[Richard Caraviello]: 14th regular meeting of Medford City Council, Medford, Massachusetts. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll. Councilor Dello Russo. Present.
[Clerk]: Councilor Falco.
[Richard Caraviello]: Present.
[Clerk]: Councilor Knight. Present. Councilor Kern. Present. Vice President Marks. Present. Councilor Scarpelli. Present.
[Richard Caraviello]: President Caraviello. Present. Please rise and salute the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Full suspension of the rules by Councilor Lango-Kearns, seconded by Councilor Scarpelli. Councilor Lango-Kearns.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Caraviello. We do have a resident that would like a few minutes to speak. I know it's give us an update on what's going on in the neighborhood.
[Francis Avola]: Name and address of the record, please. Yes, my name is Farina Buller. I live at 9 Alfred Street in Medford. I was here a couple of weeks ago and I just like to personally thank everybody here for getting this ball rolling in the right direction. I had a positive attitude about this. We got a cease and desist order. and I thought we were gonna give this thing a nice nap and have a nice Christmas, but unfortunately, I have some bad news. First of all, nothing has stopped, okay? They continually work, and I have the documentation, the videos, they have continually worked for every Saturday since I've been here. I had the Medford Police come by on a Saturday, December 9th, door wide open, grinding, Councilors, Scapelli here, drove by, luckily he just told me, and saw them working on a Saturday. So it's been very frustrating, and I know things aren't gonna happen in one day, two days, so I didn't wanna come here a week later, I figured I'd wait a week or so to see what's going on. Well, things have gotten progressively worse over there. They're still coming in early in the morning, but now what they do is they park their cars around the other side of the building because thinking that I don't see any cars there that, you know, they're not working. Another problem I have is I went down to the building commissioner's office today, and what I wanted was some clarification on a cease and desist order, which I looked up in the dictionary, it says stop work. I'm not an attorney, I'm just saying that. So Mr. Motley wasn't there, but when I went there today, John Bufuso was there. And I asked him a few questions. My first question was, do you have a copy of the cease and desist order? I don't have it. I said, well, you know who has it? He says, Paul has. Can you guys speak to Paul? Paul ain't in right now. And then I asked him for some clarification, which, you know, really concerns me. And he said, Paul isn't here. So I was a little aggravated at this point. because I took time off of my work, not that I get paid millions of dollars, but I took time out of my day to go over it just to get something resolved. I went up to the mayor's office, unannounced, which I don't blame her, she was in a meeting, sorry, but she couldn't speak to me, that's totally understandable, I didn't even expect to see her, I just wanted to let her know I was there. She was nice enough to have called Mr. Moakley, who I just left the office, wasn't in, came right up. I try to get some clarification on this. He couldn't give me a straight answer on anything. Everything's kind of like a riddle to me on the answers I got back. One of the things that really, I need a clarification on this. I have this paper here from the Board of Appeals that was written, okay? And I highlighted what it says because I keep getting the wording that, oh, this, even though it was written to Steve Nardone, it's transferable to the tenant who's over there. Okay, and with that being said, I just want to go back a step. Mr. Moakley, in his words, agreed that this company, J.F. White, is in violation of doing this type of work. Those are his words, okay? You know, this place was supposed to be for parking, for storage, not for industrial heavy-duty pipe manufacturing. But with that being said, what really bothered me was it says on the paper here, it says the Board of Appeals also calls the attention of the owner of the application that General Laws Chapter 48, Section 11, the last paragraph, provides that no variance or special permits of any extension, modifications, or renewal, therefore, shall take effect until a copy of the decision bearing the certification of the town within 21 days of it being filed. So, I'm not an attorney, but this pretty much sounds like this isn't transferable, okay? But what I'm asking you is why, when I come here, In front of you guys, you, excuse me, in front of everybody, you gave me the cease and desist order. Now Mr. Moakley tells me the cease and desist order was given, now he couldn't give me a copy of it, but he said it was no work will be allowed before five o'clock, I'm sorry, before eight o'clock in the morning and not after five o'clock in the afternoon. I mean, does that sound reasonable? That's worse than useless. Having somebody that's supposed to be a cease and desist means stop work. So you're saying they can only work between eight and five. I don't know what to say. You guys helped me out so much and now I'm up against this here and I don't understand the wording or any of this. But it doesn't make no sense to me at all and most importantly I just want to say I have 40 people that I'm representing today that are not here because they don't even know I'm coming today because I don't have time today to go there and see all of them. But they all support me and we're all together on this. And it's really aggravating that A company, J.F. White, can't find a place, and that's another thing. I said, well when are they coming out? When are they leaving? He says, well they said by the end of February. Do you have a date? No. So again, we're at hearsay. They're supposed to be out at the end of February. A company, J.F. White, can't find a place to do a commercial business, heavy pipe manufacturing besides a residential neighborhood. I'm not buying it. And I need all of your support, maybe something we can do to get this resolved, because, you know, we have rights in this town, in this city, and our rights in my neighborhood, a residential neighborhood, are being violated on a daily basis. And it's disgraceful, disgraceful, that I have to go down there and argue with somebody down in the building department, John Bufuso told me they have a right to work on a Saturday. I said, did you read the ordinance? He goes, yeah. Five minutes later, I see Paul, he says, oh no, they can't work on a Saturday. I mean, does the left hand know what the right hand's doing? This is the guy that's been out there five times. Five times he's been out there, he hasn't seen any work. Hate to tell ya, For the last two weeks, Winchester Street's been closed off. No one can go up there, okay? And the problem's on Alfred Street. Read the paperwork, Alfred Street. Not Winchester Street, that's where you enter it. All the noise is coming out of Alfred Street. So, I'm at wit's end here. I don't know why a company is coming into a town that did this to you to make money, do their pipe work, and get out, that they have no respect for the neighbors, no respect for the city, and why is the city allowing something like this to happen? I don't get it, I don't get it. And if you all can help me in some way, I very much appreciate it.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Through the Chair, if I could ask a question. Councilor Lungo-Koehn. Through the Chair, thank you, President Caraviello. So they're working six days a week with the door open, are they still doing work outside or is it closed?
[Francis Avola]: Yes, they're still doing work outside. I have video documentation and I'd just like to make it for the record that Mr. Moakley, I saw him up in the Mayor's office, I wanted to show him the video. I said, well they're out there right now. You wanna see the video today at 1.30? Here's some more grinding. I mean, I don't wanna have to play this for ya. I don't wanna see it. Of course you don't wanna see it. You know, I mean, how can you have a cease and desist order and say they can only work from eight to five? Does that sound, seriously, I'm asking you all, does that sound fair or reasonable? That's a slap in the face to me and the 40 other people that signed this paper.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Through the chair, it seems to me our 40 neighbors that are dealing with this have a right to be very frustrated and to get a date of maybe February.
[Francis Avola]: And if, not even something, if. I said, so did they give you anything in stone? Well, they said. I go, so that's hearsay, you know, hearsay. I mean, they're a big contractor. I don't even think they're aware of what's going on, to be honest with you. That's what I think, because I don't think a company that big would want to be embarrassed so much for making fools out of himself in a city, in a residential neighborhood. I just can't believe it. What I can believe is down at that building department that someone's not doing their job. How come he comes by and he sees it, and this guy comes by five times when the road's closed on Winchester Street, and he's never seen nothing? I live next door, I'm not even home all day, and when I go home, that's all I see and hear. So, you know, I'm not imagining anything, and neither are all the neighbors, you know?
[Richard Caraviello]: I'd be happy to meet you here tomorrow at nine o'clock at the building office and go up there with you with the building inspector.
[Francis Avola]: Well, thank you very much. I just want to know that you're well respected by me and I find that everything you've done was being very disrespected and I just wanted you guys to acknowledge that. Thank you very much.
[Richard Caraviello]: If you'd like to meet me here tomorrow morning when the office opens.
[Francis Avola]: I'd be there at nine o'clock, no problem. I'll meet you there the first thing in the morning and we'll go up there together. Thank you very much. Everybody have a nice Christmas. Thank you for your time.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I think we need to get some clarification from ourselves. I know Paul's responded to me in the last week because I've had some of your neighbors actually call and email with additional complaints, like you're saying. Right. It's work hasn't stopped. It's going on at all hours, inside, outside. I did ask a couple questions to the building department. He did answer me back, but you're right, if we ask for a cease and desist, why are they allowed to operate?
[Francis Avola]: More importantly, what I'm concerned, can anybody get a clarification on if this ordinance was specifically for Nardone Electric, okay? And he doesn't operate the property. And it says right in here, that this can't be changed by anything unless it's in 21 days of writing. How is this happening? I don't get it. I don't get that at all. I'm not an attorney.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Maybe we could give that to our messenger and get an opinion from our city solicitor, and if that's the case, if it's non-transferable, then the permit should be pulled, although we voted to cease and desist on this a couple weeks ago.
[Fred Dello Russo]: The conclusion was reached some weeks ago by the building commissioner that it's not transferable. He made that clear. Those are the grounds under which he's issued the cease and desist.
[Francis Avola]: He's told me otherwise.
[Fred Dello Russo]: uh, recommendation that, uh, we, uh, require the building commissioner to, uh, pursue this, uh, to the greatest extent, uh, the law allows him, uh, to, uh, uh, deal with it.
[Richard Caraviello]: I mean, maybe you can work that out. Thank you.
[Francis Avola]: Thank you very much.
[Richard Caraviello]: Um, Council, are you done? For now.
[George Scarpelli]: I was supporting my colleague when we talked about getting this to the city solicitor. I think that the message is clear. I think that we've all spoken. We support the neighbors. Like I said, we've seen the work and we've mentioned that. So I think that if we can do that, I know it's great that you can come out here tomorrow, but I think we need our legal team to work with our code enforcement to make sure both of them are doing what's right. And if we need, then you need to get the chief of police involved and do what needs to be done for those residents. I think it's very important that all three entities are contacted.
[Michael Marks]: Vice President Mox. Thank you, Mr. President. I agree with my colleagues, but I'd like to take it one step further. I think we need to create an emergency committee of the whole meeting and meet with the city solicitor, as was mentioned, the building department, John Bavuso, and the building commissioner, Paul Moki, either meet on site or here at City Hall. I would prefer that we meet on site, Mr. President, and this needs to take place immediately. So, I would ask that I would ask that you set up an emergency meeting, Mr. President, to go on site. This is, as Fran mentioned, this has been going on far too long. I thought the cease and desist order, in my opinion, how it's always worked in this city, that stops all work. Exactly.
[Francis Avola]: That's why I couldn't understand why you would have a cease and desist from 8 to 5.
[Michael Marks]: And the reason why you do that is to bring all parties to the table, because once you stop work, J.F. White's going to say, what's going on? And they're going to want to be at the table. Exactly. If you allow them to do business as usual between those hours, because in my opinion, the city didn't do you any favors eight to five.
[Francis Avola]: Oh, you guys did your job. I just want to tell you, I'm very happy. And unfortunately, I waited and I knew it wasn't going to happen overnight, but nothing has changed. Nothing. That's why I'm here. I'm not here to ruin everybody's day.
[Michael Marks]: And our job is to make sure the residents have a peace of mind and a quality of life that they deserve. So I would ask, Mr. President, that you call for that meeting immediately. Thank you, Mr. President.
[John Falco]: Councilor Falco. Thank you, Mr. President. Brian, I thank you for coming down again to give us an update. It's my pleasure, Mr. Falco. You live in this neighborhood, you experience this on a daily basis, and this is a quality of life issue. You shouldn't be impacted like this. Absolutely. And your neighbors shouldn't either. You know, I agree with my colleagues. I think an emergency meeting is called for in this situation. I mean, this is something that needs to stop and it needs to stop now. The questions that I have and that I would like to hear back is why were the limitations put on the cease and desist order? Who actually put limitations saying between these hours and these hours? I agree with my console colleague here. Stop work means stop work. That means shut it down. and that's what people react and that's what people come to the table to come up with some sort of a resolution. February, once you get to February, they're gonna say, well, we'll find a new place by March.
[Francis Avola]: We'll find a new place by May. Well, we've almost got a space, but I'm with you 100%.
[John Falco]: Exactly. So we need to make sure that the feet are put to the fire and make sure that they find a location, but to also make sure that they comply with the law and to make sure that you actually can live a nice quality life in your neighborhood. Thank you. So I'd like to know, Who actually put limitations on the stop work order or the cease and desist order? And I also want to find out when it was issued. I know you came down and we actually counseled.
[Francis Avola]: It was issued on a Thursday, two days after the meeting, which was the fifth on a Tuesday. I think it was issued on the seventh. The seventh or the eighth.
[John Falco]: If we can just get confirmation on that. But I do agree. Okay, then I do agree that an emergency meeting is warranted and we should be doing that.
[Francis Avola]: Thank you.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Council Member O'Connor. Through the Chair, when you say our code enforcement officer, he didn't make it to the site because the street was closed, is that what you're trying to say?
[Francis Avola]: What happened was, is I was, exactly, I went down to see when he was going, because I read his, first of all, I didn't call the newspaper, the newspaper called me and I was reading some of his comments in there. And one of his comments were, it's a noise issue. It has a lot more to do with noise. This is one of the problems. But I've been there on five separate occasions and I haven't seen any of them working. So I went down to get some documentation on what days he was there. And I got like, whoa, I went down, I couldn't get a straight answer. But I can tell you that for the last two weeks on Winchester Street, they've had it shut down except for Saturdays because they're doing all the gas lines there. So where did he go? He couldn't get up Winchester Street. If he went down Alfred Street next to my house, he would see a door wide open with guys there grinding away, you know?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Through the chair, I think we need to maybe take a vote to cease and desist the business, go on record, all hours of the day. Just cease and desist. We'll reiterate that we're asking our building department to issue another cease and desist for doing any work on the property, at the property. I don't know what we're going to do on a Saturday morning down there. I think it needs to start tomorrow. They need to be issued a cease and desist, bring them to the table sooner than that.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Friend, if you can give your phone number to Larry. Yes. And actually, if we can meet tomorrow at 8.30, I'll meet you at 8.30. I'm on it like a hornet, I'll be there. I'll meet you at 8.30 tomorrow morning at the building department. Okay. Thank you everybody, have a nice Christmas. Thank you. All right, motion to revert back to regular business?
[Fred Dello Russo]: So moved. So moved.
[Clerk]: Mr. Clerk. The main motion, And from Council, Falco is who put on the limitations on the cease and desist and when was it issued? And amended by Councilor Longo-Pereira is to issue a cease and desist for all hours of operation.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: And then they also ask that the City Solicitor look into the question from the Council about the transferable policy.
[Clerk]: Yeah, you have to get a decision. Emergency meeting, right? Emergency meeting. It's not an emergency.
[Richard Caraviello]: It's tomorrow, if we can get one tomorrow night. It's tomorrow night, okay. We need to post it, we need 48 hours, right? I'll see if I can do it for Thursday. All right, on the motion by Councilor Lungo-Koehn, as amended by Councilor Falco. On the motion by Councilor Falco, as amended by Councilor Kern, and Councilor Marks. All those in favor? Motion passes. Motion to revert back to regular business. Motion orders and resolutions 17-800 offered by Councilor Lungo-Koehn. Be it resolved that the administration update the Medford City Council on what locations snow has been stored over the last three years. Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Caraviello. We did ask for this resolve. Back a few months ago when we were discussing, I brought up the issue of dumping snow near Wright's Pond. We did get a grant to help alleviate some of that issue. There was a number of questions that were attached to that question. One was, where have we stored snow as a city? Where does the DPW store excess snow? over the last three years and maybe amend it with regards to where we plan on storing snow. Some people say we may have a bad winter. I'd like to know where we're going to store excess snow this winter. Also, we never got a response and I know the city solicitor was working on it with regards to the issue concerning Wrights Pond and the grant that was received. So if I can amend this paper to also get a response on, so that's my second amendment. First would be where do we store snow? Where do we plan on storing snow this year if we do have a bad winter? And my second amendment would just be with regards to the issue of accepting a grant for Wright's Pond. allow us to still limit Wrights Pond to Medford residents only. We were waiting on an answer. I know the solicitor has been busy and did say he was going to try to wrap that up. So I'd like to see if we could get an answer on that. The City of Medford received a grant for work to be done on Wrights Pond and the question which a number of residents have is if we accept that grant, can we still limit Rights Pond to Medford residents only? We had to give back a grant in prior years before I was a Councilor. We had to give back, I believe it was a state grant, because if we accepted that grant, we'd have to open up Rights Pond to non-residents. So we gave back the grant. We had the city cover that money. So now a few residents that were around at that point spoke to me with regards to this grant we just received to make sure we can still limit it because that was an issue over the last year or two. Medford residents fought hard to make sure Rice Pond remained Medford residents only and everybody just wants to make sure that still remains the case. So if we could move approval on this resolution as amended. see if we can get our questions answered. This is the second or third time we've asked and I'd like to prepare accordingly. Winter is coming. We've already had snowfall and it would be nice to get the questions answered. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Langel-Curran, as amended by Councilor Langel-Curran, seconded by Councilor Falco. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. 17-801 offered by Councilor Lungo-Koehn being resolved that the Medford City Council receive an update with regards to the test borings and results behind the Andrews School. Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Caraviello. This is also with regards to some pollution that was going on on the side of the Andrews soccer fields. The City Council requested that we also do test pourings, pourings behind the Andrew School. I know that was a condition on the paper that we had approved, so I just wanted to get the results of that and move approval.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: Name and address of the record, please. Andrew Castagnetti, Cushman Street, Method, Massachusetts. I was hoping if one of you Councilors can or will, one or even better, all four of you or better, could please amend this resolution to ask the question, what's up next door to the Andrews Middle School you're talking? You're talking about the Andrews Middle School, are you?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Behind the Andrews Middle School where the soccer fields are.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: Actually the soccer field itself.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Well, it was the issue with contamination next to the soccer field. So then I requested that because it was so close to the Andrews, that's not a playground, but the Andrews soccer fields, that we do some test pourings at the Andrews soccer field as it abuts where the contamination was. So I have not got an answer with regards to what the results of that was. And I think it's important. Hundreds and hundreds of kids play soccer back there. It's something this council voted in favor of. I believe seven to nothing to do some test pourings there. I'd like to know what's going on.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: I think that's great. I think you have very common sense and great courage to ask that question. I would like to find, ask if one, if you could amend this to add next door to that piece of land, which is bordering behind the Dr. Andrews School. I believe that section of land is from the, behind the Doug E. Andrews School to the Riverside Yacht Club. And I believe it has, as I say in the real estate business, a dirty 21E, which means contaminated soil with arsenic, possibly, and other chemicals. And it's been cordoned off for over a year. So I'm not sure what's going on. I would like to know, because that's the area where they're supposed to finish the half-mile bike path. from the Dogger Andrews to Route 93, behind the salt and stout. It does not exist, and that's where I had my bicycle injury. I had my concussion and broken hand. So I would like to get this half mile of bike, flipper ship, bike path connector done. It's only a half mile, it's not completed out of the 10 or 20 miles from West Method Island to all the way to the MBTA station at Assembly Road, mind you. I would think it should have been done in the center of the square before to West Bedford Island and also towards McDonald Park and towards Assembly Road. The center of the square does not have it. This has a dirty 21D, I was told. And it's just, it's bordering behind the Dr. Andrews. So if you could ask, if you're gonna ask that question again, I would like for you to amend it and also ask about the bordering area where the kids play soccer.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: through the chair, I will make that amendment that we get an update with regards to the contaminated area, which abuts the soccer fields. That we did put money into already. I know Alicia, I don't know if we've got an update recently on that, so if we could get an update to that as well. That was proven contamination that I know the city is on top of, although obviously it's moving slowly, but we did appropriate money to do the first stage that Ms. Hunt wanted to do, and this came as a This came actually as a request or a condition in order for us to award that money. So hopefully we can get an answer on both.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: I hope you could pass the amendment also. Thank you very much. And if I may, if it's okay, I'd like to say Merry Christmas.
[Richard Caraviello]: Merry Christmas.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: Have a good New Year to everybody else.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. On the motion by Councilor Lungo-Koehn, as amended by Councilor Lungo-Koehn, seconded by. Second. Councilor Scarpelli, all those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. 17.802 offered by Councilor Knight, be it resolved that the Office of Diversity and Inclusion conduct an assessment of the number of the handicapped parking spots accessing Wakeman's and provide the council with its findings. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. With the changing face of the old Meadow Glen Mall, I've gotten a number of phone calls from constituents concerned about having an inability to access Wegmans because of a lack of handicapped parking spots out in front of that facility. They'd say down at Marshalls and down at Coles there's ample amount of parking, but over in the center of the plaza they're having a difficult time finding some spots. So I'm asking the Office of Diversity Inclusion the new name of the diversity office to take a look at this Mr. President and see if they're in compliance with the city ordinance and if we can take any steps to work with Wegmans to put some more spots in closer. That would be New England Developments. New England Developments.
[Richard Caraviello]: You want to change that to New England Developments?
[Adam Knight]: Well I think that actually what I want them to do is take a look at actual Wegmans and spots accessing actual Wegmans.
[Richard Caraviello]: So why don't we contact both of them?
[Adam Knight]: All right, when the development is actually out there, they, well actually all I want right now is for the Office of Diversity to go out there and see whether or not they're in compliance with our ordinances and if they are, they are, if they aren't, they aren't, then we can take the next step.
[Richard Caraviello]: All right, the motion by Councilor Knight. Seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. All those in favor? Motion passes. Motion to take. Motion by Councilor Dello Russo to take papers in the hands of the clerk. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Offered by Councilor Falco. Be it resolved that the administration contact the owner of 101 George P. Hassett Drive to have them board up the open windows on the property in the interest of public safety. Councilor Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. I was actually on the way to work this morning and coming on the on-ramp onto 93 and driving by 101, George P. Hassett Drive. The address is 101, but you can see it's the building is boarded up, but in the lower half of the building towards the basement, there is the board. So the boards have fallen off the building and the windows are broken and the whole bottom half of the building is exposed. So anyone can get in there, kids, homeless people, I mean anyone has access to it. So it's a bit of a safety concern that needs to be addressed. So if we could have the administration reach out to the landlord of that building to have that boarded up immediately, I'd greatly appreciate it. And if I could further amend the paper to basically get some sort of an update from the landlord as to what they plan to do with the building. I believe it's going to be a hotel, or at one point we were told it was going to be a hotel, but maybe get an update on the timetable.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Thank you. On the motion by Councilor Falco, as amended by Councilor Falco, seconded by? Seconded. By Councilor Knight, all those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. I regret I passed over something on the agenda. 17-799. Report of the Committee of the Whole meeting December 12th, 2017 to review and discuss fiscal year 2018 real estate tax allocation. Motion by Councilor Dello Russo to accept the report seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Motion passes. Yeah, I'm sorry I have one more. Offered by the entire council, be it resolved that the Medford City Council extend its deep and sincere condolences to the family of Joanne Abbott, who recently lost her battle with cancer. Joan was a long-time City Hall employee and worked for the Registrar of Voters and later for the Building Department. She will be missed in this building and throughout the community. and if we could rise for a moment of silence in her honor.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. Mr. President, looking at the agenda here, we have paper 17590, 17433, 17606. They're all going to be due for the reviews, whether it be a 60-day or a 180-day or a 90-day review for signage, Mr. President. Our December 26th meeting is canceled. I'd ask that we mark these up for this January 9th meeting.
[Richard Caraviello]: Okay, on the motion, Councilor Knight, that we mark these three papers up for the January 9th meeting. On the motion by Councilor Knight, seconded by? Second. By Councilor Falco, all those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Mr. Clerk, if you could please make that recommendation for the thing. Do you want these individuals to appear? Yeah, yes. No, they don't have to appear. Yeah, they don't have to appear.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Also, Senator Russo. I don't want to belabor our time here, Mr. President, and thank you for this indulgence. The mayor had appointed me some months ago, weeks ago, to represent, to be one of the representatives of the community to the ongoing Green Line Extension Project. The project is entering a new phase. They're due to begin construction in the near future. This will be a process that I think will unfold over the next two years as far as working on the station, the tracks, the rail beds. In many ways, construction and pre-construction has already begun. We met with the project manager from the MBTA, the assistant manager and many of the community outreach people, and representatives from Medford, Somerville, Cambridge, and related constituencies. I'll continue to keep the community up to date, and I'm going to continue to urge the mayor to find resources available on behalf of the administration and the citizens of the community, to have trained representatives and people who are adept at development and planning issues at the table with us. This is going to be a project I urge people, if they wish to reach out to me by email, to do so, if they have any concerns about the project as it moves forward, as far as accessibility, issues around the structures and material of the construction, and also urge people to make their opinion known to the mayor's office as well. We had a representative also from Citizens Present Lal Ruma, who is a citizen and a biter to the tracks, has been active for nearly 10 to 12 years in this process, is a member of the committee, and also present and someone who's been a long-time leader and advocate for the Green Line Extension, and someone who brings expertise and reason to all the processes, Ken Kraus, also a Medford resident. So it was good to have him there with us, and representing and speaking on behalf of the citizens. And hopefully as this project moves on, we'll get the best product available for the people of Medford.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Councilor Dello Russo, for your hard work on that project.
[Michael Marks]: So, Mr. President? Vice President Marks. If I could ask Councilor Del Rosario a question. There are three representatives on this Green Line extension? Yes. And they are Ken Crouch, yourself, and Laurel Ruma?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Nope. Myself, Laurel Ruma, the three appointees from the mayor, myself, Laurel Ruma, and Rocco DiRico of Tufts University. And that organization is a major stakeholder as the uh, station, the Medford station, uh, is in the midst of their properties. Right.
[Michael Marks]: So, so, Mr. President, we, we did have, uh, other residents that sat on this committee, uh, the first phase of the Green Line Extension, um, of which Doug Carr and Jim Silva were not asked to be back, uh, on the Green Line Extension Committee. and one was replaced by Rocco Durico, I've known for a lot of years and he does tremendous work, but he's representing Tufts University and not representing the city of Medford. And I have a concern when you only have three representatives on a committee that are here to represent the city and of which one represents Tufts University. Doug Carr, who was also on the committee, was a representative and the chairman of all the communities when they had host meetings. Dakar was the chairman and a very knowledgeable person, as well as Jim Silva, who represented the South Medford area through SMARTO and so forth, and was instrumental, and still is instrumental, in passing information out to residents and neighborhood in this community. And I think it's a huge loss not to have those two gentlemen reappointed on this committee, Mr. President. And I would ask that the mayor reconsider the members of this committee and look at reappointing Doug Carr and Jim Silva back to the committee. The President. Expanding the committee? Whatever needs to be done, Mr. President. But to have one person that doesn't really represent the city on the board of three. To me, there are plenty of other people that have been active for years on this Green Line Extension, and have taken countless hours out of their schedule to attend these meetings. I know we have Councilor Dello Russo on the committee, and I look forward to, you know, information being dispersed to the council regarding the Green Line Extension. But knowing that Doug Carr and Jim Silva were so instrumental in disseminating information and being involved. I'm extremely disappointed in the mayor not including them in this second phase, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Vice President Marks that Jim Silver and Doug Cobb be added to the Green Line Committee to be sent to the mayor for her consideration, Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Do you know if these individuals had a willingness to continue to serve in their positions?
[Michael Marks]: I, Councilor, Vice President Moxley, if they expressed... Both expressed interest in written letters stating that they'd like to serve. Did they send those letters to the man? Well in advance, yes.
[Adam Knight]: Do we know if there are any other individuals in the community that have expressed some interest? I would not know that. If any other individuals... We're going to make recommendations. Maybe we'd want to take a look at everybody.
[Michael Marks]: It's not up to us to take a look at anyone. I'm just throwing out the fact that we had two people sitting on this that did yeoman's work on behalf of the residents of this community, and I expressed my disappointment that they weren't reappointed. That's all.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. I shared my information and I didn't have this as a resolution, nor did I request a motion, but to receive and place on file, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Council Member O'Karyn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you. Through the Chair, I think we should just request that the Mayor look into expanding the committee and hopefully open up applications to those who are interested and hopefully those that have been working so hard and going to meetings will apply. On the motion. She should expand the committee. The bigger the committee, the better. The more people that can serve in different capacities on a committee that is working on the green line, the better. You should have somebody from the neighborhood. probably want to be on this committee, so I request that we look into expanding this committee.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Vice President Box that we request that the Mayor expand the Green Line Committee, seconded by Councilor Lungo-Koehn. All those in favor? Motion passes. Do we have any further business this evening before we adjourn?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Happy holidays to everybody.
[Richard Caraviello]: Hearing and seeing none, I think on behalf of all my city council colleagues and everyone in the building, I wish everybody a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, happy holidays, and a safe new year.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Before the records are called. Before the records are called, if I may. I just want to let the public know that there's a public hearing notice City of Medford Community Development Board for February 7th, 2018. They shall conduct a public hearing on February 7th, 2018 at 6 p.m. in room 201 City Hall. The hearing is relative to a petition by the Medford City Council to amend Chapter 94 Zoning, Article 2, Division 1, Section 9435E by adding language in the fifth line after the word enumeral Section 2 as follows, and such notice shall also be given to all owners within 400 feet of the property line of a petitioner, as the same are listed in the most recent tax list as kept by the city assessor of the city. In such notice shall also be given to owners within 400 feet of the property line of the petitioner as the same are listed in the most recent tax list as kept by the chief assessor of the city by way of a telephone call or text message that uses a computerized auto dialer to deliver a pre-recorded message or its equivalent. A copy of the full text of the amendment is available at the office of the city clerk, city hall. And I know that Clerk Finn did get the language that our city solicitor helped us draft last week, so our resolve was amended to state that the city council suggest or recommend that a planning board discuss a viable alternative for the applicable ability of this expanded notification such as applying to any projects that are subject to site plan review or conversion of housing units more than presently exist. So I thank our city solicitor for his hard work on this and helping us last week. Thank the Community Development Board for holding a meeting on February 7th and hopefully this is posted and advertised. I'd like to just put a motion out that a reverse 911 call go out with regards to this meeting if possible. I think it's an extremely important meeting and the public should be aware of it.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Lungo-Koehn that a 9-1-1 reverse call goes out for the February 7th meeting. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Records of the meeting of December 12th, 2017 were passed to Councilor Lungo-Koehn. Councilor Lungo-Koehn, how did you find those records?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I reviewed the records and I find them in order and I move approval.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Kern that she filed the records in order. Seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. Motion passes. Again, happy holidays to everyone. Merry Christmas to all my councilors and people in the city. Motion to adjourn by Councilor Knight. Seconded by Councilor Falco. All those in favor, aye. Motion passes. Merry Christmas.
[SPEAKER_19]: tribute from the audience. It was just a tremendous feeling of, in my opinion, pride. Pride in knowing that I'm a part of something that has given people tremendous joy.
[SPEAKER_35]: People are smiling, even amongst all this sadness. People are smiling. Even as the performers hug each other, hug their children, babies in arms in the ring, they're also smiling.
[SPEAKER_38]: and we hope the memories we've made together will last you a lifetime. Until then, thank you.
[SPEAKER_33]: So you kept your ringmaster stiff upper lip while you were in the ring with your children and wife and all the families and the performers and crew around you. Must have been over 200 of you in the ring. But when did you break?
[SPEAKER_19]: I haven't. Not a quiver? Not a wobbly lip? Not a single tear. It was so busy. after that, because there was a lot of hugging and kissing and picture-taking backstage. And all I had on my mind was, oh, my goodness, I still have to go home and finish packing. Because I had a lot to pack. In fact, I stayed up until about 7 a.m. that morning, and I took a little nap and then got up again and packed some more before the movers came.
[SPEAKER_33]: Now all the packing is done, the train broken up. After writing a CV for the first time in over 20 years, Jonathan has a new job as artistic director at Opera Del Sol. Alex Lacey is in Europe with his big cats, but minus one. A tiger escaped on the journey from Uniondale to the winter quarters in Florida, was found wandering on the highway and shot. Shanda Eck. He dreams of becoming a bartender, but for now he's a stay-at-home dad for his two-year-old son. Dolly and Pedro's circus school continues to flourish. This summer, they performed in a big top on the mall outside the White House, the first circus ever to do so. Sixteen-year-old Scott, he's conquered the flying trapeze.
[SPEAKER_13]: Do I miss it? Every single minute of my life. I have a Ringling poster in my living room signed by the whole cast. I treasure that thing so much. That's a giant clown poster with everybody signed it. Sometimes I pass in Las Vegas downtown where our train used to park. I just go there, you know, to just see it. I travel somewhere and I remember, oh, that was an arena I performed. Oh, you guys remember what happened here? Oh, I got married here. Oh, I divorced here. There is everywhere in America, every major city and every state, something happened. And you will never, ever gonna forget. And you always gonna miss it. If your heart is in a circus, you always will miss it.
[SPEAKER_33]: Who Killed the Circus was presented by me, Dee Burkitt, and produced by Emily Williams. It's a Whistledown production for the BBC World Service.
[SPEAKER_21]: The boundless deep under Evening Star. It covers more of an area than all of our land masses put together. A flood that bears us far.
[SPEAKER_12]: It doesn't matter what you do in England or China or anywhere, it's going to affect another country.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_72]: You're listening to the BBC World Service.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Welcome, this is Business Matters. Today we're going to talk a bit about tax cuts. U.S. Republicans hope to pass their tax reform bill in the Senate, as well as the House will meet taxpayers in rural Texas.
[SPEAKER_16]: You know, I hope it does pass, and I hope we do get some money back to the middle class, which is all it's going to do is turn around and make our economy stronger.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm a single mom of two, so I'll get two child credits back at the end of the year. And that's not going up for me. But as far as somebody who, let's say, is making $150,000 in the home, they're going to get more money back. So yes, they are putting in more money into the system. But no, it's not helping me.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: And later this half hour, final campaign rallies in Catalonia ahead of Thursday's election. Will the Spanish prime minister's gamble pay off?
[SPEAKER_04]: Hello, I'm Marion Marshall with the BBC News. US senators are debating whether to approve a bill that would see the biggest overhaul of the country's tax system in decades. A vote in the Senate is expected in the next few hours. However, final approval will have to wait until Wednesday, as the bill is being sent back to the House for procedural reasons, as David Willis reports from Washington.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_19]: It passed the House of Representatives this afternoon, a lot of celebration there, only to go to the Senate, where it was found that some of the wording didn't conform with requirements in the Senate. It now has to go back to the House of Representatives for another vote. So that vote will take place tomorrow morning, and it's likely to go to the president for signing perhaps later that same day. President Trump, of course, will be very, very pleased to get his hands on this piece of legislation. It's the major legislative victory, assuming all goes well with those two votes, of his time in office thus far.
[SPEAKER_04]: The defeated candidate in presidential elections in Honduras, Salvador Nasralla, has accepted an invitation for talks with President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Mr. Nasralla has accused his rival of rigging the vote and says he has handed evidence to the Organization of American States in Washington. He's demanding a new election. A bus carrying foreign tourists to Mayan ruins in Mexico has crashed, killing at least 12 people, including a child. The bus had been travelling to the eastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula when it veered off the road. Here's our Mexico correspondent, Will Grant.
[SPEAKER_23]: The tourists had arrived in Mexico on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, and this, a visit to the beautiful Mayan ruins of Chacho Ben, was meant to be a pleasurable day trip to see a little of the country. However, a dozen people were killed and many more injured when the bus overturned on the highway out to the ruins, south of the popular resort of Tulum. An investigation is underway as to the cause of the crash. Many of the coastal roads in that particular state of Quintana Roo are poor and potholed, especially on the southern road down to the border with Belize.
[SPEAKER_04]: The US ambassador to the United Nations has said a missile fired at the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh from Yemen bears the hallmarks of an attack using weapons provided by Iran. Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran, claimed responsibility for the missile launch. The US ambassador, Nikki Haley, said she was very concerned about this latest development.
[SPEAKER_34]: According to the Houthis themselves, it was targeted at a meeting of Saudi leaders in Riyadh, in an area crowded with government offices. Thankfully, the missile was intercepted before it could hit its intended target. But the very fact of this attack is a flashing red siren for this council. It is only a matter of time before one of these missiles hits the target.
[SPEAKER_04]: World News from the BBC. The United Nations Refugee Agency has said it's stepping up its operation on the border between Cameroon and Southeast Nigeria. Thousands of Cameroonians have fled from their country after clashes between security forces and pro-independence groups in Cameroon's English-speaking region. Tensions between the English-speaking minority and the government, which is dominated by Francophones, have escalated in the last year. Canada and the United States have announced that they'll co-host a summit of foreign ministers to discuss the deepening crisis over North Korea's nuclear ambitions. The Canadian Foreign Minister, Chrystia Freeland, and the visiting U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, said the meeting next month would include envoys from Japan and South Korea. It will consider how to improve the effectiveness of the current pressure campaign against Pyongyang. After forming a coalition with a far-right party, Austria's new chancellor has travelled to Brussels to reassure EU leaders. Sebastian Kurz, who leads the Conservative People's Party, has entered an alliance with the Eurosceptic and anti-immigration Freedom Party. Speaking in Brussels at a news conference with the President of the European Commission, Mr. Kurz said his government remained a committed EU member.
[SPEAKER_00]: We want to contribute to a strong European Union. We would like a European Union which will be stronger when it comes to the big issues and at the same time stands back when it comes to smaller issues, where member states or regions are well equipped to make decisions. I do appreciate that over the past few years there's been an effort to reduce legislative initiatives.
[SPEAKER_04]: An investigation has been launched in India after a metro train crashed through the walls of a station in the capital Delhi during a trial run. The incident took place just days ahead of the planned inauguration of the new line by the Prime Minister. There were no passengers on the train. Trains on the new line are planned to be driverless. BBC News
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Hello, welcome. This is Business Matters. Fergus Nicol with you today from London. In a moment, our main headline after a year of legislative frustration. President Trump secures a win in the House of Representatives, at least. Republicans pushing through the most radical overhaul of the US tax system in decades. We'll talk about that in a second. Later in the program, why is China setting up a carbon market?
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a commitment to put this system into place, which puts on notice the rest of the world, especially existing carbon markets in the European Union and California, that there will be potential to link up with the China's market, and that's a very big deal.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Does China's involvement mean it's an idea that is really catching on? Let's greet our guests. We'll be talking about these and other issues during the hour. From New Delhi this morning, Madhavan Narayanan of FirstPost.com. Madhavan, good to have you back with us. Thanks for starting the day with business matters.
[SPEAKER_11]: Thank you, Fergus. Greetings from Delhi.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Greetings from London. Let's say hello from Austin, Texas. Andy Euler, reporter with Marketplace on American Public Media. We'll be hearing your account of tax issues in Texas in just a couple of minutes. You're most welcome.
[SPEAKER_40]: Thanks for having me Fergus, good to be here.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Good to have you back. We'll start then of course in the US where the administration could be forgiven for thinking tonight one down, one to go. The Republican majority in the House of Representatives successfully steered its tax reform bill through to a 227 to 203 vote victory. Next comes the Senate. There's been a bit of a kerfuffle as we heard in the news. The Senate sent the bill back to the House to think it can get another vote tomorrow morning and then the Senate gets its go, probably before the end of Wednesday. And if that goes according to plan, the first legislative win of Donald Trump's presidency will go to his desk for signature. And we can expect that to be done with something more than his customary flourish. Back to the House then. What happened today? A completely partisan outcome. Here's the Speaker, Paul Ryan.
[SPEAKER_18]: We said in 2016 that it would take real tax reform for families and businesses to get the American economy growing, and we were serious. On January 1, Americans are going to wake up with a new tax code. In February, they're going to see withholdings go down so they see bigger paychecks. And April 15 will be the last day they have to comply with the old, bad system. This is a good day for America. This is a good day for workers. This is a great day for growth, and we're very excited about this moment.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, not so much. She highlighted poll numbers, which have shown a steady decline in public support for the tax plan.
[SPEAKER_32]: Outside the Congress, the American people have already made their decision. Polling shows that Americans oppose the GOP tax scam by a margin of two to one. Hardworking families see right through the brazen con job Republicans are trying to sell them. So why aren't our Republican colleagues standing with their constituents? Why aren't they joining us, insisting on a better deal for American families?
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: away from the beltway, how is this highly charged issue playing out in the places where the real taxpayers live? I've been talking to two Republican voters in Missouri. Walt Cooper lives in Kansas City. He's retired, but he used to work in the medical services technology sector. Janet Matteliati is an attorney in St. Louis.
[SPEAKER_45]: I think it's hopefully going to be good for most of the people in the United States. I think simplifying things will be particularly good. I know some people say that this is only going to be good for the rich, but I think it will help people across the board and a lot of the middle class, of which I consider myself part of the middle class.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Opening thoughts from Walt Cooper then. Just tell us how you see what's been going on in Washington and how well it reflects your concerns about the tax system as it's operated through your professional life.
[SPEAKER_15]: I agree with Janet somewhat that I think it's going to be a positive thing. I'm just recently retired and so I've been around a while and have watched taxes come and go, raise and lower, and I think giving people back as much money as you can and leaving it in the people's hands is the best way to go about this. Government tends to waste our money at times, and they always want more. And so I believe that if we do get some meaningful tax relief, I think it's going to be positive for our economy.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: So when we heard Speaker Ryan say on Capitol Hill earlier on Tuesday, this is giving the money back to the people, you're all for that because you think the government doesn't spend it right?
[SPEAKER_15]: Well, I mean, I don't know of any government that spends it right. And I think we have so many examples of government continuing to, I mean, they're one of the largest employers in the United States, and they've never cut back on anything ever, as far as I can remember. And really, this is not, I mean, it's a tax cut, but it's a little bit of a misnomer in my mind, because they continue to talk about deficit that it'll create. and continue conversations about paying for the tax cut. So when you use the term paying for the tax cut, to me, that's code for, well, the government needs just as much money as they always did. So what I would really like to see is not only a tax cut, but the government being forced to tighten their belt to say, we're going to give people back some of their money, and the government itself is going to run on less.
[SPEAKER_45]: I agree with Walt that I think the government doesn't spend our money wisely in many cases. I know certain things have to be taken care of, but just like any family here in America, when things are tight, you have to tighten your belt and rein things in. And I agree with Walt that I don't think the federal government ever does that. We just seem to increase and increase. So I would certainly like this followed up with spending cuts and things so that we can pay for it. Now, one of my hopes is that in reducing the corporate rate that we can get more businesses back in the United States, since our rates were higher than most other countries, which will help the economy and will help pay for some of this, but I do think we need to do some spending cuts also.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Janet, I want to stay with you first and pick up a word you used I think is going to resonate with a lot of listeners in the U.S., and that is simplifying. Thank the Lord I don't have to deal with the IRS, but I have American friends who do, and even the kind of briefing paper to help you do your taxes requires a doctorate, I think, to understand. Tell us about the complexity of regular tax paying and how much harder it gets maybe when you're dealing with wills and all kinds of complicated legal procedures.
[SPEAKER_45]: I mean, it's very complicated and I would have to laugh as an attorney who does estate tax planning. I don't even do my own income tax returns, because there's all kinds of regulations for that, in addition to the stuff that I deal with. But I think they're on the right track as far as reducing a lot of the itemized deduction and increasing the standard deduction, because that's going to help a lot of people. I think a lot more people will do the standardized deductions as opposed to the itemized. As it relates to my business, one part of the tax plan doubles the exemption from the state taxes and gift taxes. So by doing that, a lot of our clients will fall within that. So it's going to reduce what they have to do in some advanced planning, as far as the state tax would be concerned, and allows them to go back to do some more capital gains type planning with their estate plan, since they don't have to worry about the federal estate tax.
[SPEAKER_15]: The word onerous just comes to my mind. I have a certified public accountant that's been doing my taxes for 30 years because I'm afraid to do them myself. If you are in my stage of life where you're retiring and you're thinking about how you're going to live the rest of your life and live well as best you can on the money you have, one of the things that CPAs will tell you is, you'd better be planning for taxes. But how does the average person do that? There's entire industries in the United States to manage people's taxes. So, I mean, that's all you kind of need to know, is it's so complicated that there isn't anybody that knows it all. I think simplification is a wonderful concept. I hope that it is, in fact, real.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: I know this is a huge document. I wonder whether you can highlight, each of you, maybe three things that you think are immediately going to help America in terms of boosting jobs, boosting business, boosting collective incomes.
[SPEAKER_45]: Sure. I think I maybe kind of mentioned it before, but I think the reduction in the corporate tax will help to get some businesses back in the United States. One thing, and it really doesn't have to do with taxes, but I am in favor of the drilling in Alaska, and I think that will help our economy and help us become more oil independent. And again, I'm just hoping that reducing the rates is going to get more money in average Americans' pockets, and then they will in turn be spending that.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: That's three. Walt, you're definitely allowed to agree.
[SPEAKER_15]: Well, I think that Janet mentioned this earlier, but in terms of simplification, doubling the standard deduction for the average person, about 30 percent, I think, of American itemized deductions. So that means 70 percent don't. So when you double that, that immediately puts money back in that middle class pocket. And I think that if you go back to the days of Ronald Reagan and moving into the Clinton administration, we've seen what putting money back in people's pockets does for the economy. So we might get a double whammy with that and the corporate tax rate that I agree that Janet talked about, because there's going to be a lot of repatriation of money coming back in the United States from corporations in here who have that money parked overseas. I think our economy is going to be hot for a while.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: hot for a while. Our thanks to Walt Cooper and Janet Matteliani. They're both speaking to us from Missouri. And let's go to Andy now in Austin, because you've been out and about talking to voters in rural parts of Texas. Tell us a little bit about where you've been and the kind of people we're going to hear from.
[SPEAKER_40]: That's right. I went outside of Austin, which is right in the center. It's the capital of Texas, and I went about an hour west to a town. It was actually Burnett and Llano counties, and I went to Horseshoe Bay, which is kind of a retirement community. It's mostly sort of upper middle class folks, and they move out there from the hill country. A lot of folks have land out there. But, I really kind of just wanted to get a sense from them, I mean, the counties that I went to were 75% Trump voters, so I wanted to get a sense from them, sort of, what they were thinking about this tax bill, and just really honest, visceral reactions from, you know, not even necessarily the intricacies of the bill, because it's, like you said, 600 pages, and, you know, a lot of senators haven't read it. I just wanted from these folks to get a real visceral reaction to what this tax bill meant to them.
[SPEAKER_16]: My name is Leon Fuller. I work at Horseshoe Bay Veterinarian Clinic. He's got faith in the tax bill. You know, I hope it does pass, and I hope we do get some money back to the middle class, which is all it's going to do is turn around and make our economy stronger.
[SPEAKER_40]: Retired marketing and sales rep Frank Hosia is a little more cautious.
[SPEAKER_41]: It's way too early. Between the Senate and Congress, they're going to have so many different reiterations of this. So anything we think about that we know, don't.
[SPEAKER_40]: But he does think the tax system needs an overhaul. He voted for Trump and thinks the bet on trickle-down is a good one.
[SPEAKER_41]: Having the highest corporate tax rate in the world makes no sense. We're seeing the amount of jobs that are leaving the country and have been leaving the country. Let's figure out how to bring the monies back to the country as well as the jobs back to the country.
[SPEAKER_40]: Just a couple miles down the road in another little town, Marble Falls, I stop in at the R Bar.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm Nadine Rader. I'm from Marble Falls and I'm a server at Noon Spoon Cafe. I'm 25.
[SPEAKER_40]: She didn't vote in last year's presidential election.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm a single mom of two, so I'll get two child credits back at the end of the year. And that's not going up for me. But as far as somebody who, let's say, is making $150,000 in the home, they're going to get more money back than me, who is below $20,000 a year, just barely making it with two kids, single moms. So I mean, yes, they are putting in more money into the system. But no, it's not helping me.
[SPEAKER_40]: Across the street is Bill's Burgers, where Roland Parker is grabbing a beer. He's a self-employed cabinetmaker. He also didn't vote in the presidential election.
[SPEAKER_11]: It's certainly a big win, but certainly at the same time, Trump seems to be late to the party. You know, the interest rate hikes have begun, increases have begun, inflation is low, employment is up. Therefore, what Trump is offering is not some kind of a fixing of the problem, but more like an icing on the cake. He might like to tweet about it, but the problem doesn't need fixing anymore. But on the other hand, there are issues related to whether there is a demand in the economy to revive capital, because as of now, last night's report suggested some industries may not really gain, whereas some others will. And looking at a higher perspective, the real threats to jobs haven't gone away yet. You know, the middle class may get money back, but what about the Rust Belt? You know, there are robots, robotics coming in, there is 3D printing. These are technological issues that can't be simply solved by a silver bullet like a tax plan.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: I want to ask, can I just ask you a quick comparison question? In fact, it comes in two parts. One is about the bureaucracy and the complications of filing for the IRS, which we heard about from Janet a moment ago. So let's do that bit first and tell me how that plays out in India. Then I'll get on to the other thing.
[SPEAKER_11]: Well, India is much more bureaucratic. In fact, India, the problem is opposite. India has a very low tax-to-GDP ratio, and the government has been trying to make its own India's biggest tax reform in the past several decades by introducing what's called the goods and services tax, a single one for the entire nation, which the Prime Minister called a good and simple tax, but small businesses do not find it good or simple because it increases the complexities of filing electronic returns 13 times a year, some reliefs have been given, it's been a toing and froing between the government and the opposition and some of the tax rates are as high as 28% and apart from that there is this whole cumbersome, you know, things like eBay bills and papers you have to maintain. So nobody's liking the complexity or the tax rate. And it was an election issue that the Prime Minister's BJP managed to somehow beat in this week's elections, last week's elections. And to that extent, the government is safe, but it's quite shaken by some of these tax initiatives, which it says will benefit India in the long run. But, you know, no one's really seen the long run.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: OK, we'll come back to this in the second half of the programme. Thanks both. Andy, hold fire. I know you've got a lot more to say about this. I want to look into some other news now here on business matters. We're going to go to Spain. The northern region of Catalonia has seen a lot of campaigning in the last few weeks. The election called by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy happens on Thursday. Now, you'll remember we covered it on this programme. Catalonia's attempt to break away from Spain in the wake of that disputed referendum unleashed a real political storm. The former president of the regions is still in exile in Belgium. A lot of his colleagues are in prison. And the Spanish government has introduced direct rule across Catalonia. Let's hear now from the BBC's Guy Hedgcoe in Barcelona.
[SPEAKER_21]: I'm on the Ramblas, the boulevard in central Barcelona that's such a magnet for tourists. Barcelona receives around 17 million tourists each year. But in October, tourist arrivals fell by 5 percent, a dip which has been attributed to the political turmoil here during that month. In addition, around 3,000 companies have moved their legal base out of Catalonia to other parts of Spain recently. The firm Help My Cash, which compares financial services, is one of those that made the move. Laurent Amar is its founder.
[SPEAKER_07]: In September, we were in a very uncertain environment. We were not able to clearly say what was going to happen, so we had to move the legal headquarter out of Catalonia. We have one of our shareholders who lives in Madrid so it made sense to be there.
[SPEAKER_21]: Mr. Amar says the economic impact of the political instability was easy to gauge.
[SPEAKER_07]: What we saw was a huge spike in traffic from people who were looking for where to put your money. From one day to the other, The number of users who were concerned about bank account exploded and the number of people who were looking for mortgages shrank because basically the whole mortgage business in Catalonia froze. And so since October we've seen a drastic reduction in the number of people who come and look for mortgages in Catalonia.
[SPEAKER_21]: Politically, Catalonia is much calmer now than it was just a few weeks ago. And certainly, it does look pretty much like business as usual, even though you can still see quite a few pro-independence flags hanging from balconies of apartments. But there are concerns that the effects for the economy could still be felt for some time. I'm in the commercial district of central Barcelona, where Carlos Ribadulla, a businessman who has been very critical of the independence movement, has his offices.
[SPEAKER_17]: Since September, October, November, we've been experiencing here in Catalonia a very dramatic economic turmoil. For instance, we've seen consumption going down, where in the rest of Spain it's going up about 20% for restaurants, 25% for cinemas and shows, 25% for big department stores. Are these elections going to solve the crisis, calm down the turmoil, do you think? Sure, at least they might. We have a choice, we have an option, I mean, an opportunity on December the 21st with the coming elections. If we have a clear majority of pro-unity, pro-constitutional parties, yes, we'll have more stability, confidence and trust will be regained.
[SPEAKER_21]: But polls suggest that pro-independence parties could win more seats than the unionists in the election. This campaign advert featuring deposed Catalan president Carles Puigdemont speaking from exile in Belgium presents the vote as another referendum on the independence issue. Ernest Maragall is a candidate for the pro-independence Catalan Republican Left Party. He says that if Madrid agreed to engage in negotiations about the territorial issue, the political and economic situation would improve dramatically.
[SPEAKER_20]: If we had just normal dialogue at the table, the social and economic effects would disappear immediately. Imagine now, after the election of the 21st of December, the Spanish state would accept that the best way is a real dialogue with Catalonia. Then it would have an immediate and spectacular effect in terms of calming all the instability.
[SPEAKER_21]: But the Spanish government looks unlikely to engage in talks with Catalonia's pro-independence forces anytime soon. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy insists that he will continue to defend the unity of Spain against those who want to break away. Although pro-independence parties might win the election, they could fall short of a majority, in which case it could be up to a coalition of left-leaning parties to decide who governs. The full results of the election will be known on the same day that the annual Christmas lottery is held in Spain, and with tickets on sale in the street. But this election, called by Mr. Rajoy, might be his biggest gamble yet.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Guy Hedgcoe reporting from Barcelona. Of course, from Thursday on, we'll be bringing you results of that election in Catalonia here at the BBC World Service. Much more to come on this edition of Business Matters. Before the end of the hour, we're going to be talking about the ownership of the Carolina Panthers, why an NFL franchise is political, it's got race politics in it as well, there's the hashtag MeToo debate involved, it's stirring up a lot of contemporary American themes in one big package, and there is a lot of money at stake.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_72]: This is the BBC World Service. The news is in a couple of minutes, but first, music.
[SPEAKER_36]: Amsahar Zand and this month's Global Beats features musicians from Iran. It's a country with a long tradition of music. To me, the sound is very fulfilling, very human, and it speaks to my soul. But it's also a place where strict rules are enforced.
[SPEAKER_43]: You have to actually record a video and send it to the Ministry of Culture. They need to know what kind of text you're singing and how you are performing it.
[SPEAKER_36]: From the cool jazz tones of Gulnar Shahriar to the experimental electronic music of Sot. Join me for some new and exciting sounds from Iran.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_72]: Global Beats at bbcworldservice.com slash bbcmusic
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Welcome back. You're with Business Matters. And still to come, China announces a new carbon market. Is it an environmental initiative that's finally catching on? From Oregon, we'll meet the Zebra entrepreneurs, business people of a different stripe. And Diddy bids for the Panthers. Will he become the NFL's first black franchise owner?
[SPEAKER_04]: BBC News with Marion Marshall. US senators are debating the Trump administration's tax bill. The House of Representatives earlier approved the bill that would see the biggest overhaul of the country's tax system in decades. If the legislation passes in the Senate, it'll have to be sent back to the House for another vote because of a last-minute procedural glitch. The defeated candidate in the fiercely disputed presidential elections in Honduras, Salvador Nasralla, has accepted an invitation for talks with the president, Juan Orlando Hernandez. Mr. Nasralla has accused his rival of rigging the vote and says he's taped evidence of this. Twelve people have been killed in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, when a bus carrying foreign tourists to see Mayan ruins veered off the road and toppled over. Eighteen passengers were injured and have been taken to hospital, but they're said to be in a stable condition. Canada and the United States will co-host a summit of foreign ministers to discuss the effectiveness of current measures to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions. The meeting in Vancouver next month will include envoys from Japan and South Korea. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has said a missile fired at the Saudi capital, Riyadh, bears the hallmarks of an attack using weapons provided by Iran. The Saudi military shot down the missile, which Houthi rebels in Yemen say they launched. China has unveiled plans for a nationwide carbon market, allowing companies to trade permissions to emit greenhouse gases within an overall cap. The carbon market will cover the emissions of about 1,700 energy companies. Austria's new chancellor has travelled to Brussels to reassure EU leaders that his government is committed to the bloc. Sebastian Kurz, who leads the Conservative People's Party, has entered an alliance with the Eurosceptic and Anti-Immigration Freedom Party, sparking alarm in Brussels. BBC News.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Hello, welcome back. Business Matters with Fergus Nicol. And now China has unveiled plans to set up a national carbon market in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This market would bring about a quarter of the world's emissions under some kind of trading system. Zhang Yong is the vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission. He says the trading will be based in Shanghai. It will involve more than 1,700 power companies. Paula de Perna is an environmental analyst who helped set up the pilot scheme on behalf of the Chinese government that led to this announcement. She's been talking to my colleague Tim Franks.
[SPEAKER_02]: The Chinese system will be covering the power sector, which is, of course, the source of a lot of emissions, and will have an impact not only on the reduction of emissions, but also on the cost of energy. What's critical about today's announcement is that it's a commitment to put this system into place, which puts on notice the rest of the world, especially existing carbon markets in the European Union and California, that there will be potential to link up with the Chinese market, and that's a very big deal. The potential for linkage establishes an international language. If you think of a carbon ton, if you think of an emissions allowance as a new form of currency, as an international translation of environmental science from science to finance, that's really what's exciting about all this. I think the Chinese entry into this new world of commodities trading requires them to play by the rules. And so if they were to try to game such a system, which is under such an international microscope, it would be a very significant national embarrassment. Now, that doesn't mean there won't be mistakes and there won't be probably some cheating. But I think overall, it's a step into best practice at the financial services level.
[SPEAKER_42]: And given how major an emitter of carbon China is, what sort of impact do you think this could have globally?
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, I think it could have transformational impact in numerous ways. First of all, the obvious, most important one is to actually reduce the emissions. So if the Chinese power sector becomes comfortable with the rules and begins to understand it, they could get into it big time and they like to trade. And so it could become quite significant that they're playing an internal competition game of who can reduce quickest. And then secondly, all companies that operate in China use power in one way or another. So if the power sector is coming under control of the cap and trade, the users of power will feel the impact. So it means that American companies, European companies, any company in China will feel the effects of this cap and trade indirectly. And that can be good because you can never have too much efficiency when it comes to energy use. So if the system works as it can, it could be very significant.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Thanks to Paula de Perna. A transformational impact then. Let me reintroduce from New Delhi this morning, Madhavan Narayanan of FirstPost.com, Andy Euler of Marketplace in Austin. I don't suppose you want to step in here, Andy, with a crystal clear definition of what this involves, because, you know, people have been talking about this for a long time. I remember going to Brazil, oh God, must be 10, 12 years ago, people talking about it. It just hasn't caught on at the scale that the Green Movement hoped it would.
[SPEAKER_40]: Well, and what stuck with me, too, was what Paula DiPerna said right at the end. She said, if this market works, which is really important, because there are three things that this carbon market needs. It has to know how much carbon is being emitted and where it's coming from. You need to have some sort of registry to figure out where it is coming from and who to hold accountable for that. And then you also have to think about how much this carbon is going to cost. You have to have sort of a market for it. And none of these things right now exist. I mean, the idea that China's going to come in and set up this carbon market is great. I agree with her. I think this is a great thing. But at the same time, This is going to have a long, long rollout process, because we're going to have to figure out all of the other things. You can say, all right, this carpet market's open. Now we've got to figure out how we're actually going to do it.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Do you buy the premise, Madhavan, of this conceptually?
[SPEAKER_11]: Yes, I do, except that look at the challenges in trying to buy something out of someone for something that person didn't do. That's what carbon emissions trading is all about. So it's like buying a vacuum sort of a thing. You know, I didn't do this, so pay me for it. It's a bit of a ransom thing, if you ask me. But there's also the irony that we're talking more of bitcoins than carbon trading, whereas carbon trading is actually producing social and ecological value.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Yeah, I was wondering whether carbon trading would ever become as sexy as bitcoin trading.
[SPEAKER_11]: Yeah, there is a case to make it sexy, but as Andy said, you know, we need to have policing mechanisms to ensure that somebody is actually reducing emissions and therefore is worth paying for that. India took baby steps around circa 2008 to list and authorize certain companies to do it. But, you know, the global economic crisis and the collapse of Lehman Brothers took our attention away from climate change towards Wall Street. of the some incentives out of carbon trading on the one hand. On the other hand, you have alternatives in form of everything from electric cars to solar energy to switch over. This is a glorious dawn, if I may say so, for what I call green pricing or greenomics. And I do hope the governments move faster on this. My belief is that no government is moving fast enough on this.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: And Andy, probably the good news about this with China's involvement, as we're hearing from Paul, it sets an example that the others can buy into and indeed tie into, but it also perhaps stops richer countries kind of effectively buying out their guilt by attributing it to somebody else, playing a market in a fairly cavalier way and buying themselves out of these kind of caps.
[SPEAKER_40]: Well, and it's also this idea that China is now going to be, perhaps, the global leader in reducing carbon emissions. I mean, the United States, it doesn't feel like that's a priority here. From everybody that you talk to, everybody that you're hearing politically, it doesn't feel like carbon emissions is one of the things that we talk about. I mean, we spent the whole first half of the show talking about tax reform. We're not talking about global warming. We're not talking about climate change. We're not talking about carbon emissions. And so if China's going to step in and be the global leader, I hope, from what it appears to me, that other rich countries are going to pay attention and say, you know what, if there's a market for this, of course, the American says, if there's a market for this, we're going to get in on it. Because if there is that carbon market, of course America's going to get in on it.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Hold the thought about Bitcoin, by the way, folks, because we're coming back to that before the end of the half hour. This is Business Matters. We are live on the BBC. Now, if you're running a startup in America and you're looking for investment, it helps if you're a man. Between 2011 and 2013, $51 billion of venture capital poured into U.S. companies, but only 3% of that went to companies led by a female CEO. Findings published, by the way, in the journal Venture Capital. If you're female and you're from an ethnic minority, well, then the prospects of raising money get even bleaker. But now a group of entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley is trying to do something about it. The BBC's Riga Morris went along to the first meeting of so-called zebras in Portland, Oregon.
[SPEAKER_31]: Zebras fix what unicorns break. That's the motto of a movement in Silicon Valley's tech industry. It may sound like marketing nonsense, but the movement is dead serious. The zebras are frustrated by what they see as a lust for so-called unicorn companies.
[SPEAKER_10]: Right now, unicorns is a popular title for companies that are valued at over a billion dollars, and Silicon Valley is chasing after these. You know, there aren't a ton in existence, but they're enough to make people kind of gold rush hungry for finding the next unicorn company.
[SPEAKER_31]: That's Jennifer Brandel. She's one of the founders of the Zebra Movement, which aims to change the way tech startups are funded.
[SPEAKER_10]: It's very hard to find investors who aren't thinking about striking it rich, especially because now with technology, companies can scale very quickly sometimes, sometimes too quickly for their own good. And so zebras are an alternative. Instead of a unicorn, which is mythical and rarely seen, zebras are actually real and they get their competitive advantage from cooperating. Unicorns, I think, are dangerous in that they grow up so quickly and before they've had a chance to really understand the power that they wield and how to do it responsibly.
[SPEAKER_31]: I went to the zebras first ever gathering, DazzleCon. It's called DazzleCon because a group of zebras is known as a dazzle. It's true. I looked it up. But this isn't your standard Silicon Valley tech conference. First of all, the guests are predominantly women. And secondly, the chat isn't the standard Silicon Valley grow fast or die trying. At DazzleCon, they're talking about social impact, sustainability, and about how women receive less than 10% of all venture capital funding in Silicon Valley.
[SPEAKER_32]: Thank you so much.
[SPEAKER_31]: Ania Williams joined the Zebra movement as a co-founder after struggling to raise money for her wearable tech company, Tinsel.
[SPEAKER_14]: I pitched over 100 investors and at the end of the day I ended up landing two. And I realized that there were a lot of issues with the way that the VC model works. I think that the model is very broken. I think that obviously it favors a specific type of person over everyone else. Do you mean white male? Well, you know, you said it.
[SPEAKER_31]: One of the zebras is Tara Reid. She's the founder of Apps Without Code. She says the zebra movement is important, but that it could only exist in the tech industry.
[SPEAKER_08]: This distinction between zebras and unicorns, this is only a tech conversation. If you have conversations with any other industry, right, what you want to be is a zebra. That's normal. That's how businesses work. For some reason in tech, we have this different idea of how business works, right?
[SPEAKER_31]: Well, it's because we have these fairy tales of boys in their dorm rooms becoming billionaires.
[SPEAKER_08]: Right, but I think if you hear the fairy tales in other industries, like the fairy tale is Pepsi or Coca-Cola, the fairy tale is some other business that generates profit and distributes that profit. Those are the different fairy tales. So I think outside of Silicon Valley, this is, of course, it's normal. So I think the zebra movement will mainly exist in Silicon Valley because that's what the rest of the world is doing.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: That's the BBC's Riga Morris meeting members of the Zebra Gathering. It happened in Portland, Oregon. DazzleCon 2017 was the title. What's the collective noun for unicorns? At Fergus Nicol, if you know the answer. Madhavan, would this work in India? Do you buy that concept?
[SPEAKER_11]: Well, I just heard an interesting story last week about a venture capital meeting that took place in Delhi in which an investor bluntly told a woman that he will not invest in a company founded by a lady who would take six months off for maternity. So basically we are looking at asking bungee jumpers to help a blind woman cross the road. I mean, to draw an analogy between, you know, this is about greed and scale and value and as, you know, it could be a very white male thing, but this is about capitalism. So zebra is a great idea. First of all, it creates a wonderful zebra versus unicorn debate to raise awareness on this issue. But I have a feeling that the answers do not lie in conventional venture capital, but probably in three other things that are already there. One is boutique investments. The other is impact investment, which is an offshoot of venture capital that looks at social goals rather than economic scaling. And the third would be philanthropy. You know, there's a lot of money going on in philanthropy and some of those funds could be put into helping minorities and women and entrepreneurs of a different kind so that they can co-exist. You know, one of the Silicon Valley's favorite word is ecosystem. Maybe there isn't category for an ecosystem, but having said that, let me joke that in this whole zebra thing, everything is not in black and white, there are grey areas, and the zebras will have to earn their stripes.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Okay, pile them in, pile them in. That's very interesting. I like the point about social entrepreneurship. That's something we can do in more detail, I think, on this program in the future. That's a great point. to make a marker. Andy, we heard there from the women talking to Reagan in Silicon Valley itself and that thing going on in Portland, that this is something they're focused on their area. Can it translate across America?
[SPEAKER_40]: I don't know because it still feels like, I mean, you talk to, we have a technology reporter, a tech reporter, Molly Wood, who talks about, she spends a lot, I mean, she lives in San Francisco and spends a lot of time in Silicon Valley and talks about sort of the ecosystem, like we were talking about, being basically a lot like the priesthood, a lot, very male and a lot of white males. And so when you get into these meetings, so many female entrepreneurs are getting into these meetings. They're not being listened to or they're just being told no.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: Is that Silicon Valley or is that the VC sector?
[SPEAKER_40]: It feels like it is sort of the VC sector and it feels like so much of that money is with a certain set of people who invest in other people that look like them. I mean, you know, it's sort of the idea of shuffling that money around. It doesn't feel like Silicon Valley is much different from other places in the United States where there's a ton of money and there's a ton of really powerful people that are shuffling that money around.
[mgC3PACaQmc_SPEAKER_50]: OK, we talked earlier in the program, guys, about Bitcoin, and we're going to talk in more detail now, because Asia has been at the forefront of the cryptocurrency craze. Investors in Japan, China, South Korea driving up the price of Bitcoin, Ethereum and the others compared to traditional investments, let alone good old cash. Cryptocurrencies are still pretty niche. But the hype seems to have a lot more Asians interested in this market. Now, we've been trying to make connection with our Asia business correspondent, Karishma Vaswani, joining us, we hope, this morning from Singapore.
|
total time: 7.12 minutes total words: 972  |
total time: 8.95 minutes total words: 1618  |
total time: 3.49 minutes total words: 488  |
total time: 0.6 minutes total words: 122  |
|
total time: 4.23 minutes total words: 695  |
total time: 2.37 minutes total words: 496  |
total time: 1.51 minutes total words: 330  |
|