Wednesday, March 22, 2006

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.