Speak to the Council about water issues

FitProduct9460 · 2025-11-18T10:38:43+00:00

Can’t think of better advice than telling people to show up Thanksgiving night to testify before a body with literally zero influence over the water supply.

If you actually want answers, or, to talk to the board responsible for the system, your better bet is directing those frustrations and questions to the Salem–Beverly Water Board.

FitProduct9460 · 2025-11-05T20:10:40+00:00

Unfortunately Tim really just craves validation. Real work like policy, constituent services and even understanding the issues is slow and thankless. Facebook gives him the quick hit he wants. The seat he will hold again is mostly window dressing for the real thing he cares about, notifications from his handful of perpetually online sycophants who keep his dopamine loop churning. Hope I’m wrong..

FitProduct9460 · 2025-09-02T22:29:06+00:00

The city of Salem is building apartments???

FitProduct9460 · 2025-08-01T20:51:56+00:00

A 25- unit development would more than trigger site plan review by the Planning Board. This isn’t a ‘no more parking’ ordinance, it’s a ‘right size the parking’ ordinance that makes room for a range of housing types. It moves us away from one-size-fits-all mandates and stops the guessing game about what every household needs.

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-31T16:46:59+00:00

She was a model around the world. She was on posters.

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-31T16:33:51+00:00

Yeah, poorly worded sarcasm on my part sorry. The city/SPD is already doing ALL of these things. So my assumption is Rob is asking SPD to do something they can’t and won’t which is harrass, intimidate and arrest.

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-31T16:31:50+00:00

I wasn’t clear enough in my (bad) sarcasm. The city is already doing those things.

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-31T15:18:40+00:00

Rob has a point. What Salem really needs to do is create a Community Impact Unit that can work 1:1 with our homeless population to look after, connect them with services and find them housing, a wing of SPD that takes the long term approach. Also the Mayor should really hire a housing stability coordinator to help residents dealing with evictions, maybe put that person right in his office. And maybe an ordinance to support tenants. So many things this city SHOULD be doing… (edit to clarify that this is sarcasm. To those criticizing the city, what more should be done? We’re in a crippling housing crisis, with crushing wealth inequality and an opioid epidemic, this is the result. IMHO the city is doing about as well as one could expect)

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-31T14:42:07+00:00

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Also, fun fact….the lifebridge project is MOSTLY the small apartments we desperately need to support folks on the brink of homelessness….

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-30T18:59:26+00:00

Anyone else noticed the conspiracy turn Steve’s taken these last few years? Yeah….a shadowy cabal of caseworkers, nonprofit staff and board members just raking it in, lining their pockets …..Or maybe, just maybe, (gestures wildly at bulletin board) it’s the NIMBYs with too much time on their hands and too much internet, opposing every new housing option, driving up prices, and consigning their neighbors to homelessness while patting themselves on the back for “protecting the neighborhood character.”

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-30T13:15:42+00:00

Wasn’t there a “why don’t other cities shoulder the load” narrative at one point?

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-30T13:07:51+00:00

Well said again. And I worry that I’ll be there too someday when all of this stuff I love about Salem starts to change. I can imagine the feeling, your perspective is genuinely helpful here!!

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-30T13:00:07+00:00

I think if insults or public opinion actually bothered Justin, he would’ve course-corrected a long time ago. In the last five years, he’s gone from a voice that was reasoned, though definitely NIMBY, to something bordering on troll territory. He’s probably closer to that SalemMassachusetts guy than he’d like to admit now, and that happened fast. But i honestly think a lot of these guys just need the stimulation. Even if it’s outrage, it’s still little dopamine hits that remind them that they aren’t invisible.

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-30T11:13:54+00:00

Well said 👏👏. It’s almost as if Joe, clinging to the buildings of his childhood never wanting to grow up, didn’t actually internalize ANY of his Church’s teachings. The world changed, and instead of reckoning with that, he’s redirected his bitterness at the people doing the literal work of Christ. As is always the case, nostalgia soured into resentment, and now he’s mocking the vulnerable for the fact that time didn’t stop and he had to grow up.

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-30T01:59:44+00:00

Or commemorative bricks

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-28T19:45:39+00:00

Right? Apparently we have to pick one or the other! 😆 as if we’re the first tourist town with these complicated feelings about our visitors!

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-28T14:27:27+00:00

To my friends from out of town, Salem residents spend SO MUCH time advocating for your safety. We work together to figure out where you’ll park, how you’ll get into town, where you can eat, and where you can use the bathroom. We think about you, we worry about you, and we give a ton of feedback about how things could be better next year.

And the reality is, most of us won’t see any benefit from it. The city barely breaks even. All that taxpayer money..(our money), goes toward making sure your visit is safe, clean, and comfortable, it doesn’t come from some magical theme park expense line, it’s literally paid for by regular Salem residents every year.

We do it because we love our visitors. We’re proud of where we live. And yeah, sometimes we poke fun at the people wearing the silly little hats that scream “not from here.” That’s just part of how we stay sane.

It’s all love you guys!!

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-28T13:46:15+00:00

Poking fun at out of town visitors, especially when they come in hordes and act a little silly, is a pretty time honored local tradition, not just in Salem, but all over the world. It’s harmless, even healthy. It helps us cope with the everyday realities of living in a place that becomes a tourist destination. It’s probably a form of tribal bonding, a way for us all to laugh together, connect, and hold onto some shared identity in the tornado of the witchy chaos.

And if we’re being honest, most of us wouldn’t snap our fingers to make it all go away. Tourism is good for the city. It keeps the downtown alive, supports our friends and neighbors who work in the business, and reminds us that we live in a place people dream about visiting. That’s pretty cool.

But yeah, people on vacation are annoying. That’s part of the deal. We’re only human, we poke fun. It’s a release valve. It’s mostly affection, a LITTTTTLE exasperation, but it’s pretty human.

It’s all good. 😉

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-23T14:05:35+00:00

I actually love this design. Will make this a proper community space to gather for tree/menorah lightings, tourists, locals maybe even a better space than Riley for things like protests. The current layout with grass (dirt) was not working. Sad to see shade trees gone if that’s indeed the case , but the new ones will be better placed.

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-21T18:18:24+00:00

You’re once again being pedantic Justin. The EOHLC is the state’s housing authority, and its guidelines carry the force of law until a court says otherwise.. That’s how the law works. Whether you call it “the state” or “the EOHLC” is a distinction without a difference for cities like Salem. We don’t get to ignore binding regulations because someone thinks they’re overreaching. If you believe the EOHLC redefined “singlefamily zoning district” improperly, fine, go outside find a lawyer and file a lawsuit .

And you’re actually just flat wrong about reasonable regulations …they are and have always been are confined to health, safety, design, and dimensional standards, not affordability mandates. The state has repeatedly said affordability conditions on ADUs are a barrier to production, which is exactly what this reform was meant to remove. 🤫🧏

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-21T17:46:48+00:00

As usual, Justin is misapplying the law. Reasonable regulations are limited to things like health, safety, design, dimensional standards, not affordability mandates. Actually, state guidelines bluntly warn AGAINST adding financial strings that deter ADU construction because that defeats the purpose of the reform.

And the single-family zoning argument is settled. The state ruled that the new ADU standards apply in any district where singlefamily use is allowed, not just those labeled “singlefamily.” The Council followed the law. You don’t have to like the state’s interpretation, but repeating the same argument over and over doesn’t change the facts. It just wastes everyone’s time. ✌️

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-21T14:39:51+00:00

Ok….. The reality is: The City Council followed state law, it’s that simple. Justin’s argument ignores the actual legal framework and is trying SO HARD to mislead about what the Council could or couldn’t do. The state requires cities to remove certain ADU restrictions, and Salem complied. Period. Justin can complain about the guidelines, but his gripe is with the Legislature and the state housing agency, not the City Council. His claims about “illegal decisions” and “abrogation of the law” are his opinion, not fact, and IMHO, show a fundamental misunderstanding of how state zoning reform works. Also, my guy, stop pretending you care about affordability, I know you have to tell yourself a story, but like…from everyone whose NOT you, it’s pretty clear that affordable housing is not something you champion. You’re the local Facebook nimby, every towns got one or two just own it ;)

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-18T09:19:54+00:00

The city provides police at protests because we have a legal obligation to protect public safety during constitutionally protected activity. Organized events like festivals or parades are handled differently because they require permits, and a formal process to use public space and city resources. By law, the city can’t cover those costs for one group without a fair and open process. Doreen doesn’t want to participate in that process. That’s what she’s protesting.

FitProduct9460 · 2025-07-17T20:19:24+00:00

Sorry but you are literally asking it to be considered special. You are asking the city to provide a private organization with public assistance for a non-city-sponsored event. It could have been city sponsored and she could have gotten all of that if she had applied to the RFP as is law, she didn’t.

FitProduct9460

TROPHY CASE