March 14, 2011


Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520


Dear Madam Secretary,


We the undersigned are writing to express our severe disappointment at the resignation of P.J. Crowley, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Public Affairs at the State Department.


A number of us were present at the meeting where Mr. Crowley expressed his personal opinions, but all of us are concerned to learn that Mr. Crowley’s statements appear to have led to his resignation.

Dear Neighbors,



I have been listening deeply to the heated controversy incited by the news that Whole
Foods plans to open a new store in Hyde Square, the Latin Quarter of our neighborhood.
The lively debate of the past few weeks has inspired me to learn more, to research more,
and to better understand the extent to which the arrival of a Whole Foods Market should
be expected to contribute to gentrification in Jamaica Plain.

Earlier in my career I worked in the Boston financial services industry, specifically in the investment management and brokerage areas. Frequently the SEC would conduct “sweep reviews/examinations” of the industry to ensure that regulated entities were in compliance with securities laws and that the interest of the public was protected. The SEC coined the expression “let the light shine in” as a mission statement for these industry-wide examinations. The proposed Higher Education Transparency Act seeks the same fundamental goal of letting the light shine in on the financial activities of large private colleges and universities in Massachusetts and ensures that the interest of the public is maintained.

Somerville residents and union members seeking union jobs and a commitment to hire local people shut down the MaxPac housing construction site with a large rally and picket line. The event was held at the Cedar Street entrance to the where 199 units of housing are under construction.

"Do the developers really think they can bust unions and hire out-of-state workers to build MaxPac?" asked Rand Wilson, a Somerville resident and union activist. "Well, we've got news for KSS and Gate Residential: Not in Somerville. Not now. Not ever!"

In another important solidarity development, seven Boston-area Verizon employees who are members of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2222 left on Friday afternoon for an eighteen hour drive to Madison, Wisconsin to join the massive labor protests scheduled for this weekend.

Writing in a blog about the group's trip, Verizon employee and IBEW Local 2222 organizer Paul Feeney wrote, "We're making good time. We left Boston this afternoon and have heard from union members throughout the area as they send messages of support to the workers of Wisconsin. We plan to drive straight to Madison throughout the night."

A half dozen community supporters greeted shoppers at Rite Aid's Davis Sq. store in Somerville on Valentine's Day to focus public attention on the company's culture of corporate greed and its assault employees' health care benefits and job rights. The action in Somerville sent management a Valentine's message in support of workers' rights.

Dozens of similar actions were planned at Rite Aid locations across the country, including other stores in New Jersey, Ohio, Colorado, California and Washington.

Last night I attended a large gathering of activists who came together in Arlington Center, Massachusetts, to listen to MIT Professor Emeritus Noam Chomsky and Institute for Policy Studies fellow Phyllis Bennis discuss how to reinvigorate and expand the Peace Movement. Both speakers emphasized the need for anti-war activists to make links with other groups working for change, and particularly to get involved in supporting the majority of Americans who are overwhelmed by the ongoing economic crisis. Unemployment, cuts in wages and benefits, inflation in the area of fuel, food, and college tuition, have left many working people and youth depleted by everyday survival demands, as well as made them vulnerable to right-wing messages blaming immigrants and other victims of economic depression for their own suffering.

The Cambridge City Council unanimously passed a resolution on January 31 supporting strong workers' rights language in the city's next cable TV agreement with Comcast. The resolution urges Comcast to, "comply with the National Labor Relations Act and all applicable state and federal wage and hour laws." The city's previous ten-year contract for cable and internet services expired on December 29, 2010.

The resolution also urged the city's Cable TV, Telecommunications and Public Utilities Committee to include language in the renegotiated agreement with Comcast to, "encourage a healthy relationship with its employees by respecting their right to organize and to bargain collectively with their employer, and to engage in other protected, concerted activities to improve their wages and working conditions."

Neither rain nor snow… could keep the members of the Mass Alliance Against Predatory Lending away from the State House!

Amidst inches of snow this past Tuesday, January 18th, scores of Massachusetts residents from different walks of life slogged to the Massachusetts Statehouse for speak out about the ever-increasing foreclosure crisis and talk to their legislators about four bills to reverse this crisis.

Like many others of Italian-American heritage, I experienced some discomfort when in 1951 Senator Estes Kefauver, a Democrat from Tennessee, launched his highly publicized investigation into the organized rackets, uncovering scores of thugs with Italian surnames. Subsequent decades produced an endless parade of such rogues whose mugs were repeatedly splashed across the print and broadcast media.

I must admit that when it came to names, the mafia operatives really had them: Lucky Luciano, Scarface Al Capone, Sammy the Bull Gravano, Joey Bananas Bonanno, Crazy Joey Gallo, Jimmy the Weasel Fratianno, Sonny Red Indelicato, and Sonny Black Napolitano.