Icy Sidewalks Getting You…Fined? Part 1

It's Nightside with Dan raybs Costin's video.

The byther Way. For those of you who are not watching the the Four Nations Final, I'll give you an updated score is one one at the end of the first period. So if you're watching the game, just keep the audio down. You can sit, you can stay with us here on Nightside. I want to talk this hour and I will look. I am looking for people to chime in here. I want to focus on the city

Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World Nights Side Studios on WBS News Radio.

All right, let's let's get at it. Gonna go to Justin and Marlborough. Justin, Welcome, sir, how are you tonight? Welcome Justin?

Thank you for taking my call. You're forgetting a very, You're forgetting a very with the point for yourself.

Go hell of.

They'll copy some of them'll copy this from your from your from where you live. Some of them will copy this from Newton Newton rule.

I don't know that that Newton is is enforcing it as as actively. Now. I know that there are you know, there are lots of people who want to walk on the sidewalks. But I also think that people should use their head and and occasionally say to themselves, Okay, maybe it's not you know, it's not advisable for me to walk on the sidewalk.

Now, in Newton they actually had the traffic police, the white cas They go around and give out they give out warnings. I work as a mailman in Newton, so I walk on the side walks every day. So I think it's wonderful. Just my own self is benefit.

But the pot guess what I understand that. But but the key word is selfish. You you at least acknowledge that that it that it's a good you know that it is. You know it's good for you. I get it, I really do. I I respect that. But men, I just don't understand why anyone would we're try to go out and shovel. It's it just it's tough, you know.

I mean it's yeah, because I tell the people don't stumble. I said, I recommend that they buy a big bag of rock salt.

That's good. But if again, if you're if you're eighty five years old, you maybe you don't have the ability to get to the store and buy rock salt.

Right, and you just hope you just hope for the compassion of the neighbors. Don't anythink I want to bring up is that's say, you're right, the city owns the sidewalks. But if the city, if the city decides to fix it themselves, that's gonna cost a lot of money to get those individual like they have those small little plows. Yeah, side block that that'll cost more money than it does to buy rock thought. I'm just saying it's going to be more expensive to have the city. That's the idea, you know.

I think all the points you make, Justine are great. At the same time, I would bet if we went through the City of Somerville budget, if we put Elon Musk into Somerville City Hall, he could find some waste and fraud in Somerville City Hall saves some money. I just feel badly for some person who's on a fixed income, you know, particularly older person living on maybe Social Security benefits, and all of a sudden they get hit with a couple of one hundred dollars fines because they d shovel.

I agree with you and Noney have. The thing I want to bring up is the other people that suffer a lot are the people that live on the corner. The house is on the corner, but then they get two sidewalks, and those are the ones that you know.

Well. My producer Rob was just saying that that he lives he doesn't live in Somerville, thank goodness, but he deals with that as well. Justin. Always great to hear your voice. Thank you so much and thanks for doing what you do and getting the mail out. Do you get it. Do you drive a truck or do you do you have to walk a path.

I walk, and the last thing I want to say about walking, yea, me is that people are very scared when they drive, even though there's no car coming on the other side. They won't go over the yellow line.

Oh absolutely, yeah, it's crazy. Yeah, they were rather the side swipe a vehicle that's parked there, or maybe if you'll pulled over to deliver some mail. Thanks Justin, We'll talk soon. Okay, thank you, buddy, talk to you soon. Let me go next to Jennifer and Brockton. Hey, John for welcome. You're next on nightside.

Hi Dan, how are you?

I'm fine, Jennifer. I think I'm absolutely right on this. What do you think?

Uh?

Well, okay, you have some good points. I get you about it being an arbitrary and you know you NEBA could call in on you and that's not yea.

It's like they're trying to have your neighbor racked you out. Jennifer Horeston has shoveled her sidewalk right.

And I can that. I can see how that can be a real problem. But you know, I know that Somersville has some protections in place. I don't. I don't live in Somerville. I have some friends in Somerville, but they have an appeal process, so if you feel that it's been unfairly reported or whatever, like, there is a way to to try to navigate that. So I found that, Like when I heard it on the news the other day, I was like, hmm, this is not cool. But at the same time, like, okay, well, you know there is

Let me ask you this, Jennifer. Hey, Jennifer, have you ever have you ever tried to take an appeal on anything in city hall? You live in Brockton, Okay, I don't know. You know, you're sitting in front of some clerk. You got to take a day off from work, or you got to take a half a day off from work to go into the clerk's office and sit in front of some clerk. And most of the clerks they could kill less, they though.

I mean, you can do a lot of things by mail, now, you know. And there's also, like you know, there are other avenues. It's not always in person. So like, I don't want to jump to the conclusion that that's the only way that you can resolve that is in person.

Dealing with with city with city clerks is whatever.

Oh no, I hear you, I hear you. But you know, years ago when we had the snow apocalypse and then whatever, we were in the middle.

Ten years ago this month, we were in the middle of snow apocalypse.

Absolutely yep, and what a nightmare. And when I was I have two young girls. They're a little older now, but they're school age, so they're both in school and it was a nightmare. Kids in Broxton were walking in line, single style in the street with tons of traffic. So you know, Broxton was issuing tickets at that time, and you know, were they paid or was anything ever resolved?

Yep, from the from the snow, the storm or something, you mean.

Really ice on February six. Yeah, it wasn't this storm. It was the previous one and.

He was.

He on his own property or where was he?

He was on his own property and yeah, they live in Homebrook. They have a dog and he, you know, was in the yard and he was there was snow on top of the ice and he was trying to clear it for the dog and didn't know. Yeah, yeah, but you know, I just I mean, that was his own property. He was taking care of it. He also takes care of the whole neighborhood.

For I told your dad, Jennifer, Jennifer, how old your dad.

Seventy two.

Concerned?

Yeah?

Is he is?

He?

Is it all in the cast at this point and he's in traction or something.

You know, he's still in the hospital. He had surgery on Wednesday and he's coming home tomorrow.

Did he break his shin bone.

Fibula like by the ankle, his fibula, so the you know, the two bones that connected me to the ankle, the outer one which is thinner. Yeah it was not, Yeah, it was.

He's okay.

It could have been worse, you know, tell him.

Where people out there will say a prayer for him tonight and hopefully he'll have a question.

Thank you, Thank you, Hey.

K Thanks so much up on my news break. So I got to let you run, but please say how to your dad for us, and and you know, it could happen to any of us, Okay. And he's out there.

Trying to absolutely help help.

His his puppy, his dog. And we've all.

Been in you know, we have an eighty two year old neighbor across the street and he come over to help my mom, and you know, me and my daughters were over there too, and the other neighbors and you know, your help one person, they helped you back. And that's what it's all about, you.

Know, absolutely, that's what neighbors are for. That's why you have to get to know your neighbors. Thanks Jen, I appreciate your call so much. Be well, Okay, thanks.

You too, goodbye talk So thanks, good night.

Okay, we've got the news coming up. I also have a two lines at six point seven ninety and one at six one seven, two, five, four ten thirty, So light it up. I want to hear from some folks in Somerville. I think, don't be afraid. You can use a different name if you want, so you're not going to be ratted out by the thought police in Somerville or the snow police. Let me put it like that. Back on Nightside right after.

This, It's Nightside with Dan Boston's news radio.

Let's keep rolling. You're going to go to Bill in Boston. Hey, Bill, appreciate your calling in. Thanks for your patience. You're next on Nightside.

Hi Dan, My mom and grandma grew up between Davis Square and Deal Square in Somerville.

Yeah, and uh so, I'm very familiar with the area.

I want to throw this out on the constitutional level. Sidewalks for a property that was usually belonged to the homeowner that the city took years ago because they want to people to be able to walk without getting hit by cars on the street. But it was an eminent domain process where they would seize the property of the homeowners and the homeowners would lose a portion of their property because the city said we're taking it, We're putting on sidewalks.

But nowhere did any city ever.

Tell people, oh, when you're seventy five years old and eighty years old, you have to keep.

The sidewalks open for us. We're taking your property.

Yep. The constitutional points, great points, great points, And I mean for me, I'm going on really the practical point of view that if you're an older person, look, you know if and by the way, I don't care if you're twenty five years old and have the strength in your in your hands of a mason, and you're you know, six foot three and you're sculpted, try try getting rid of that snow once it's turned to ice. It's time. It's tough.

My grandmother was a widow in her eighties and I used to come buy a house and she's out there trying to clean things, and it's crazy. You know, this is where cities go overboard, because it's a matter of you hit the you hit the nail on the head. It's about raising revenue.

They want to lose some money.

Yeah, all it is, that's all it is. It means, you know, one more public servant. They'll use the word public. We'll be able to hire another public servant who's probably the brother in law of some city councilor or someone like that. If you know what, someone cant who needs

Can I?

Can I divert? Can I divert? For one second? There's a neighborhood in Boston. Yeah, there's a neighborhood in.

Brighton, Boston, close to Boston College and it's an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood where they have no parking four hours before and after BC games and this neighborhood they're all Orthodox Jewish people. And uh, nobody watched a mile and a half from this neighborhood a pass from the from Chestnut Hill AB to the ballgame. But the City of Boston sweepstown ticket and tagging.

And I was down visiting a friend.

Dan and I'm not Jewish, but my friend is Jewish, and somebody was tagging the next door neighbor to this.

Woman who is.

A rabbi in training, and he came out politely to ask, and I pulled my cell phone out and I I put it in his face and I said, I'm gonna WBZ and take your picture if you if you tag this car, and he got in his car and he ran off.

So you saved the rabbi and training a ticket. Okay, good for you.

You know, it was all about money.

It had nothing to do with it. And nobody goes to the VC games.

From Chestnut Hill to have your you know, down down the BC and it's.

All exactly you know, I know exactly where it is. That's a long walk. That is a long walk. That's what it is. It's a revenue stream, simple as that. Hey, Bill, appreciate the call very much. We'll talk soon, okay, Hey.

Hey, you take care, Okay, thanks, good night.

All right, one line there at six one, seven, two five four to ten thirty, and I got a couple at six one seven, nine three one ten thirty. For some reason, a lot of people don't remember these six month, seven nine three one ten thirty. We're talking about snow shoveling in Summerville and at the risk if you don't do it. And by the way, it's just not snow, it's ice. That is virtually impossible to move right now.

Now bent to Dan ray Line from the Window World night Side Studios on w b Z the news.

Radio, keep rolling to fill in Boston, Phil. I think I know you well enough to know you're gonna be upset about this, Phil.

No, I'm just I'm just hoping the bike lanes.

Were right exactly. Yeah, let's find the people.

When you call me, I mean you when you were talking about how you were able to channel the water so it goes downhill. That's what happened to me. I was channeling the water, so we'll come down into the into the gutter and go down the street. It worked out good wall to figure it out, but in the process I try to keep that damn kind of strong so it wouldn't break down. And when I drove out the cay, I tore up the plastic pieces. So I

Look, I'm told that because it was a light snow the last few winters that the rock salt manufacturers had kind of cut back on how much rock salt manufactured. So yeah, that's still well.

Filers given tickets right wonderable back of the Blizzard of seventy eight and give everybody to was stuck on the expressway tickets park in the expressway.

I mean you today today they would do that. I think that the sty there, I.

Mean, it's ridiculous.

Well, they look at they look at all of us as nothing other than at MS.

Pry a ticket, you get another hundred dollars ticket. You can't make this. This unbelievable.

But here's the thing. Look, you go to the store. They want to charge you now for paper bags, they want to charge you for plastic bags, everything, everything, And now you say, well, it's a nickel or a dime.

They got like maybe twenty spots the park on the street to go to the local guy there, and then they got an eight story apartment and going up over garage. That should be a lot of fun. I mean is I don't want to get But the reason I calls when you mentioned about you want, you're not your way to shovel. So what kind of the water will kind of blend in with We're.

Trying to push the water because then the water would would melt some of the snow. But it was so cold, I mean it was over by four o'clock in the afternoon. The water was saying, we're freezing up here. No, but if you've heard the Phraseville. You're gonna nickel and dime someone. That's what they do to you. They nickel and dime you what it's a one hundred dollars ticket for the poor people in Summerville, or it's five or ten cents for a bag at the store. I mean, give me

But we're gonna fight them. We try to fight these people. We kill. We kill the fourth of strangers coming in town. Fourth of they my neighborhood.

Just remember this, Phil, We're lucky. They only they only tax two things, anything that moves and anything that doesn't move.

They have speedbuts on the Allen deal Rose. I guess it's nice of the fuck realized school, Savaria. They took them down a few days because they people come playing. They gottall if you.

If you're an ambulance trying to get someone to the hospital, you don't need a lot of speed. Phil, I got a round, I got people are backed up here, I got full lives audios. Thank you, my friend. Let me go next to Rosslyn and Maldon. Hi, Roslyn, How are you?

I'm fine? Thank you?

How are you?

I'm doing great. What do you think? I'm glad you live in Maldon and not in Somerville. Please don't tell me Maldon's doing the same thing.

As far as I know, Yes, I think we are closed to shovel are sidewalks. But I don't think it is six hours. I think it's I'm not sure. I think it's either twelve or twenty four.

But have you shoveled your sidewalked in this week?

I wist certainly have. And one has to do it before it freezes and becomes ice. And I also live without I also live without a car, and I'm a senior citizen, and so I think we need to see this from the point of view of pedestrians. You know, I walk to work, I have to walk to the tee, I have to walk to groceries. I think homeowners do their own snow shoubling, raking, mowing.

So your side, your spl just so I know, grossling, your sidework is shoveled.

Good for you, Yes it is?

Yeah? How big? How long is your sidewalk? It's a long sidewalk or.

Notably long. No, it's in front of a two family house.

Okay, Now, do you do it yourself or do you find some local kid to and pay him a few bucks?

I do it myself. Once in a while a neighbor will have done it with a snowblower before I get out there, but I would. I'm always sure that it gets done. So well, I'm happy.

Look, I'm happy for you. I just think that this storm's this series of storms, particularly you know, the rain and then it froze solid, and then it snowed, and then you had ice. I mean, hats off to you, Rosslyn. I can't argue with you. You must have been out there right away. Hats off to you. I think it's been a tough, tough set of storms to deal with in the last few weeks. It's not your traditional yah snowstorm. Yeah. So did you use rock salt and everything? Were you

Out the stores had run out?

Good for you, Rosslyn, Hats off to you. Okay. I can't argue with you on this one, and I know you didn't get fined, so that's good. Okay. Thank you, thanks, good night. You should get you should get Citizen of the Year in Maldon. Thank you. Let me go next to down in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Down next on nights. I go ahead, hello, well yeah, hey, don welcome. It's a strong start to the call. Hi, Don welcome. Can you hear me?

Thank you? Yayah, go right ahead, Portsworth, New ports with New Hampshire. We they all pile the sidewalks almost the same time as rogues are blowed, and most of the sidewalks are usually in pretty good shape. But I also wanted to mention that rock salt only melts down about thirty degrees. We put it on ice. You know. Lately, the it's been below thirty most every day, you know absolutely.

Let me ask you this when you talk about the little I know, the little plows, the mini plows you're talking about. I know that they have those like in downtown areas. Do you live in the downtown area of Portsmouth? Are you outside the city itself? And I'm not exactly sure how how big portsmouths is as a cityhood. Did they bring those plows out the neighborhoods?

Yeah, yeah, I'm about four about four miles from downtown and then they plow. I mean they pile all the sidewalks where I am out here.

But how did you ask us? How did they do that?

In pay?

Do you pay heavy duty real estate taxes up there or what? How did they do that? That's pretty good.

A lot of people complain a lot of people complain the matter. Real estate taxes are higher than mass Us.

I think.

I think they are more higher. I think they are higher here in port than they are preventy summer availables and more. I don't know.

Yeah, well, you know, if you pay a little extra and you save some money on that, that's that's a good thing. They always do things better in New Hampshire. New Hampshire is a great state to live in. It's a much No, I'm serious, you're you're blessed to be living in New Hampshire.

Yeah.

And a lot of people in Massachusetts are moving up there, you know that.

Yeah.

Portsmouth does a lot of things we have, you know, we have a higher higher real estate tax, but I think we get a lot for the money.

Good for you, Good for you? All right? Don Hey, thanks for joining us. Have I heard from you before us? It's your first time calling.

The first time.

We're gonna do a lot of clause. Thank you, thanks so much. Keep, thank you, listen, thank you very much.

If you want, I did. Okay, thank you.

No, No, that's okay. We go finish your thought, finish your thought.

No, I was gonna say, we always use the calcium chloride when a construction for anything below thirty degrees to melt the ice or keep the concrete from freezing and all the ready mix and all that. Okay, gotcha, And calcium chloride is much better, more money, but it works fifteen degrees lower, you know.

Good for you. Thanks John, appreciate the tip. Talk to you soon. Have a great night. We've got to take a break. I'm going to stick with this John and Hannover and Angelo New you guys stay. They will stick with this for a little while and then we will switch off. I got one other topic that I want to talk about. We're going to talk about the baggage bin battles on airplanes. Uh, we'll get to that, I promise. Where we're just kind of have a nice, fun, easy night.