Porter Square Neighbors Association

CCTV is looking for an organized, reliable, and friendly individual with web media experience to help support CCTV Access Members during our Friday computerCENTRAL Web Media Help hours, 3:00-6:00PM.

A sincere interest in helping people use computers is required, as is sensitivity to the needs and concerns of those new to computers.

Must feel comfortable working with a non-profit organization with a diverse constituency.

Details & Benefits
* Work 3 hours per week for up to 4 months
* Receive free membership to CCTV
* Take free classes for the duration of the internship
* Production opportunities available
* College credit possible
* Network with the local video production community
* Get valuable teaching experience.

Qualifications
* Required: Knowledge of MAC computers, web media standards, blogging.
* Preferred, but not required: Final Cut Pro, iMovie, Compressor

How To Apply
Please send a copy of your resume and 2 references to Nicole Belanger @ nicole@cctvcambridge.org, fax to 617-661-6927, or mail to Cambridge Community Television, 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139.

(Photo above by pacfolly, available under a Creative Commons license)

Free Will - A Shakespeare slam. SAT• SEPT 11th • 4PM. I am the emcee, and finally find a positive use for my Sub-clinical Shakespearean Tourette's Syndrome (SSTS -uh,huh. Look it up in the DSM-IV).

Robert Fairchild will do a fabulous mash-up of Henry IV and a personal story. Titania's "forgeries of jealousy" offer me a chance to vent my spleen, poetically.

Everyone who shows up is encouraged to pick up a script and belt out any speech they want from the Plays. People can read scenes, monologues, sonnets, or rants and stories about the Plays. There is no judging, and no training required. The crowd will cheer deliriously for everyone. You have permission to speak the speech here, no matter how much you fear it.

The show will include:

Five Versions of the Witches: five takes on the weird sisters

Food of Love: William Shatner doing the opening of Twelfth Night

Dane of the Dead: the zombie movie hidden inside Hamlet

At The Burren, 247 Elm St., Somerville, at the Davis Square T - a relaxed restaurant/Irish pub with a large back room and a stage.

Anon,
Norah

CCTV is looking for an organized, reliable, and friendly individual with Spanish language skills to help oversee computerCENTRAL during our Wednesday afternoon Tutorial for Non-English Speakers. These drop-in hours mostly help Spanish speakers overcome the linguistic barriers in learning computer technologies by providing instruction in their native languages. CCTV staff will attempt to accommodate other languages whenever possible.

A sincere interest in helping people use computers is required, as is sensitivity to the needs and concerns of those new to computers. Must feel comfortable working with a non-profit organization with a diverse constituency.

Details & Benefits
• Work 3 hours per week for up to 4 months
• Receive free membership to CCTV
• Take free classes for the duration of the internship
• Production opportunities available
• College credit possible
• Network with the local video production community
• Get valuable teaching experience.

Available Shift
Must be available during the following lab shift:
• Wednesdays, 12:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Qualifications
Knowledge of both MAC and PC computers is required. Interns receive free CCTV Access Membership, which includes media production training and equipment and facility use.

How To Apply
Please send a copy of your resume and 2 references to Nicole Belanger email to: nicole(AT)cctvcambridge.org, fax to: 617-661-6927, or mail to: Cambridge Community Television, 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139.

• computerCENTRAL: Public Lab

Should the City of Cambridge revise its signage regulations so that larger buildings can advertise at the skyline? Your answer may now depend on where you live. The latest version of the proposed changes say that If you live between Alewife Brook Parkway to the west, and Windsor and Brookline Streets to the east, your area will not be subject to the new law. I do have to wonder how the new regs will be interpreted with regard to the triangle of land between Mass. Ave, Main Street and Windsor Streets since there is no connection between Brookline and Windsor Streets...

There’s nothing unusual here. The Eastern and far western sections of out city have been footing the bill (in terms of property tax revenues) for the rest of the city for quite some time now. All of you genteel folks in the middle of town no longer have to consider whether your aesthetic sensibilities, sense of civic pride and dignity, and ideas of urban planning and design might be compromised by the new regs. It’s only for us folks on the fringes now. Of course, the MXD district (with the exception of a couple of Cambridge Redevelopment Authority parcels, owned entirely by Boston Properties) seems to be exempt from all signage regulation for the life of the Kendall Square Urban Renewal Plan. There may be something in an ancillary agreement about this, but I am unaware of it at this time.

This is the first revision of these regulations in a long time. When asked what specific problem the revisions were intended to solve, Les Barber, the City’s zoning expert, said that he was not aware of one.

I also have to point out that the latest version of the proposed changes to our sign law which claim to reflect public testimony inserted language which will allow large signs to be placed above the roofline. I and others specifically asked if the new regs would allow this, and we were told that there was no possibility of this. Now it has been written into the proposed amendment that the Planning Board will be able to approve the placement of these signs on the shielding of rooftop mechanical equipment. This will allow signage at heights to which buildings do not even officially reach, due to the exclusion of these structures, from the dimensional requirements of the zoning ordinance.

If you would like to learn more about this issue, or let your City Councillors know how you would like them to vote on this you may testify at the Ordinance Committee hearing this afternoon at 4:30 PM in the Sullivan Chamber of City Hall. The Planning Board will hear the issue this evening at 7:00 in the second floor meeting room at City Hall Annex at 344 Broadway.

It’s your city. Show up and be heard.

Photo taken from material provided by InterSystems, Inc., an opponent of the amendment.

AttachmentSize SignOrdinanceAmendments2010Sept7.pdf34.16 KB

• NeighborMedia Cambridge

CCTV's Backyard BBQ Fundraiser is just a little more than one week away, and if you haven't purchased your tickets already, here's another reason to do so -- you don't want to miss the Leading Role Awards!

Every year, CCTV's Backyard BBQ honors three individuals who have worked tirelessly to improve life in the Cambridge community and beyond. This year, the Leading Role Awards will be presented to three individuals who work with youth in our City, ensuring that they remain safe and can reach their fullest potential: Michael Daniliuk of the Cambridge Police Department; Robert Hurlbut, Executive Director of the Cambridge Community Foundation; and Khari Milner, Director of Complementary Learning Partnerships for the Cambridge Public Schools.

Read more about the extensive work of these honorees, and come out to celebrate their work by purchasing a ticket to CCTV's Backyard BBQ today! All proceeds will benefit CCTV's very own youth media program for Cambridge teens.

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Peter Alden, author of several Audubon Society field guides and past president of the Brookline Bird Club, gives a slide show and lecture on "Birds of New England: Past, Present, & Future". Just in time for the fall bird migration. For more on Peter Alden, visit www.PeterAldenWildlife.com For more on Ernie Sarro's "The Expert Series" visit www.TheExpertSeries.TV

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Me? Went to NYC yesterday and had a ridiculously good time on a fool's errand. Well, I wanted to see what getting on the show was like. And winning some serious cash would be very good. Been trying to get an audition for the show since I started watching with my 92 year old mo-in-law. We are pretty good at it. And we have been goading each other at the end of each show.

"You should be on this!" Sez I . " No, you should be on." Sez Edna. So I have been checking the website off an on for a year. But my timing was always off. Then I checked this Wednesday, saw they had auditions and I signed up. And I got an email back in minutes! I had an "audition' yesterday for 5:45PM on the next day, Thursday. On Wednesday, I also learned that our ARRA subsidy ended and now our COBRA payment was triple what it had been the month before. At a whopping $1736.66, our monthly health insurance premiums, not our total health care costs, just the premiums for family health insurance ( 4 souls) now exceed our monthly mortgage payment. And I am still, well...underemployed. Though I have rarely worked harder.

And I love the work I am doing, but have very empty pockets due to all the out of pocket funding of massmouth. My unemployment benefits ended in MAY 2010. A 501c3 is on the way for our group - not a moment too soon. Still, that designation is expensive and just allows us to raise funds. It does not put funds in our pockets.

So I took their immediate answer and the news about insurance as a "sign". I read and reread the email answer and confirmed my "audition"/ cattle call in NYC for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and decided to video the adventure. Plotting and planning, I followed their directions. http://www.dadt.com/millionaire/speci... "Fill out these forms. Be here 15 minutes early. No sharp objects. No Bathrooms, plan accordingly."

As with so many things in life, getting there was more than half of the fun.

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Reviewing Boston By The Sea

This Week in NeighborMedia: a recap of the week's captivating Cambridge stories produced by NeighborMedia correspondents at Cambridge Community Television.

Siobhan Bredin interviews Sonia Andujar and Kathy Watkins, two artists featured in the upcoming Alliance for Cambridge Tenants art exhibition "For the Love of Art."

Mark Jaquith shares the "Latest on Councillor Decker's Real Estate Travails" in Part I and Part II of his latest two part series.

Mary Holbrow covers "Crime Scene in Cambridgeport" during and after last week's double stabbing.

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Have a story idea? Send email to newstip (AT) cctvcambridge (DOT) org.

• NeighborMedia Cambridge

ThompsonLoM | August 31, 2010

Club d'Elf: Duke Levine (guitar), Kevin Barry (lap steel), Tom Hall (sax), Mike Rivard (bass, sintir & elec bass kalimba), Dean Johnston (drums).

Performing "Africa" (The Gay Lads) @ Lizard Lounge, Cambridge, 2010-08-26.

• Producers' Workshop

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[If you are unable to view or play the video, please download the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ ]

The Alliance of Cambridge Tenants (ACT) - a Citywide tenant organization which provides public housing residents and voucher holders an avenue for communicating their concerns and questions about CHA plans and initiatives in a formal, organized way - will showcase tenants’ artistic talents at an art exhibition at the Stebbins Gallery in Harvard Square this fall. The exhibition, entitled “For the Love of Art,” will run from September 19 through October 3, 2010 with an opening reception from 2:00-6:00 PM on September 19.

In the second of a series of profiles of artists participating in the exhibition, Sonia Andujar, exhibit organizer and artist, talked about ACT, how the exhibit came to be, and shared some of her work.

Next week...interview with Merline Sylvain-Williams, who will be exhibiting the work of her father, Yves Darius, Haitian artist.

More information about the exhibition: soniaandujar@yahoo.com 617-661-3772
More information about ACT: http://www.cambridge-housing.org/Community-Resources/Alliance-of-Cambrid...

• NeighborMedia Cambridge

This year’s BBQ, CCTV on the Move, is likely to be the last in Central Square. The Backyard BBQ, scheduled for September 16, will celebrate our success and growth over the past 15 years in Central Square, and provide a look forward to our new home. In the event of rain, the BBQ will take place on September 23. As always, the event will feature food grilled by local chefs in CCTV's “backyard,” live music, and the presentation of the Leading Role Award. All funds raised through this year’s BBQ will support CCTV’s year-round Youth Media Program, which fosters healthy youth development by involving teens in activities that promote media art, career and leadership skills while exploring issues affecting our community.

Interested in participating in this great community event? There are a few ways that you can get involved. All sponsors and donors receive recognition in all event promotional material, and in a special ad published by the Cambridge Chronicle. More information about how to participate can be found here.

You can buy tickets for $55 here. Discounted tickets for senior citizens, youth and unemployed individuals are available for sale at CCTV.

Price: $55.00 Quantity:

This is a follow up to recent post The Latest on Councillor Decker’s Real Estate Travails. It will make more sense if you have read the previous post.

Raymond Bandar also filed Civil Action No. 10-2507, in which he asks for declaratory judgment as to who the beneficiaries and trustees of the 63 Walden Street Trust are and, consequently, who has the right to pursue the Decker litigation, i.e. Civil Action 10-1500. Defendant Decker’s answer to this complaint essentially pleads ignorance of the details regarding this trust. The interesting thing here is Walsh’s Answer and Counterclaim/Third Party Claim of William Walsh, Ogunquit Development Corporation, First Camreal Corp., and Muireann Glenmullen.

There are four new properties referenced in this counterclaim,17 Brewster Street, 19 Brewster Street, 63 Walden Street, 19 Highland Avenue.

The 16 count counterclaim demands a forensic accounting, alleges unjust enrichment, demands declaratory judgment, and alleges breach of fiduciary duty for each property. Allegations of fraud are included on two.

The basic pattern sketched by this document is an accusation that for all four of these properties there was a trust set up in which Bandar, Walsh,and Glenmullen all had equal beneficial interests, then Bandar improperly took control of the trusts, stole money and refused to account for the funds. In the claims relating to some of these addresses, there is the accusation that Bandar distributed some of the disputed money to “other unnamed investors”. That’s an ominous statement. Bandar never mentions them, and no other information is given as to their identity.

In the recitation of alleged evildoing with regard to 19 Highland Avenue, the following statements summarize the pattern.

“34. On July 1, 2005, a Declaration of Trust was recorded at the South Middlesex Registry of Deeds for the 19 Highland Avenue Trust (the “Highland Trust”). That same day, the Highland Trust purchased a single family home at 15-17-19 Highland Avenue in Cambridge for $1,026,000 with plans to renovate the home, divide it into condominiums and construct an additional condominium unit on the property.

“35. The Highland Trust was established as a nominee trust. Its trustee was Camreal and its beneficiaries were Ogunquit [Walsh], Leinster [Glenmullen], and Bandar. Each of the three beneficiaries held a 1/3 beneficial interest.

“36. The Highland Trust borrowed money from a private lender [Marant, Inc,] to finance the purchase of the property and to fund construction.

“37. Bandar was responsible for maintaining the Highland Trust’s bank account.

“38. After completion of the renovations, the Highland Trust sold the three units at its property. These three units sold for a total price of $3,070,000.

“39. These sales generated a profit for the beneficiaries of the Highland Trust, net of the cost of acquisition, construction, interest, and related expenses, of more than $800,000.

“40. Bandar distributed $35,000 to each of the beneficiaries from the proceeds. Bandar then refused to distribute the remaining profits, totaling approximately $700,000 to the beneficiaries.

“41. Bandar claimed that the remaining proceeds were required to pay off other unnamed investors who invested in the project at Highland Avenue and in other projects with which that [sic] the parties were involved.

“42. Upon information and belief, Bandar retained the profits from the Highland Trust for his own benefit.”

Later on, under COUNT XIII (Accounting-Highland Trust):

“98. Plaintiffs in Counterclaim/Third Party Claim are entitled to a forensic accounting to determine how and where monies that were deposited into these accounts were disbursed or otherwise dissipated.

“99. Without a forensic accounting, Plaintiffs in Counterclaim/Third Party Claim will continue to be harmed.”

So what is really going on here and how does it involve our Councillor? Remember that all the statements quoted or paraphrased here are those of parties involved in the litigation and may or may not be true. It’s all that we have to go on, though, so all we can do is speculate. If the forensic accounting is done and included in the public record, we might learn, for example, what happened surrounding the acquisition of the Walden Street unit by Ms. Decker. The HUD Settlement Statement that would have been been completed in connection with the Cambridge Savings Bank mortgage would answer many of those questions. There should be a complete accounting of money paid, loaned, borrowed, or received to accomplish the conveyance. What was the fate of the $350,000? Is the other $200,000 included? What is the purchase price reported? If more than $100, was there a record of payment of documentary stamp tax? If less than $100, was all tax, income and profit properly handled? If less than $100, is there a gift letter in CSB’s file? Bandar’s records should reveal the mortgage payment history.

We may or may not be able to learn more about this as these cases progress. From a look at the records which have been made public, it appears to me that there is the real possibility of illegalities buried within these transactions, which involve sitting and former City Councillors and their families and associates. There is certainly a lot of smoke obscuring the facts here. For instance, the charge of fraudulent conveyance made by Bandar in the first case. One spouse conveying to both and acquiring homestead protection is a common estate planning move, and I would be surprised if a judge gave this much consideration. As for the rest, we will have to wait and see.

Photo of 15-19 Highland Ave. is taken from the City of Cambridge Property Database.

• NeighborMedia Cambridge

I have really enjoyed working in the computer lab and sadly must end my time as an intern to care for family in great need. My mo-in-law lives in beautiful Winthrop-by-the-sea and I will be there a few days a week. Best to you all and I hope to return as soon as time and circumstance provide. Thanks to all at CCTV for everything! You really helped me help massmouth.com get the word out about the beauty and wonder of live storytelling.
Best, Norah

Langston Hughes

The sea is a wildnerness of waves
A desert of water
We dip and dive,
rise and roll,
Hide and are hidden
On the sea.
Day, night.
Night, day.
The sea is a desert of waves,
A wilderness of water.

Buy the BBQ Angel Package! $120 gets you two tickets to the BBQ and two really cute CCTV lunch totes!

This year’s BBQ, CCTV on the Move, is likely to be the last in Central Square. The Backyard BBQ, scheduled for September 16, will celebrate our success and growth over the past 15 years in Central Square, and provide a look forward to our new home. In the event of rain, the BBQ will take place on September 23. As always, the event will feature food grilled by local chefs in CCTV's “backyard,” live music, and the presentation of the Leading Role Award. All funds raised through this year’s BBQ will support CCTV’s year-round Youth Media Program, which fosters healthy youth development by involving teens in activities that promote media art, career and leadership skills while exploring issues affecting our community.

Interested in participating in this great community event? There are a few ways that you can get involved. All sponsors and donors receive recognition in all event promotional material, and in a special ad published by the Cambridge Chronicle. More information about how to participate can be found here.

Price: $120.00 Quantity:

CCTV's Backyard BBQ Fundraiser is less than three weeks away (September 16)! To count down, each week we'll highlight a different element of the event that you won't want to miss. This week, we're focusing on the auction. CCTV's silent auction is a unique piece of our fundraiser because there is truly something for everyone, no matter what your interest or budget. Attendees will be able to bid on everything from autographed sports memorabilia to memberships to arts establishments; from weekend getaway packages to gift certificates for a plethora of fun things to do in Cambridge and Boston. This year's auction has more items than ever, so be sure to stop at the auction table early and often and get your bids in for some terrific items, all while supporting a great cause -- CCTV's after-school and summer youth media programs. View our list of auction items to date here. Read more about CCTV's Backyard BBQ, and get your tickets today!

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The Alliance of Cambridge Tenants (ACT) - a Citywide tenant organization which provides public housing residents and voucher holders an avenue for communicating their concerns and questions about CHA plans and initiatives in a formal, organized way - will showcase tenants’ artistic talents at an art exhibition at the Stebbins Gallery in Harvard Square this fall. The exhibition, entitled “For the Love of Art,” will run from September 19 through October 3, 2010 with an opening reception from 2:00-6:00 PM on September 19.

In the first of a series of profiles of artists participating in the exhibition, Kathy Watkins, board member and artist, talked about ACT and shared a piece of her work.

Next week...interview with Sonia Andujar, organizer of the exhibition and exhibiting artist.

More information about the exhibition: soniaandujar@yahoo.com 617-661-3772
More information about ACT: http://www.cambridge-housing.org/Community-Resources/Alliance-of-Cambrid...

• NeighborMedia Cambridge

Here is George's video.

These sequences of drawings are a mix of drawings and text images showing the present public urban spaces in City Hall Plaza Government Center and the surrounding neighborhoods. Specifically, the Blackstone Block, pathways from Court Street, The State Service Center, Pemberton Square and views of the proposed redesign of City Hall Plaza. The analysis of several of the Great European public urban spaces provide us with excellent precedents for the principles needed to solve the present problems of City Hall Plaza and Government Center . . . particularly the creation of a sense PLACE within the vast expanses of the present outdoor spaces.

This morning (Thursday, August 26) around 1 a.m. there was a stabbing at 220 Pearl Street, a couple of houses down from where I live.

Around breakfast time I learned what had happened, and I went out onto the front porch to hear what my neighbors had to say; together we watched the action and speculated about what was going on. About a dozen police were conferring in front of the cream-shuttered gray house, and occasionally people with surgical gloves and plastic bags on their feet could be seen entering or leaving. Yellow police tape isolated the block, but uniformed officers were allowing residents to come and go. That was it for drama so far as onlookers were concerned. Not like "CSI."

I went into my apartment and checked the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association website, where Carolyn Shipley had posted a brief account: "A father and his 11-year-old son were stabbed during a home invasion on Pearl Street near Allston St. Father and son are in a local hospital with stab wounds. The son was stabbed once according to the NECN (New England Cable News) report, while the father had to undergo surgery for his stab wounds. The son described the home intruder as a stout white man."

It's now just after 5 p.m. the same day. Not much more information has been released during the 14 hours since the stabbing, but reporters have had a long day of it. Lined up in front of my house and nearby are throbbing vans from CBS-operated WBZ-TV (virtual channel 4); NBC (channel 7); ABC (channel 5); and NECN (channel 810 and Comcast HD). For the latest reports, check out those or any other local station or news outlet; everybody has the same few facts.

Both sides of the street are filled with TV cameras, technicians, and reporters seeking personal reactions and asking people if they know the victims (I don’t). A reporter just came to the door asking to use the bathroom. She has been on duty since 10 this morning, and she observed rather bitterly that urinary tract infections are common in her line of work.

Along with the news media vehicles, there are numerous police cars lined up out front on Pearl Street, which is one-way and rather narrow. In addition to creating societal problems, crime takes up a lot of parking--something Capt. Jim Brass and investigator Gil Grissom do not reveal on "CSI."

• NeighborMedia Cambridge