Here I am, Week Three. I'm beginning to realize that the hilarious humor of Week One (theirs, not mine) might not repeat itself for some time.
11:41 a.m.: Gavel bangs. Present: Arroyo, Consalvo, Feeney, McDermott, Ross (looking tan!), Scapicchio, Tobin, Turner, Yancey, Flaherty. Five non-reporter, non-staff visitors are in the chamber; four look to be students on class assignment. One is Edward Barrett, who is here every week.
11:45 a.m.: Communication from the mayor re: Motorola Quantar Base Stations. That sounds so 2001: A Space Odyssey!
11:47 a.m.: Murphy arrives.
11:53 a.m.: Consalvo speaks on the Senior Citizen Property Tax Work-Off Abatement.
11:55 a.m.: Yancey just made allusions to Flaherty's finances (Flaherty's rich, compared to Yancey's "distant cousin," an elderly person who has difficulty paying his property taxes).
12:05 p.m.: Like your teacher in high school, Yancey will wait until everyone is quiet until he continues speaking (Consalvo and Ross break up their corner convo).
12:07 p.m.: Is Boston prepared for an emergency? That's what Turner and Yancey want to know, and they're calling for a hearing. Invoking biolab concerns, Yancey wonders whether the city has planned appropriately "for a number of possible emergencies."
12:09 p.m.: Tobin is reassured by the blue evacuation signs that are scattered throughout the city. Beyond that, despite the fact that "I'm always up for a good city council hearing" (and who isn't, really?!) "those conversations are taking place in the communities." Apparently, Tobin informs his colleagues, community-security grants are already being distributed in neighborhoods throughout the city, for residents to use in planning their own emergency-response strategies.
12:12 p.m.: Murphy is miffed that those grants are being distributed before going through the city council. "The horse is a little bit out of the barn," Murphy says. "I think we need to corral the horse, bring it back..." Put on the saddle. Rein it in. Scrape its horseshoes, etc.
12:22 p.m: Meeting adjourned. Come on, guys! Give me some better material!