Cleaning out the closet

Here's a bunch of stuff that's been swirling around my mind for the last month or two.

That's not blood in the water.

It appears that poop pumper Peter's Rockmore floating cesspool may be returning. First came this blog post, which I shared on Facebook. Now, this article confirms the earlier blog post.

Noyes doesn't sound reformed. He's now downplaying the earlier incident, which cost him a cool 300k (not including the lawyers). His statement, from the article:

"The restaurant was never charged with anything," said owner Peter Noyes, further explaining that the charges were brought solely against the Hannah Glover.

Looking back at the original press release from the US Attorney, it included the following:  "During some summers, the company allowed the sewage holding tank aboard the Rockmore intermittently to overflow, such that raw, untreated sewage spilled into Salem Harbor." Officials from both Salem and Marblehead  appeared to back this claim up. So while his statement above may be technically accurate, it's at least somewhat deceptive, and ignores the DA's claim. He was accused of allowing the Rockmore to leak poop into the harbor, but those charges weren't brought because he agreed to the plea deal. Convenient.

A lack of transparency, and care for the environment, isn't new for Noyes, as you can read here.

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Things we can learn from Lawrence ... yes, Lawrence.

As part of the Lawrence school turnaround plan, six Lawrence school principals have been informed that they will not be asked back for next school year. Additionally, a large number of tenured teachers are being forced out. The state is running Lawrence's turnaround, and having that outside voice is probably helpful. The state doesn't care about stepping on toes, and isn't mired in the local politics of payback. They are aggressively weeding out those that don't contribute enough. This includes telling the local teacher's union what's going to happen. It was my understanding that one of the "benefits" of having a level four school, was greater autonomy for the district to make unilateral decisions that normally need to be collectively bargained. We don't seem to have the stomach for that here, if today's Salem News article is to be believed.

I hate rewarding failure. It just seems unfair. That's not to say that I think teachers deserve all of the blame. There's plenty of that to go around, and I'm sure many parents need to accept a share. I know administrators and the school committee need to accept their slice. (Don't hold your breath.) But we're talking about this because our schools have failed. We paid our teachers to do the job. They haven't, whatever obstacles they face. Now they want to be rewarded for failing grades? Have you no shame, Joyce Harrington? Have you no balls (figuratively, of course), Kim Driscoll?

Another thing that the state is doing really well in Lawrence is involving the leadership of successful charter schools. Here in Salem, some in local leadership choose to demonize them, rather than learn from them. The Lawrence plan goes the other way, actually asking the leaderships of several successful charter schools to take over running several of the Lawrence public schools. Over Brendan Walsh's dead body will we see our own very successful charter school taking over a Salem school. Click that link and see how much more successful Salem Academy Charter School has been with similar students.

I laughed at Willy Scamtigua when he asked the state to takeover the Lawrence schools. What a failure to lead! Maybe it's not such a bad idea. We don't seem willing to discuss whether or not principals need to be removed. At least not out loud. Several people have whispered to me that the middle school's failings start at the head. Nobody wants to say it out loud, but the words "dinosaur" and "backward-thinking" have been used in private. I've asked around, and can't find any parents looking to sing the praises of our middle school principal. But again, we don't seem to have the stomach to address the real lack of leadership that appears (according to the DESE) to be pervasive around here. I haven't had any personal experience with Ms. Manning. I see her actively involved and attending and participating in school committee meetings, but can a really diverse population with seemingly one opinion be wrong? I'll add that I did witness an exchange between Manning and several of her teachers after one school committee meeting, and it appeared that there was real affection there, both ways. That may not help kids learn.

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Terrible timing, Dr. Walsh

Speaking of Dr. Walsh, he must have the worst timing on Earth. Two weeks ago, he wrote a letter to the editor chastising Salem CyberSpace director Linda Saris for not giving the school committee credit for everything going on in the Salem schools. The following day came word that the Attorney General reached a settlement with the city regarding malfeasance in the schools around bidding and purchasing.

Somehow, I'm guessing that if the state had taken over our schools, like Lawrence, that Paul L'Hereux would be looking for a new job today. Wasting tens or hundreds of thousands of our dollars must just be all in a days work here.

Saris, by the way, is actively getting her hands dirty truly helping the toughest cases in our district. Dr. Walsh might want to try that. (Yeah, I know, he did his time. Save the belly-aching.)

Strangely, Dr. Walsh, who as a school committee member, claims responsibility for all that goes on in the Salem schools, has not stepped forward to accept responsibility for allowing these misdeeds. The article about this includes a great picture or Walsh, smiling with the whistleblower, who detailed the allegations in his resignation, which Walsh moved to accept when it came before the school committee. Oops.

The Snooze article back when Mr. Sheehan resigned failed to delve into the contents of the resignation letter, and included quotes from Cameron about Mr. Sheehan leaving due to timing on his pension, and Walsh lauding him for being a pleasure to be around. He was similarly congratulatory of Cameron when he left. Is he really this clueless?

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Election Shenanigans


State senate election season is in full swing, and with it comes plenty of insanity. Read any Patch articles recently? If so, you've probably read plenty of comments from commenters who all seem to have a very similar message. The phrases "evil Kim Driscoll," "phoney baloney Joanie Lovely" and yelling and screaming about "the gay agenda" appear over and over, as if they were written by one person... The names used don't have any other local web presence at all, not even white pages listings. They claim to support Ed Carroll (who supports gay marriage) for state senate, at least on Salem Patch. I recall one of them, while writing on Peabody Patch, proclaiming support for a different candidate. The person behind the people claims to have plenty of inside election knowledge, and even wrote the following:

Janet Marino-Johnson
2:15 pm on Sunday, August 19, 2012
LOVELY CAMPAIGN IN BIG TROUBLE! She is going to be hit next week with multiple Ethics & Campaign violation for ILLEGALY mailing absentee ballots to people this week and demanding they vote for her because " I expect a low turnout and really need your help!" That is not how absentee ballots are to be distributed-- a clear violation of state and federal law! Plus just read on Peabody Patch a group of Lovely volunteers are jumping ship and supporting Edward Carroll because of way too much interferance from the arrogant Kim Driscoll her aide Jason Silva--accusing them of Nazi like tactics on her own volunteers! Vote Edward Carroll State Senate like me!

Patch removed it, probably due to its patent insanity/libel, but you can see the cached version here.

Someone with one of these campaigns has way too much time on their hands. Somebody should let them know that we don't go to the Interwebs to have our minds changed. We go there to spout when they're already made up. The fellowship of the miserable is a terrible predictor of elections. Look at Tom Furey for proof.

The central question for Joan Lovely in this election is, "How do I get people in Salem to go vote in the primary?" I've asked around, and haven't really heard a compelling answer yet. If she can't come up with one, it will be a sad day for team Lovely on September 6. The tactic alleged above may be her best shot. And yes, the primary this year is on September 6, a Thursday, during a holiday (and for some, back to school) week. That should help turnout.

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Tom Watkins leaving, Paul Prevey repeat?

City Purchasing Agent Tom Watkins is leaving for a job in Andover. I'll be interested to see if Paul Prevey pulls another sit in on the next appointment. Watkins stayed "acting" for quite a while because Prevey refused to allow a confirmation vote, in an apparent power struggle with the mayor. He demanded copies of the resumes of all who applied, and refused to go to the city HR office to review them. It was an odd move from the normally pretty level-headed councilor, who never really explained his position to satisfaction. I'll be interested to see if there is a repeat with the next purchasing appointment. If not, it will make me wonder about the first instance even more.

Andover must think Watkins is qualified. They've made him their Director of Purchasing. Of course, that news came out the day before news of the Salem schools purchasing/bidding fiasco. Related? Good question. I'll admit I know very little about how much carryover there is in purchasing between the city and the schools. They sound unrelated, but the timing was curious, and Sheehan specifically mentioned the fact that there was a new city purchasing agent (Watkins) in place when he came to town, and that the purchasing agent had to sign off on all requisitions as well. Maybe Watkins got out while he could.

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SESD oversight

Sleep well at night, everyone. City engineer Dave Knowlton is Salem's lone representative/oversight on the the South Essex Sewerage District. We only send them almost 7 million dollars of tax money a year. For a little more info on that board, check this out, the only blog post that I've been threatened with litigation over (yet). I think Dave Knowlton spends most of his life dealing with complaints about all manners of city life and construction around. I'm sure he's not finding too much time to dig into the spending at SESD.

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Blaney Pier

It's interesting to see that construction has finally started on the Blaney Pier extension. I say finally, because it was originally slated to start back in early November, and be completed by now. I'm still not sure that it was wise to go forward with this phase while the neighboring power plant site is up in the air. They have a ready made dock for the type of large ship we're looking to attract.

Make your voice on Peter Noyes heard

Frank L. McElroy posted the following on the Marblehead Patch article DEP Investigating Noyes for Environmental Violations

"ConsCom Meeting, Thursday, June 9, 7:00 p.m., Abbot Hall Auditorium. If you care about what's happening on Gerry Island; if you care about what happens in Marblehead waters; if you care about sustaining the northeast lobster fishery; if you care about not ceding our marine environment to pollution; if you care about Town government acting to enforce the laws almost all of us live by, then you must attend the hearing on the three applications for work on and around Gerry Island."

Not sure if this is open to out of towners, but if you're in Marblehead, please go stand up for the non-polluters and truthful people out there.

When will Peter Noyes learn?!

Seeming eco-terrorist Peter Noyes seems to be at it again. Click on the Peter Noyes label on the bottom of this post to see his other shenanigans involving things like dumping raw sewage in Salem Harbor.

This time, Noyes has been caught in the act of driving a commercial truck with crane through the Atlantic Ocean next to endangered lobster breeding grounds. There is a natural causeway to Gerry's island that is walkable/driveable at low tide, but he drove the large truck through the water, as you can see in the video on this Marblehead Patch story. I guess low tide wasn't convenient for this pillar of conservation, who just wants to do right by the island.

Once on the island, he decided to also import some goats, who he has set to destroying the shrubbery on the island, and remove the poison ivy. If they poop in the water? Par for the Noyes course. If they wander off? Hey, that's OK too. Someone else will clean up the mess.

According to the Patch piece, when Conservation Commission officials investigated, they also found oil leakage from the truck (though none would have leaked in the water, right?), dumping, and earth movement, all of which would be illegal in this wetlands protected area, never mind the fact that he hasn't been granted any permits for any of this. Noyes was issued a cease and desist order, which as is his pattern, he allegedly ignored as well.

From the Patch article regarding a site visit by the Con-comm and the Department of Environmental Protection:

They observed “oil leakage from the truck on the coastal bank, rocks repositioned on the coastal bank to accommodate the entry of the truck up a steep incline, removal of vegetation to allow passage of the truck, erection of tents, parking of the truck, grazing of goats, dumping of rotting floats,” the memo said.

The Marblehead Reporter has weighed in on this as well. Included in their piece was a not-surprising tidbit that was missing from the Patch story. Apparently the intended use for the island has changed, or more likely, more fully come to light. Noyes now says that he has rented the island, and that his intention is to turn it into a seasonal campground/park. The catch? The only way to access said park/campground/picnic area would be by paying him for a boatride, at $12-$15 to get there. Let me remind you that a round trip ferry ticket from Salem to Boston is $19 (if it ever starts ...). Also, let me remind you that Noyes initial application had nothing to do with ferrying people on and off of the island. How does he think they'll get off the boat and onto the island, and back? He hasn't asked for permission to build a dock. He hasn't even copped to this intended use to the island. Remember? He just wanted to shore up the seawall. Maybe he'd store some boats, but he's just a good Samaritan.

For this new violation of the Wetlands Protection Act, violating the conservation commission stop work order, and working without a permit, it's time for Noyes to finally pay. There's talk that he may be violating probation from prior transgressions, and the DEP may come down hard, so maybe he finally will. His chances of getting cons comm approval just got smaller.

Peter Noyes at it again?

It sounds like there is dishonesty afoot across the harbor in Marblehead, and of course, Rockmore (serial poop, sewage, oil/fuel dumper)owner Peter Noyes is in the middle of it. Shocking, I know.

Mr. Noyes' corporation's misdeeds can be reviewed here and here (poop/sewage dumping) or here for oil/fuel fouling. I wrote about him previously here, and went into several of those issues, as well as his age-based and ethnicity-based discrimination, and his failure to follow court orders. (Let me add that it warms the area where my heart should be that that particular post has been viewed by at least hundreds of people who have landed on it because they've searched Google for Mr. Noyes by name. It still happens daily at least.)

So you get what I mean, when I say that it's shocking that he's at the center of of dishonesty. There's a bit of a history.

Mr. Noyes is proposing to rebuild a seawall on an island that he doesn't own, supposedly out of the goodness of his heart. At least, that was the original story that he told back in early April. That, and maybe he'll randomly store a couple of boats out there, but nothing to see here, just going to restore a little sea wall. Note the last two paragraphs in that article.

The Conservation Commission, hearing of this "public service" being offered by Peter Noyes, decided to take a trip out to the island for a site visit. "Shockingly," they found that the scope of the work being contemplated on the island was much more than they were led to believe. Peter Noyes, not being entirely truthful? I know that I'm shocked by this. Apparently the intention is to clearcut the island, build new seawalls, and build a permanent driveway up onto the island. Sounds expensive. I'm sure it's worth it to store the twelve boats that Noyes claims may end up there. Worth it. Right?

When the owner of a company that allegedly illegally flouted environmental regulations for over a decade by pumping human waste into our coastal waters comes before a Conservation Commission asking for permission to do something, but I promise I'll do it in the most low impact way possible, should you take his word for it? Hell no! Peter Noyes was quoted here as saying “Will common sense ever prevail in any of this?” Let's hope so! The Conservation Commission in Marblehead needs to consider his history, and his willfull ignoring of the court's order in his discrimination case, and say "no, we don't trust you. Sorry." Is that prejudicial? Sure. Earned? You bet!

Why is this on a Salem blog? We share a coastline with Marblehead, and what happens on that coastline affects our coastline. Or haven't you heard all of the Marblehead/Lori Ehrlich caterwauling about our power plant?

Rockmore Update

Apparently, during the winter hurricane back in February, the Rockmore floating restaurant broke apart and parts of the float were blown ashore in Salem?

Ain't karma a bitch!! LOL!

Rockmore Company and owner Peter Noyes

The early leader in the clubhouse for klassiest, assiest, dickhead of the year is Peter Noyes and the Rockmore Company. This super klassy individual decided that it would be a much better idea to fill Salem Harbor with HUMAN SHIT than to dispose of it properly by having it pumped out of his floating restaurant, The Rockmore, and his ferry boat, the Hannah Glover. Instead, he decided to pump the sewage from those vessels directly into the ocean, for 16 years, in violation of maritime law. Even klassier, Mr. Noyes, who lives in one of the most expensive houses on the North Shore, out at the end of Marblehead Neck, decided to intimidate the Salem News into removing the article that they wrote about an impending plea agreement, and admission of guilt. I emailed the publisher and editors the following:

To whom it may (or may not) concern:

I'm very disappointed in the Salem News today. The Rockmore Company admitting that they've polluted by dumping raw, untreated, human waste into Massachusetts coastal waters, and being accused of doing so right in Salem Harbor, is major news.

I can't believe that the story about these accusations and admission was removed from the Salem News website today. When a prominent Marbleheader is accused of wrongdoing, that is at least as newsworthy as when a miscreant like The Wind is accused of a crime, even if the Marbleheader has better lawyers. It's probably more so.

I'm very sad to learn that the Salem News is lacking in journalistic ethics and caves to threats.

What happened to "the public has a right to know?" You'd think it would apply when a company is pumping raw poop into the water within sight of my house.



The Salem News is run by pussies, and they are afraid of him, but I'm not.
Not surprisingly, the cowards didn't respond. Glad I no longer give them any money.

Well, this blog will not be intimidated. You can see the original text of the Salem News article here.

So, let's take a closer look at Peter Noyes and Rockmore. The Rockmore restaurant, which never opened this summer (hmmm ... maybe busy with lawyers) is accessed by boat only, and offers a free shuttle boat from Salem, opposite Finz.

The sign should read "No charge for the poop either!"

Rockmore/Noyes also owns the Hannah Glover, which can be booked for weddings, and is also used to transport children out to the YMCA's day camp at Children's Island. As a Y member I was disturbed to hear this, and had the following e-mail exchange with the YMCA:

Dear Mr. Mayer,

As a member of the YMCA of the North Shore I urge you to stop using the Hannah Glover for transporting children to camp. You have an excellent teaching opportunity here for the children who attend the camp. Please show them that our community doesn't support those, such as Peter Noyes and the Rockmore Company, who pollute the environment and disrespect the community.

Sincerely,
Me

I received the following response from the COO of the North Shore YMCA:

Thanks for your input. As you could imagine,we were shocked and frankly disgusted by the actions of the owner of the Hannah Glover. We were equally upset with the fact that after 30 years of a business relationship, Mr. Noyes did not tell us about this on-going investigation.

Currently we are in year 4 of a 5 year contract with The Rockmore Company and are investigating all of our options going forward. At this point we are not sure what we legally can do. But rest assured, a lesson will be taught and learned here.

Chris Lovasco

COO

YMCA of the North Shore

So, at least the YMCA is keeping it classy, instead of klassy.

The Hannah Glover, where you could hold your wedding, just watch out for crap flooding the deck.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Peter Noyes. Anyone can make a mistake though, right? Well, this wasn't one mistake, and it wasn't Noyes' first run in with the law. Ask people in the boating community and they'll tell you that this has been ongoing, well-known behavior, that has lasted for years.

Apparently Peter Noyes truly does believe that he's above the law. Previously, he was found guilty of both age and anti-Russian discrimination in 2007, against a former accountant he employed. The details of the case are so blatant they almost can't be believed. For the details, click here and select Vladimir Glezer vs. Rockmore Company & Peter Noyes.

Below are 5 quotes from the hearing decision awarding Mr. Glezer with over $100,000 in damages payable by Noyes.


"Noyes had a discussion with him about replacing him as Rockmore’s bookkeeper. According to Complainant, in that discussion, Noyes referred to Complainant’s age, telling Complainant that his CPA had advised him that there were “a lot of young people around” who could replace Complainant."

"Noyes began the conversation by telling Complainant that Noyes’ wife had fears about Noyes meeting Complainant because Complainant is Russian and Russians could be violent. This insult made Complainant angry and upset and he told Noyce that it was a stupid comment. He stated that it was not the only time there had been a reference to Russians being violent or in gangs during the course of his employment."

"Noyes told Complainant that he was through hiring older people and that Noyes’ wife was physically afraid of Complainant. They discussed money again and Noyes asked Complainant to sign a release promising not to sue Noyes."

"Noyes’ lawyer, who according to Complainant, has since been disbarred from the practice of law, phoned Complainant and told Complainant their conversation was being taped and if he made a move, Noyes would “hit him with all his might.” He also told Complainant that Noyes was the boss and could do whatever he wanted. In that conversation he referred to Complainant as a “fucking Russian.”"


So you tell me. Either Noyes has no regard whatsoever for the law, or he's just plain stupid. Which is it?

So what should happen to Noyes? He paid a slap on the wrist, which based on the fact that his oceanfront home is assessed at 4.2 million dollars, won't really hurt him. I imagine that the property must be his pride and joy.

Peter Noyes home, 421 Ocean Ave, Marblehead, MA 01945

(Editor's note: This post has been sitting, unfinished, unpublished for a while, but Noyes is back in the news, reminding me to finish it, because apparently he never paid the fine. Again, he thinks he's above the law.)

Noyes feels perfectly justified in spreading his shit all around the North Shore, maybe people should return the favor. Have a dog? I know a great new place to walk it. I'm sure Peter Noyes won't have any problem with you not picking up after him if Sparky leaves his deposit on Noyes lawn. Happen to be on the Neck, and really have to poop? I know which household wouldn't have any justification complaining if you decided to drop trou and leave a deposit on the lawn. He made the harbor a public port-o-potty, why shouldn't his lawn be the same?

rockmore.com is registered to Noyes at that address as well. If you look at the domain name ownership, Noyes address, email and phone are all listed. Why don't you call him up and let him know how you feel about his disgusting acts against us all? I must stress that I'm not suggesting that you harass him, or send him anything illegal. Do NOT poop in a box and mail it to him, that's probably against the law, and I can't, in good conscience, suggest that you do such a thing. His e-mail address is listed as well. Let him know what you think. Sign him up to receive porn email from here to eternity, but only if you determine that it's legal. I make no warranty, because I don't know.

phone number is present. You may want to call him up and let him know what you think. Make sure you don't harass him though. That might be illegal. His e-mail address is listed as well. Let him know what you think. Sign him up to receive porn email from hear to eternity, but only if you determine that it's legal. I make no warranty, because I don't know.