The Real Facts in the River's Edge case

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Why would McGlynn bring up River's Edge when it is such a debacle and a monstrosity?  McGlynn's MVDC was slapped with one of the largest losses in Middlesex Court re: eminent domain.  A FOUR MILLION DOLLAR JUDGMENT against McGlynn's Mystic Valley Development Commission (3 million 625 thousand plus another 400 thou interest, over 4 million dollars, as Anthony D'Antonio pointed out to the community in his closing statement at Candidates night.)


http://medford.patch.com/groups/rock-journalist-joe-vig-/p/election-2013--revisiting-rivers-edge-----17-days-to-election-day
 
At that "Candidates Night" on Wednesday, October 16, the 26-year incumbent didn't have much to brag about.   So he bragged about the big black eye he has called "River's Edge" and attempted to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.  D'Antonio rammed it down McGlynn's throat.

The last time the Medford Transcript mentioned the story online, that this writer could find, was a published press release from July 24, 2009. The follow-up story only appeared in the Malden Observer on August 5, 2010 when a jury ordered the MVDC, whose Chairman is McGlynn, to pay the above mentioned fine plus 400K in interest for the land taken in 2004.

The Malden Observer wrote this: "
He (former Malden Mayor Richard Howard - now town manager in Winchester) said the city of Malden is not responsible for paying the settlement; the Commission, which is an independent political body, will pay out of its assets along with whatever help they can convince the commonwealth to support.
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    The MVDC appears to have no "liability insurance" so the taxpayers have to pick up the tab for McGlynn's folly - but the big question is - did anyone related to McGlynn profit from the legal work or lobbying and, if so, is that a conflict of interest?  There's little or no transparency at Medford City Hall which is why God made Public Records Requests, y'know, as in Freedom of Information Act.
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     So fast forward to one of the panelists on candidates night, Nick Iovino, a huge part of the story, writing about the story.  No conflict there when you have your blinders and your rose colored glasses on.  The October 17, 2013 story, four years and three months after the last mention of the River's Edge lawsuit - doesn't even address the River's Edge judgment that was brought up, the key moment at the forum which blindsided McGlynn resulting in the incumbent having that "deer-in-the-headlights" look. McGlynn got red faced, angry, perturbed that he would actually be held accountable to the voters by another candidate in the election. Yet the Medford Transcript scrubbed the most powerful moment at the debate in its usual, trademarked style, classless and slapping the voters as well as the Transcript readers in the face.

When a weekly paper claims to be a "news source" yet has an editor who is more like the cleaning lady, whitewashing facts out of the publication so that they don't offend City Hall (or as Nell Escobar Coakley personally told me in the former office on High Street "If you want to do business in this city...) the election is tilted in favor of a Mayor who gives the Transcript well over $10,000 a year in business.  With Gatehouse Media, the Transcript's parent company, recently mailing me its bankruptcy filing, you can see why it is McGlynn's way or the highway at that publication.

MCGLYNN HAD NOTHING ELSE TO TALK ABOUT
Potholes galore, Locust St. a mess near the Meadow Glen Mall and Shaws - unpainted crosswalks at Shaws (two of them, one at a bus stop), empty storefronts, Medford taking a back seat to Davis Square Somerville, Central Square Cambridge, the restaurants in Stoneham and Malden, the cleanliness of Arlington and Winchester.  All surrounding communities pay for and receive public access television.  Medford pays for access yet the sole person responsible, the Issuing Authority, refuses - like a spoiled child - to allow the citizens to speak on the air.

It's called a MEDIA BLACKOUT and the news is relegated to blogs on Patch by brave souls courageous to take on the McGlynn Machine and its sordid reputation for payback, retaliation and vindictiveness.
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Rather than discuss the problems at River's Edge, McGlynn said he had "no regrets" and the Transcript elaborated with this bit of McGlynn self-crafted fiction:

"McGlynn reminded voters how he worked through public-private partnerships to bring new developments to Rivers Edge and Station Landing, which have created new jobs, expanded the city’s tax base, and made Medford more fiscally sound and able to invest in projects that improve quality of life for residents, he said."
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   So where was McGlynn when the Outback moved out of the Wellington Mall?  Did McGlynn make Station Landing - was it part of any effort by the Administration, or is McGlynn just taking credit for other people's hard work and honest efforts?

     On Tuesday evening, October 22, this writer will be speaking to the City Council about the empty storefronts, River's Edge, Station Landing, and about councilors leaving Alden Chambers early after saying they are "present" - skedaddling and not coming back, but taking Twenty Seven Thousand Dollars or more a year out of your pocket. 

Someone has to keep these politicians - and their rhetoric - in line.


17 days to election dayNovember 5, 2013
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20131105T00&p0=43&msg=Election+Day+2013+McGlynn+Removal