list of relevant recent links on BID & PINAC

The Northampton Business Improvement District was adopted on Thursday night in a council vote of 8 to 1 (Ray La Barge of ward 7 was the lone dissenting vote.) The council also voted for the city to sign a memorandum of understanding with the BID, 7 to 2 (Ray La Barge and Michael Bardsely, at large councilor, being the 2 dissenting votes.) This memorandum obligates the city to pay $85,000 a year for the BID, and also includes many unspecified in kind contributions, such as footing the bill for collecting the BID's monies, $35,000 for a new street sweeper and the cost of storing and fueling this machine and other equipment the BID may ask the city to purchase, as well as many other expenditures that have not been identified yet.

Our opposition to the BID has not ended. We will be encouraging businesses to opt out, forming a coalition with local businesses, citizens, and organizations to protest, and publicizing a boycott of businesses associated with the BID steering committee. We will be keeping a close watch on the BID to make sure it does not violate any group's civil and human rights.

Here are some recent links concerning the BID, PINAC, and PINAC's event last week in which two protesters were arrested.

The Republican's article on the BID's adoption: http://www.masslive.com/republican/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-19/123762155364760.xml&coll=1
Here is the Gazette's coverage:
http://www.gazettenet.com/story/227775



Daryl Lefluer, of the Advocate sponsored blog Northampton Redoubt, besides publishing our press release, has a lot to say about the BID, why it passed, and what that says about our city:
http://www.valleyadvocate.com/blogs/home.cfm?aid=9402
http://www.valleyadvocate.com/blogs/home.cfm?aid=9245

Tom Vannah at the Valley Advocate talks about our and others' opposition to the BID:
http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=9380

The Valley Advocate's editor Mark Roessler critiques the mayor's defense of the BID:
http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=9389

Editorial in Smith paper by Smith student about why the college should oppose the BID and Smith's participation in it:
http://media.www.smithsophian.com/media/storage/paper587/news/2009/02/26/Opinions/Why-Smith.Should.Oppose.The.Bid-3650400-page2.shtml

Coverage of our latest event and the 2 arrests that took place during it:
22 news, video and text: http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/local/wwlp_local_protestors_arrested_northampton_200903132115
ABC 40's biased and not entirely accurate coverage, video and text:
http://www.abc40tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10004943

The Gazette, the police's side, which is biased:
http://www.gazettenet.com/story/227415

We were taking pictures and demanding badge numbers because we needed to know whom to hold accountable for the disproportionate force the police utilized (15 officers, one state trooper, one detective snapping pictures of all of *us*, a few cars--three police officers wrestled Arturo to the ground to arrest him, and charged him with assault and battery of a police officer when he hadn't even *touched* them--and David Beyer was arrested while pushing another marcher's wheelchair, even though he had to go into the street in order to push her around an obstacle.) That is within our rights as citizens. We were chanting our disapproval of Arturo and David's arrests, which was also our right to do--we weren't being "anti-police" per se, as Sgt. Jody Caspar claims we were in the article. I don't know about any cursing.