Disqus - Latest Comments for high_taxes

Re: Drunken grandmother sentenced to one year in jail

high_taxes — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:19:48 -0000

I don't understand the jail sentence that she's getting. She served 95 days. There are 6 months to be served for OUI (balance suspended). Does the 95 days count towards that 6 months, or not? Also, the child endangerment sentence - is "the six months to be served in addition to the previous six-month sentence" mean it's concurrent, served as the same time, or that six months OUI plus six months endangerment mean 1 year to be served? A pretty detailed story here. I wonder if she was living with one of her kids?

Re: Woman accused of shoplifting is jailed

high_taxes — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:37:46 -0000

To highly_amused: Thanks for taking the time to bring a smile to the rest of us with your cleverly written and highly amusing post.

Re: Woman accused of shoplifting is jailed

high_taxes — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 11:20:03 -0000

The citizens have a lose-lose here. She collects disability and will get free representation before the courts. If she goes to jail, we pay for her incarceration. If she goes free, she'll continue to steal. Break the cycle and send her to the Middle East. The loss of a hand there will cure her.

Re: Swampscott man accused of child rape

high_taxes — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 10:48:30 -0000

Unusual living. Mr. Kincaid has an apartment in a Swampscott house but was picked up at the Salem homeless shelter. Was he at the shelter to eat a free meal and catch a nap or was he helping out at the shelter, volunteering? It sounds like the girl claimed they had sex 20 times, hence the "20 different incidents," and he "was also charged with 20 counts of procuring alcohol for a minor." The latter, 20 alcohol counts, doesn't make sense; I'd have thought the alcohol counts would have been for each time she went to Mr. Kincaid's apartment, so 1 count for 1 visit instead of 1 count for each drink, yet she just "stayed at the house several times" according to police. I interpret several times at the house to be 3-5 times, not 20 times. Did they have an argument the last time over something so she finally went to the police to get revenge? Whatever happened, this man picked someone who was several (hah!) years too young. Note the statutory rape charges. I'm interpreting that as she was legally way too young for a consensual relationship, vs. some other type of rape charge.

Re: New trash limits in Danvers July 1

high_taxes — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:59:52 -0000

It is so unfair that multi-family housing has the same trash limits as a single family house. What half-witted bureaucrat came up with this idea?

Re: Mi Pi: Boca West Country Club Pizza

high_taxes — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:26:30 -0000

There are many other wonderful foods on the menu such as baby back ribs (reaaly good and a huge serving) and salmon fillets. Unfortunately, we cannot eat there unless we go with a Boca West member.

Re: Lauer absent from Today after bike flip

high_taxes — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:08:10 -0000

A deer? Is he kidding? As least he didn't claim it was a rare white rhino. Or maybe a homeless wino.

Re: Senate passes trans. overhaul plan

high_taxes — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:57:00 -0000

How are these agencies currently funded? The money to fund them comes from some bucket of taxpayer-funded money. Is there some advantage to having this new agency be funded with sales tax and gas tax money rather than getting the funding from some other bucket of money?

Re: Pot smokers could pay higher price

high_taxes — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:47:25 -0000

I like your good sense of humor.

Re: Poll: 76 percent wants bonuses returned

high_taxes — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:11:18 -0000

76% said the bonuses should be given back and 7% had no opinion. 17% said they should keep the bonuses. How big was the poll and who was polled? It's difficult to believe that as high as 17% of the surveyed respondents said keep the bonuses unless they were kidding in their responses. Poll answers may also be skewed by the way in which questions are asked. I looked at some of the questions. 12% said they hadn't followed the AIG news stories closely or at all. Perhaps it was most of these people who said keep the bonuses, not realizing what had happened. I'm not paying $20/mo to Rasmussen to get more info on how they poll.

Re: Gov. wants stimulus money for education

high_taxes — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:59:00 -0000

Stimulus money is supposed to stimulate economic growth, creating new jobs and businesses, etc. It's really a way to send money to Democratic causes that have nothing to do with economic growth. How is this particular use of the federal stimulus money going to do that? Close to half of each town's budget already goes to education. Let's get real and CUT education funding. Throwing more money at schools does not increase intelligence nor test results (unless the kids are being taught how to pass a certain achievement test). However, the teachers' union is perhaps the most powerful, so a cut in funding is unlikely.

Re: Cost of Hadley dike repair sky rockets

high_taxes — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:48:40 -0000

The cracked Hadley dike. Hadley's next to Northampton. While this is a costly problem, the headlines could lead to a lot of local humor.

Re: Massport to build runway safety zone

high_taxes — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:16:58 -0000

The 1982 crash was of World Airways at Logan where it skidded off into the water and 2 bodies were never recovered. It was the beginning of the end of World as a passenger carrier. In the almost 27 years since that tragedy, no other plane has skidded off into the water. That is a LOT of flights. So why pay $72M for this safety extension? Is Massport helping to stimulate the economy by doing this?

Re: Ways to save on laundry detergent

high_taxes — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:00:49 -0000

OB, that was a nice catch on the transcript statement. I assumed it was 2 bottles for $4 each because the video itself showed "2 x $4" which equals $8, but who knows? Maybe I'll get off my fat behind and actually go to the store so I can see the prices myself.

Re: Ways to save on laundry detergent

high_taxes — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 07:36:39 -0000

Consumer Reports stated how they tested. To measure detergent performance, they used 306 8x16-inch industry-standard cotton flags , each with eight swatches. One swatch on each flag was left unstained; the other seven were saturated with blood, red wine, sebum (ring-around-the-collar stuff), dirt, chocolate, grass, and tea stains. Then they machine-washed the flags in hard water with each detergent in 6-pound loads. Using a special instrument called a colorimeter, they determined how well each detergent cleaned the stains, how it kept washed-off soil from redepositing on white swatches, and how it kept dyes from coloring white swatches.

They found that some products performed especially well on certain stains. For example, among HE detergents, SA8 Premium is excellent at removing ring-around-the-collar, grass, and tea stains, while Gain 2X excels at getting out chocolate and clay stains.

But because you're likely to see a wide range of stains, you'll want a product that does well overall in stain removal. The good news is that all of the cleaners that CR tested did well overall. While all were decent at preventing dirt in the wash water from resoiling clothes, there were few, if any, differences in dye transfer.

If you really want to save money, get an online subscription to Consumer Reports. How clean do you want your clothes? Here are some top scorers for overall cleaning. For front-loaders using non-HE detergent, Consumer Reports rated Tide 2X Ultra Concentrated With a Touch of Downy liquid, $.27/load, as "85" of 100, their top rating. Tide 2X Ultra Concentrated for Cold Water liquid, $.19/load, scored 79. Tide With Bleach With Color Clean powder, $.23/load, scored 79. Gain 2X Ultra Concentrated With Bleach Alternative liquid, $.19/load, got a 78. Cheer 2X Ultra Concentrated Dark Formula Color Guard liquid $.21/load, scored 74. Tide Cold Water powder, $.18/load got a 67. Great Value Everyday Elegance 2X Ultra (Wal-Mart) liquid, $.11/load scored 65 and actually is a great value.
The lowest scorers of non-HE detergents they tested were:
Xtra New 2X Concentrate SentSations Spring Sunshine liquid, $.06/load, with a score of 43 followed by Sun Burst Clean and Fresh 2X Double Concentrated liquid, $.05/load, scoring 41.

The store generics will score poorly for stain removal, but the clothes will be relatively clean.

Re: Ways to save on laundry detergent

high_taxes — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 07:14:02 -0000

The actual video story by Ms. Bruno states "That's 2 for less than the price of 1." Unfortunately, whoever transcribed the story from video to print left out the word "less."

Re: Bay State Gas proposes big savings

high_taxes — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:26:25 -0000

Why is there such a big difference from the NStar gas rates in eastern Mass? Nstar charged $1.30/therm last summer and BayStateGas charged $1.17. For the coming "summer" rate season of May-October, NStar has proposed a $.38/therm rate while wwlp reports BayStateGas is requesting a $.61/therm rate. Too bad we couldn't keep the rates where they are right now and then reduce them to $1/therm in November. For consumers, the rate decrease doesn't have that much significance in the summer months when they're only using natural gas to dry clothes, heat hot water tanks and cook in the stove. It's when it's used to heat the house that the bill skyrockets.

Re: Judge quashes arrest warrant for Lohan

high_taxes — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:23:58 -0000

Ms. Lohan has not had a box office success since Mean Girls in 2004 and Herbie Fully Loaded in 2005. She is 22 and the media is harping on a girl without a big hit since she was 18.

Re: Springer show may move to Stamford

high_taxes — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:12:23 -0000

Tax credits, meaning cheaper production costs, would be the reason for the move. An article by Phil Rosenthal in chicagotribune.com on 2/27/09 stated:
"Normally it's the fights on 'The Jerry Springer Show' that get the attention. Now it's a fight for 'The Jerry Springer Show' as Springer's nationally syndicated television show looks to be headed out of Chicago, lured by tax credits to Stamford, Conn., sources said. Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell on Friday said the state and NBC Universal are working on a deal to establish a television production studio in Stamford, about 30 miles from New York City. Sources close to negotiations said NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution, the company's syndicated television arm, plans to relocate 'The Jerry Springer Show' and 'The Steve Wilkos Show' from Chicago to the new facility this summer in time for the start of the 2009-10 television season. Maury Povich's syndicated NBC Universal program 'Maury' would move there from New York. Springer has originated from Chicago's NBC Tower since 1992, having made its debut a year earlier in Cincinnati. The Connecticut deal could be concluded in the next few weeks, sources said. Stamford is home to the corporate offices of World Wrestling Entertainment, but WWE would not be involved with the new facility, which Rell said would bring between 150 to 200 jobs to the state and an initial infrastructure investent of more than $3 million. 'Not only are these jobs themselves important, many of these production facilities can become tourist attractions in their own right, becoming an additional economic development tool,' Rell said, according to the Associated Press. Connecticut is offering a 30-percent production tax credit, as well as a 20-percent tax credit on infrastructure costs after the first $1 million spent. Sources said NBC Universal's attempts to negotiate more favorable incentives from the state of Illinois fell short. A spokeswoman for the Illinois Film Office, part of the state's Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, told the Chicago Tribune's Eric Benderoff that although the tax credit for production of movies and some television in the state was increased for this year from 20 percent to 30 percent of wages and purchases, talk shows are not eligible. 'Springer,' 'Maury' and 'Wilkos' have all been renewed for next season, which will be the 19th for Springer, 12th for Povich and third for Wilkos, a former Chicago police officer who gained fame as a bouncer on Springer's show. Chicago Ald. Ed Burke (14th) famously called Springer to testify at a 1999 City Council hearing to determine whether the fights between guests on his show were staged or real, contending that, if the bouts were real, participants would be subject to arrest and prosecution. The incident made headlines but nothing more. Telepictures' Chicago-based 'Judge Mathis' with Greg Mathis and 'Judge Jeanine Pirro' will continue to be produced at NBC Universal's NBC Tower facility, home to NBC-owned WMAQ-Ch. 5. The company will look for tenants to replace 'Springer' and 'Wilkos,' which employ around 100 people. NBC Universal is a unit of General Electric Co., which is based in Fairfield, Conn."

Re: NStar: Ma. gas rate to drop 70% in May

high_taxes — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:12:08 -0000

What about Bay State Gas lowering the rates in Western Mass? They have raked in huge profits over the last 6 months at the expense of the consumer.

Re: Ludlow couple dead in murder-suicide

high_taxes — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 09:23:07 -0000

Obviously, he killer her then killed himself. He may have appeared as "one of the nicest men" as Melissa stated in her comment, but in private he was a miserable bastard. She couldn't take it anymore after all these years, got divorced, and he killed her. Why is it that these control freaks have to kill the wives and can't just kill themselves? That's a rhetorical question - there is no rational answer. At least he did one decent act by killing himself, so we don't have to have an expensive trial and years of incarceration of an evil-doer.

Re: Conn. man charged with owning ape

high_taxes — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:34:21 -0000

Wears diapers? Heston said it best: "damn(ed) dirty ape!"

Re: Lisa Lavoie to return for arraignment

high_taxes — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:45:21 -0000

"Flown in under heavy armed guard." Why? Was she going to "entice" children along the way. Wouldn't one matron on the plane have been enough? What a waste of state resources. Since passengers on the flight were "completely unaware," does that mean the statement "under heavy armed guard" should be taken literally, that there was just one really obese guard with her on the plane?

Re: Immigrant concerns in Springfield

high_taxes — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:34:11 -0000

They are "urging employers to hire more immigrants." One problem is the state minimum wage of $8/hour vs the federal rate of $6.55/hr. Combine a high state minimum wage with penalties for employers if they don't provide health insurance to employees and you have a recipe for job contraction rather than growth.

Re: Chimpanzee attack

high_taxes — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:57:30 -0000

"At the time of the 2003 incident, police said the Herolds told them the chimpanzee was toilet trained, dressed himself, took his own bath, ate at the table and drank wine from a stemmed glass. He also brushed his teeth using a Water Pik, logged onto the computer to look at pictures, and watched television using the remote control." This chimp could be any guy who suddenly goes ape-s**t and kills his family.