Nice to know where your tax dollars are being spent, 'eh, Bostonian?
"Safety costs may derail Sail Boston 2009 event; Hub wants plan in place to recoup up to $5m" by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | March 13, 2009
.... In what could be a particularly cruel blow to the region's recession-addled psyche and economy, the tall ships extravaganza could be scaled back or even canceled this summer, another victim of the vicious economy.
(With all the job losses THIS is a FRONT-PAGE PIECE? Sighhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!)
Municipal officials have said they might have to scrap the event unless Sail Boston 2009, the nonprofit group that organizes the event, can come up with a plan by the end of the month to reimburse the city for an estimated $3 million to $5 million in public safety costs.
City officials said they had to absorb $1.6 million in public safety costs the last time the tall ships sailed into Boston, in 2000, after the state failed to reimburse the funds, which Sail Boston officials acknowledged was an unfair burden on the city that they would seek to avoid in the future. Boston officials said the city cannot afford that kind of expense this year, when they are making deep cuts in the Police Department and schools....
As IF THEY EVER COULD or SHOULD!! That's YOUR TAX DOLLARS for ELITE ACTIVITIES, folks!!!!! How about SOLVING SOME CRIMES for a change?
A cancellation would deprive the city of a six-day summer celebration at a time when many are already hurting because of the economy and grieving the cancellation of the venerable New England Flower Show, a beloved harbinger of springtime, from economic problems.
See: No Spring in New England This Year
It would also be a burden for hotels and restaurants....
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The event, part of an international regatta that begins in Vigo, Spain, and ends in Belfast, brings a flotilla of more than 50 historic sailing ships to Boston, many of them century-old navy training vessels that have sailed from as far as Russia, Bermuda, and Argentina. In addition to the spectacle on the sea, the event includes a gala ball and a soccer tournament for the foreign sailors and a traditional blessing of the sails at Old North Church.
An estimated 8 million spectators from across New England flocked to Boston see the tall ships in 2000 and 6 million came in 1992. This year, organizers predicted that the arrival of the ships - whose operators have already signed contracts with Sail Boston - would draw 4 million people.
Oh, so it is a FADING CONCERN, eh?
"This isn't about being against these things," said Dot Joyce, a spokeswoman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino. "This is about getting stuck with a bill that we can't afford to pay when we're laying off teachers and cops."
Yeah, that's right!!!!
Patrick B. Moscaritolo, president and chairman of Sail Boston 2009, said the group is seeking to raise money and find sponsors to pay the city and state....
Maybe I should try something like that. Find some vencap to pour money into me.
For all their nautical pageantry, the tall ships have been buffeted by financial problems in the past. In 1992, city officials said the ships cost them $3 million - largely for the extra policing required during the event - and returned only $400,000 to their coffers.
Yeah, ONCE AGAIN the ELITIST CROWING resulted in a LOSS for TAXPAYERS!!!!
And here they are again, ACTING as a BUSINESS AGENT for the ELITE not a PUBLIC ADVOCATE!
Two years later, the state auditor, Joseph DeNucci, accused Sail Boston of paying $99,000 to a public relations firm headed by its chief organizer, Dusty S. Rhodes, even through the group still owed $733,000 to the Massachusetts Port Authority for portable toilets, receptions, bleachers, and other costs....
Un-frikkin'-real!!!!!!!!!!!!
You guys KNOW where you can SHOVE the TALL SHIPS, Globe!!!!!!!!!
For the 2000 event, city officials said, they had an agreement from the state that they would be reimbursed for policing costs. But after the city sent the state a bill for $1.6 million, they were never paid, and had to absorb the cost in their own budget....
Yeah, they were probably shipping money out the door to corporations, Hollywood, Raytheon, etc, etc, etc, if not keeping it in their own slush funds!
"While we recognize the importance of Sail Boston 2009 to the state and the city, the Commonwealth is facing serious financial constraints and has been forced to make difficult budget choices throughout government," said Betsy Wall, executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, in a statement.
Related (more wasted money): Massachusetts Targets Tourists
Senator Jack A. Hart, a South Boston Democrat, said he is working on a plan that would allow the state to give Boston a portion of the estimated $7 million in state tax revenues from meals and hotels that the event is expected to generate.
"I would like to see Sail Boston happen," he said, "because it will be a shot in the arm, a stimulus, for the city and a great experience for Massachusetts and New England.
Yeah, except we are going to be LOSING MONEY on the deal, liar!!!!!!!!!!!! Less people and it will cost more!!
And about that meal downtown:
"Bargains on the menu - and a side of jitters; Restaurant Week is now bigger than ever, but will it be enough to draw out the diners?" by Devra First, Globe Staff | March 14, 2009
Boston's winter Restaurant Week kicks off tomorrow, and frugal diners are not the only ones looking forward to the event. Restaurants, hungry for business, have signed on in record numbers this season....
But there are concerns that Restaurant Week won't be as well attended this time. Restaurant business is down in general.... And increasingly, people just don't have the money to spend....
More high-end restaurants are also taking part....
--more--"
Boston's Bad Food
The Boston Globe Says Eat S***!
Do Not Eat at the Boston Globe
