Came when I saw the printed headline:
Danger past, oil town turns to recovery
Related: Sands Through the Canadian Hourglass
These ARE the days of our lives (sigh).
Not only that, the accounts on the blog roll are in opposition to the pablum peddled by my pre$$. They are even saying it's not lightning, it was arson, and that I can believe (talk about the passage of time, eh?).
It's the same old story, a real crisis is minimized, made to go away, and then ignored in favor of self-generated crises that are either staged and scripted fictions or false flag manipulations meant to massage the public mind in preparation for another advancement of the agenda.
A real crisis or one going badly, like the migrants story that has dropped off the Globe radar lately or something missing regarding Syria (and a lot of other things!) today. Now I'll have to take time to find the invisible inks(?).
Meanwhile, the top feature on my printed front page, on bottom now, replaced by whatever happened in Taunton, which was placed below the fold in my printed pos, side right, with the waterfront docking as the Globe's top item(??!!). Thank God for the wealthy or we would all be $crewed.
"Maine fire chief accused of starting fires" by Michael Levenson Globe Staff May 11, 2016
It took more than 100 firefighters from surrounding towns and a helicopter dumping water from above to extinguish the wind-fueled inferno that ripped across 42 acres of dry marshland, nearly burning down a condo complex in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, last month. Leading the charge was the town’s fire chief, Ricky Plummer, who set up a command post and briefed reporters on the devastation.
“It was a huge fire going past, like a freight train,” Plummer told a local TV station as several crews protected a line of motels and homes on the far side of the marsh.
But when Maine Forest Ranger Matthew Bennett looked at security camera footage taken from a nearby seaside motel, he made a discovery that has upended Old Orchard Beach and led authorities to investigate Plummer’s history in three other states, including Massachusetts.
The video shows Plummer’s black Ford sport utility vehicle with the Fire Department logo on its side parking in the area right before the fire began, at about 2:30 p.m. on April 15. The fire chief is seen walking into the woods, and then, 25 minutes later, walking quickly back to his SUV — evidence that contradicts what he had told dispatchers that day.
Just before the fire broke out, Plummer had radioed in to say that he was going to inspect a condominium complex, eight-tenths of a mile away from where his SUV was seen parked at that time. Twenty-seven minutes later, just before he emerged from the woods on the video, he radioed in to tell them that he had finished the inspection, Bennett later recounted in an affidavit.
When Bennett and other investigators questioned Plummer about the discrepancies, he initially denied any involvement in the fire. Then he changed his story, claiming he accidentally started the blaze after he drove to the woods for some “peace,” smoked a cigarette, and discarded two paper matches in dry, chest-high cattails. “I know better to even be out there with a cigarette,” he told investigators.
But the investigators found holes in that account, as well.
The fire chief, who said he got two cigarettes from his wife that day, was unable to name anyone who could corroborate that he is a smoker, and acknowledged that he doesn’t like smoking, doesn’t like the taste, and doesn’t even inhale.
And when Plummer took Bennett to the area where he said he had been smoking, Bennett was unable to find a cigarette butt. A fiberglass butt would typically remain intact after a wildfire, Bennett reported, because the first, low-intensity flames travel away from the ignition source.
On Saturday, Plummer, a 59-year-old career fire chief who has worked in at least a half-dozen towns in four states, was arrested at his mother-in-law’s home, and charged with arson.
He made his initial appearance in Springvale District Court on Monday, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. Bail was set at $10,000. “He denies the allegation,” his attorney, Bernard J. Broder III, said in an interview Tuesday, declining to comment further.
Maine Fire Marshal Joseph E. Thomas said Tuesday that his office is working with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to examine Plummer’s career.
He started fighting fires in Portsmouth, N.H., and has held posts in the fire departments in Biddeford, Gray, North Yarmouth, and Standish, Maine; Cocoa, Fla., and Marlborough, Mass., where he was chief from 2010 to 2011, Thomas said.
Two cases that have caught investigators’ attention: an unsolved arson that destroyed the vacant Americana Motel in Old Orchard Beach in January 2015. And an arson fire that damaged a vacant three-story building on Old Orchard Street in December. Plummer was the first to report that fire to authorities, investigators said.
“Obviously, we’re doing a case review of any outstanding fire incidents in communities he’s been associated with,” Thomas said. “That’s a standard practice. He just happens to be the fire chief in this case.”
Michael Tousignant, a town councilor in Old Orchard Beach, said that during his almost two years on the job, Plummer had “seemed to be a nice guy” and “had done a nice job.”
“Everybody’s stunned,” Tousignant said. “It’s a shock.”
Plummer’s arrest has also puzzled arson experts.
Robert Stadolnik, a psychologist and president of FirePsych Inc., which specializes in arson assessments and treatment, said it is less likely for a firefighter to set fires than for an accountant to commit embezzlement or a police officer to be arrested for violence.
When firefighters do set fires, he said, they are typically young volunteer firefighters who are paid for every blaze they respond to, or get a boost in self-esteem when they fight fires.
“Someone at this level is very rare,” Stadolnik said. “The fire service will want to root this out. It’s such a violation within the ranks.”
Dan Costin, a 69-year-old salesman for Time Warner, was the first person to report last month’s marsh fire to authorities.
He said he was working from home when his wife noticed smoke outside. He looked out the window and “immediately saw flames” racing across the dry grass toward his house.
“It blew my mind how fast it got moving,” he said. “We were very lucky we saw it when I did. I really think five minutes later it wouldn’t have stopped where it was.”
He and other residents of his condo complex were evacuated while fire crews battled the blaze. After he was allowed back into his home, Costin said, Plummer walked across his deck with other firefighters, and marveled at how the dry grass came right to the door.
“I heard him saying, ‘I can’t believe they have this grass this close to this house — this is terrible,’” Costin said.
Costin said he had been planning to talk to Plummer about building a fire break around the condo complex when he heard from a friend that the fire chief had been charged with setting the fire.
“It turns out, holy cow, it was him,” Costin said. Although he said he had heard of firefighters being charged with arson, “you never think about it being senior people in the department. That’s just crazy.”
Well, yeah, except....
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Also see: Fall River man dies in early morning fire
At least the department got a new boat!
Related(?): Virginia Still a Hot Topic With Globe
Cooled off pretty quick and nothing left but ice-cold ashes now, and believe me I looked everywhere (well, almost, sigh. Did you see it?).
"Tufts University reopens buildings after car fire, bomb threat" by Steve Annear and Laura Krantz Globe Staff May 09, 2016
SOMERVILLE — Exams were postponed and several buildings were closed and searched at Tufts University after someone set a school employee’s car on fire and left a threatening note near the blaze early Monday morning.
It's smelling like another false flag if not worse.
The note, found shortly afterward hanging on a door on the side of the building, stated there were bombs in Cabot Hall, Braker Hall, Cohen Auditorium, and Tisch Library, officials said. The note also drew a link between the fiery vehicle and contentious negotiations between Tufts administrators, a private contractor, and union custodial workers.
Oh, so this is another example of union muscle being applied, 'eh?
What a bunch of thugs.
Mary Jeka, senior vice president of university relations, said during a press conference that the school had received “confidential information” on Sunday that there would be a “disruption” of some kind on campus. Jeka acknowledged that the message on the door of the health services building made reference to janitors on campus.
This, my friends, is carrying the stench of a crisis drill.
Last year, the school reorganized its janitorial employees in response to recommendations from the company that runs the workforce, she said.
“It is not at all clear that that is the reason for this action,’’ Jeka told reporters.
“I really don’t want to make a statement and to tie what happened this morning to any current issue like that until the law enforcement has had the time to investigate it,” she said.
She let the cat out of the bag and now she is trying to get it back in!
The union that represents the janitors and a student group that supported the janitors said they were appalled.
“This goes completely contrary to what we stand for,” said Roxana Rivera, vice president of Service Employees International Union 32BJ. “Our job is to peacefully advocate for working families, so we’re saddened by these events.”
A leader from the Tufts Labor Coalition, the student group, said it was in no way involved....
No, neither one of those groups would have been given a heads-up.
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You understand why this is getting Tufts to do, right?
"Krispy Kreme to be bought in $1.35b deal" by Sarah Halzack Washington Post May 09, 2016
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts said Monday that it has agreed to be acquired by a private investment company in a deal valued at about $1.35 billion, a move that would bring the sweet-treat chain into a growing breakfast empire.
The buyer, JAB Beech, is a subsidiary of a company called JAB that recently acquired Keurig Green Mountain for about $14 billion. JAB also owns controlling stakes in Peets Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee, and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, the company behind Einstein Bros. Bagels.
In taking Krispy Kreme private, company leaders are probably looking to make it easier for the chain to make long-term investments in the business without having to answer to shareholders looking for quick improvement. Krispy Kreme’s business has been chugging along, with revenue increasing a healthy 5.8 percent in the most recent fiscal year and operating income rising 8 percent, but the doughnut maker is undoubtedly facing some headwinds.
Don't they mean thick batter?
The majority of its 1,100 stores are overseas, meaning the recent strength of the US dollar has been especially tough to weather. Back at home, it is trying to steer away from the promotions it has heavily relied on to lure customers in a highly competitive quick-service dining environment. And, perhaps most importantly, Krispy Kreme might be bumping up against the limits of a strategy that relies so heavily on its signature pastry.
‘‘Krispy Kreme’s issue is that they’re a one-trick pony,’’ said Jonathan Maze, a senior editor at trade publication Nation’s Restaurant News. ‘‘They’re beholden to people’s demand for doughnuts.’’
And with today’s consumer opting increasingly for low-carb diets and fresh food, doughnuts might be more of a once-in-a-while indulgence than a morning ritual. A larger rival, Dunkin’ Donuts, has dealt with this change in consumer habits by expanding its beverage offerings and its sandwich menu so it doesn’t rely so heavily on the sweets. Indeed, Dunkin’ Donuts today does a bigger business in coffee and other beverages than in donuts.
Coffee is all I have.
In JAB, Krispy Kreme has found a partner that could help it offset some of the weaknesses in its existing business. JAB has several coffee-centric businesses under its wing, and it’s not hard to imagine executives leveraging those brands to help Krispy Kreme....
(Blog editor spits out bad-tasting cup)
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The paper is obviou$ly not for me and yet I keep hovering around it not knowing what to do. I used to so look forward to breakfast with my Bo$ton Globe, but that was when I was drinking and not sober and as of now I haven't even touched a gla$$. Nor do I want to.
I feel so let down and I'm not even trying to fan the flames.
