rock and a hard place, damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t....he’s no Howie that’s for sure, he’s doing the best he can,,,,I hate it when Sandy gets all high and mighty, she would not be doing that if Howie was behind the mic. IMO, Todd is giving her waaaaaaay too much power.
CD player skipping! (as a listener says...) crowd noise
hear it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHQTcFQEMXo
yeah, well he’ll be back at 10 am and we’ll have Howie back in afternoons and all will be happy. (But they’ll still have
The Felon)
One of Howie’s favorite targets in the news...........
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/politics/view.bg?articleid=1042735
The felon imo is a waste of time, from what others have said he does nothing but a$$kiss he fellow dems and continues to justify his own actions while he was speaka and will not say anything bad about the current legislature....I don’t listen to him,,,,I’d rather listen to static!
LOL, yeah I heard about fat matt, I wish Howie was on the air, it would be priceless to hear his comments.
If Howie comes back, what do ya wanna bet he starts every day playing “chain Gang” or “16 tons’ be tenn. ernie ford?
LOL, I’m sure he’ll come up with several other fine tunes as well, Howie does have a sense of humor! It’s gonna be great! Instead of calling him captain, maybe we should start calling him captive! I can’t wait!
Howie’s Wed. column
Winners, losers turn out, even if voters don’t
By Howie Carr | Wednesday, November 7, 2007 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Columnists
There is no such thing as bad publicity - just ask Boston City Councilor-elect John Connolly.
After days of being called “liar” and “sneak” and “coward,” the college boy from Harvard ousted Felix “No-Show” Arroyo from the City Council in an election 85 percent of voters took a pass on. The people have spoken all right, and this is what they said:
It’s too wet to go outside.
Connolly got himself into a jam last weekend by sending out anonymous attack pieces on incumbent City Councilor Steve Murphy. Connolly admitted mailing two, and three others with a similar theme - Murphy Sucks! - hit in high-voting white wards.
And the result of all those attacks on Murphy? He had the best night of his career, finishing second to Michael “Baby Flats” Flaherty. Repeat after me: There is no such thing as bad publicity.
“I am so happy people recognized my hard work,” Murphy was saying last night. “I can’t wait to go to work in the morning.”
I asked him if he had any final thoughts on Connolly.
“Nothing,” he said, chuckling. “Not tonight.”
The City Council should be more amusing next year, what with having these two scorpions in a bottle. After Connolly’s dirty-tricks onslaught, these two guys may dislike each other as much as, in the old days, Freddy Langone and Chris Iannella did, except of course they aren’t as articulate as Freddy, or as loaded as Chris.
Another big winner last night has to be Connolly’s dad, Michael, the former secretary of state. This whole ridiculous blast from the past with the anonymous mailings had Mike Connolly written all over it. And if it had destroyed the boy’s career, I think Mike would have had a lot of explainin’ to do to his wife, District Court Chief Justice Lynda M. Connolly. Mike, I’m guessing, would have been dining on hot tongue and cold shoulder long past Thanksgiving.
Because he had to have had at least a hand in those absurd mailings. Remember, Connolly once made a movie basically celebrating the old ways on Boston politics. It was called “Beacon Hill.” You didn’t see it, but I did, because I was in it. The only comment about it on IMDB.com is “I didn’t know it was supposed to be a comedy.”
Fortunately for Boy Connolly, somebody else in the at-large fight was even more determined to commit political suicide - No-Show Arroyo. He was so MIA and generally out to lunch these last two years that even the PC Globe wrote him off.
Which leaves No-Show with only one option. When is the next election for the Caracas City Council?
Getting back to Connolly’s rabid attacks on Murphy for “looking for another job” - isn’t that a rather ironic charge, considering that if anybody in Boston politics has built a career around “looking for another job,” it’s Mike Connolly?
He started out running for the City Council - and losing. He won a seat in the Legislature, just before the size of the House was cut from 240 to 160. He was slated for oblivion, and suddenly a fictitious group sprang up to save him - Roslindale First, it was called, and in its sleazy, bushwhacking anonymity, it resembled last weekend’s collection of Ward 20 phantoms, the Parkway Coalition. (Boy Connolly claims he had nothing to do with that cowardly outfit.)
Anyway, Mike Connolly got himself elected secretary of state four times, but he also managed to run disastrously for the U.S. Senate (twice, in 1978 and 1984) and for the U.S. House (once, in 1992).
After retiring as “secretary of space,” Mike went “shopping for a new job,” and he got it, on the Boston Licensing Board. That didn’t hurt the boy’s showing yesterday, even if the farcical fliers did.
One final winner last night: Dapper O’Neil, over in the nursing home in West Roxbury. It took an absentee ballot, but he gave Steve Murphy a bullet.
From the print version of today’s Herald, although the
website dates it as being posted yesterday (21 hours ago)
Fat Matt’s pals still taking a toll on us
By Howie Carr | Tuesday, November 6, 2007 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Columnists
He’s baaaaaack - Fat Matt Amorello. It’s always nice to bump into an old pal, especially when you’re reading a complaint filed by the State Ethics Commission.
Hail, hail, the Fat Matt gang’s all here, collecting an extra pile of dough as they departed the Pike trough one step ahead of the posse last year after the Ted Williams tunnel collapse.
“An unwarranted privilege of substantial value,” as the complaint puts it.
Fat Matt’s defense is, he never grabbed the extra $75,000 he could still collect, in both cash and to pay off health insurance - “not one penny,” said the former senator’s lawyer, who was also former Sen. Billy Bulger’s lawyer. Fat Matt’s reluctance to start spending his ill-gotten gains is understandable - sometimes bank robbers bury their loot until the heat’s off.
Let’s talk about one specific recipient of the unwarranted privilege - deputy chief of staff Keith Shirley, a/k/a Ice Cream Boy, one of Fat Matt’s most devoted payroll patriots. Under the old system of sick-time payouts, when he was shown the door last year he stood to collect exactly zero - not one penny, to coin a phrase.
But then his mentor Fat Matt scribbled his signature on a piece of paper and viola - Ice Cream Boy could collect $12,567 in unused “sick time.”
But then, Ice Cream Boy’s services to Fat Matt warranted another kiss in the mail. Talk about performance above and beyond the call of duty. His primary responsibility during the glory years was going downstairs at 10 Park every afternoon at 3:30 and fetching Fat Matt a frozen chocolate yogurt.
Due to his flawless ability never to mix up chocolate and rainbow jimmies, Ice Cream Boy rose like a rocket in the hackerama, which he joined following a lengthy six-month career in the Dreaded Private Sector after his graduation from Bentley College in 1999.
By the way, Amorello didn’t hire Shirley because Shirley was from Worcester County. Fat Matt hired Ice Cream boy because he, Fat Matt, was from Worcester.
Ice Cream Boy’s first job with Fat Matt at the Highway Department: “assistant to the deputy director” at $47,620 a year. Then he and Fat Matt migrated to the Pike and Ice Cream Boy became “special assistant” for $59,809.
Which was quickly followed by a much fancier title: “deputy director of asset and business development and financial coordination,” $61,992.
Then he became “deputy chief of staff” for $84,210.88.
And that was his august title when the tiles tumbled in the Ted Williams Tunnel. As Fat Matt was about to be fired, the Pike’s sick-time policy was suddenly made much more liberal, in order to give all the coatholders some extra dough. A day before his termination hearing, Fat Matt approved an increase in sick-time payouts from 20 percent of that owed non-union employees to 50 percent.
The change was suggested by a gent named Norman Chalupka, another member of the Worcester gang who was hired, not because he grew up in the town of Grafton, but because Fat Matt grew up in the town of Grafton. Chalupka initially suggested payouts of 100 percent, but Fat Matt realized that even in Massachusetts, that would be considered “pulling a Massport.”
Marie Hayman, the chief of staff, “retired” with $58,746 in sick time, $22,000 more than she would have received under the old system. Then there was Mariellen Burns, Fat Matt’s short-time flack who used to wear camouflage pants to her boss’ tongue-tied press conferences. She got $4,312 in tollpayers’ money.
The day after approving the money grab for his hack companions, Fat Matt cut a deal to step down - a plea-bargain, as it were. Three weeks later, Mitt Romney’s appointees ended this particular Fat Matt raid on the Turnpike purse.
Much of this was known, but you have to credit the State Ethics Commission for its excellent timing in filing charges. It was just last week, after all, that the Turnpike board voted to jack up the tolls at the Allston and Brighton tolls and at the tunnels yet again, as of Jan. 1.
The board did this after a series of “public hearings.” You know the old saying, the door is open but the mind is closed.
And then, to add insult to injury, after approving the toll increases, the Pike board decided to appoint a “blue-ribbon” commission to investigate whether it’s fair to require drivers on the near North Shore and west of the city to pay for a new road for the South Shore for other drivers who pay no tolls nowhere never.
Your tolls are going up. They tell you it’s to pay for the “infrastructure.” They really mean Fat Matt and Ice Cream Boy.
Rumors are swirling that Howie Carr is ready to return to WRKO. Carr’s spokesperson Nancy Sterling told me this morning that there’s been no change in the situation and that no announcement is forthcoming. But other sources suggest that some kind of resolution might be in the works. There’s some speculation that Carr might agree to return to WRKO in full force if the station waives the last 2 or 3 years from Carr’s 5-year contract.
There’s also speculation that Don Imus’ sidekick Bernard McGuirk may be headed to WRKO as well. I’m hearing that McGuirk landing his own show in Boston is a possibility, but a more likely scenario has McGuirk working sidekick to Don Imus on his new show in the short-term. McGuirk hosting his own show may materialize a year or so after that.
Ho hum, the saga continues...........where/when does it all end............
Well, Todd Feinberg has been making comments lately like I’ll probably be here tomorrow, if Howie’s not back.” But I didn’t know if it meant anything.
Howie’s Friday column
Dark, dank and dreary means sunny forecast for incumbent
By Howie Carr | Friday, November 9, 2007 | http://www.bostonherald.com
Of course Mumbles Menino is running for re-election in 2009. Why wouldn’t he - especially considering how marvelously everything turned out Tuesday, especially the turnout, which was just under 15 percent.
When you’ve been mayor since 1993, the last thing you want is a big turnout. Big turnouts are big trouble for long-term incumbents.
That’s why last year really put the fear of God into Mumbles. In the primary, he figured Deval Patrick, Tom Reilly and Chris Gabrieli would each get about a third of the vote in Boston. Turned out, Deval took the city with 68 percent. Mumbles was shocked, and then, in the final, the turnout was about 40 percent - almost 100,000 Bostonians cast ballots.
Mumbles wanted an end to that trend, pronto. And Tuesday, he got his wish - only 46,000 people turned out on a wet, rotten day. It wasn’t so much an election as it was a St. Patrick’s Day party. And wasn’t that a load off Mumbles’ mind?
Things are looking up again for the Sage of Readville. The Sox win the World Series and he gets to meet all the players like “Papelbomb” plus he appears on the Jumbotron, which he calls a “Jumble-tron” (rhymes with Mumble-tron).
Now Mumbles’ organization has embarked on a massive shakedown - er, fund-raising drive. People are getting knuckled as far west as Worcester. The goal is a half-million by the end of the month, to scare off any potential opponents, who scare easily enough to begin with.
Traditionally the opponent comes out of the City Council, which has always been mostly a bunch of sheep in sheep’s clothing. But Mumbles’ grip on that theater of the absurd seems to be growing even tighter. In Allston/Brighton, a Mumbles minion won the open seat.
Also, the mayor never cared much for the minority councilors’ “Team Unity.” Now there’s one fewer - Felix “No-Show” Arroyo went down the tubes. Wednesday, Chuck Turner of Roxbury looked like he’d lost his best friend - and he had.
How about Sen. Dianne Wilkerson of Roxbury? She endorsed John Connolly, who ousted Arroyo - made phone calls for him, put her organization on the street, etc. Now she’s angry at Deval for campaigning for Murphy. Uh, Dianne, Murphy was re-elected. Your guy, Connolly, took out Arroyo. Sometimes the fault, dear Dianne, is in yourself, not in the Corner Office.
You have to wonder how Mumbles will get along with Boy Connolly. Both Mumbles and John’s dad, Mike Connolly, come out of the old Timilty machine, but aren’t exactly the best of pals. And now, irony of ironies - Mike Connolly is on the Boston Licensing Board, which hasn’t had a pay raise for 14 years, and a Mumbles-controlled board is about to recommend how large their pay raises should be.
These days, with all the new liquor licenses, the Licensing Board may be a more significant body at City Hall than the council. All those new licenses are part of Mumbles’ dream for the city - no voters, just city workers, and gin mills for the tourists after the victory parades in the duck boats, or “ducks”, as the mayor calls them.
What Mumbles needs in 2009 is another St. Patrick’s Day party of an election. He surely doesn’t need some movement type, another Deval, to come out of nowhere. No, he needs a Baby Flats Flaherty. Flats got votes from 54 percent of the voters in the council election Tuesday; Mumbles got 67 percent in the mayor’s fight two years ago. In raw numbers, it was 64,000 for Mumbles, 25,000 for Flaherty.
The smart money’s on Mumbles, but in 2009 Mumbles will be 67 years old, asking the electorate, whoever they are then, for another four years. Flats he can beat, he can probably even take an establishment black like Ralph Martin.
But there’s always a tipping point - just ask the 80-year-old mayor of Springfield, Charlie Ryan. Gone, faster than you can say No-Show Arroyo.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1043536
BUMP!
I really enjoy Howie’s columns.
I hate to admit it, but local politics is beyond me. It’s more a web of personal loyalties, old feuds, opportunism, back-scratching and such than actual ideological content. I just can’t keep up with that soap opera!
yes and has Howie has said (some old quote), “the favorite pastimes in Boston are politics...and revenge...”
btw check out the comments on one of the latest items at SaveWRKO.com; there’s speculation Howie could return to the air at WRKO but the rumor is he’d push for his contract
to be reduced by some 2-3 years. Someone noted that his
pay scale may be ratcheted up to $1 mil/yr for that and also
that maybe he would be forbidden to talk about/ridicule
his situation on air (a kind of non-disparagement clause)
http://www.savewrko.com/archives/2007/11/the_scoop_on_ho.php
Dave L. wrote:That is great news, both Howie and WRKO have no options, the billing revenue stream is at a all time low at WRKO, red Sox are done until late April. If Howie comes back 3-7pm, WRKO will shave off the last three years of Howies contract. If Howie only stays 2 years, the pay scale will have to be adjusted, look for a one million dollar deal per year. They would both sign non disparage contracts, effective immediately, take down the Howie puppett, and gag all the PR/ attorneys. This is the end, both sides misfired badly, this mess will be taught in broadcasting schools all over the country, looks like both sides had 10 year old kids working for them, very embarassing for both sides.
Posted by: Dave L. at November 9, 2007 08:24 AM
bjd wrote:
How does not matching the time spot mean matching? Will he:
Be pre-empted by Red Sox?
Be pre-empted by Celtics?
Be limited as to what he can say about:
Station operations / management?
The contract dispute?
We miss you Capin’ and only you know what’s best for you.
On the up side, I’ll get to listen to both Michael Graham and “Capin Graff” if you go back to PM drive.
Posted by: bjd at November 9, 2007 08:52 AM
Steve wrote:
BJD-
Again, the contract apparently only called for a monetary match.
I would assume he’ll be pre-empted for any Red Sox or Celtics games as he was before.
And of course he’ll be limited about what he can say about WRKO / Entercom / Management. It is after all THEIR airwaves, not his.
Posted by: steve at November 9, 2007 09:48 AM
and so on
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.