MARBLEHEAD — The controversy over the American flag unfurled at Gravity Fitness caught the attention of Selectmen Bill Woodfin and Harry Christensen at their Wednesday meeting. They expressed disappointment over those who apparently protested when co-owner Marc Shea put it up in the weight room last Friday.
A few fitness buffs, Shea said, were offended by the appearance of the massive flag. Woodfin declared that "such a horrible attitude is reprehensible." Moreover, he invoked the sacrifice of those who serve the flag in the military.
Christensen, who had just reminded his colleagues of sons and daughters still facing danger in Iraq and Afghanistan, noted, "Many people are draped with that flag at the end of their lives."
Meanwhile, Shea has gotten plenty of exposure, telling his tale on enough talk radio shows to earn his own program.
Read your future
In this case it's your economic future, specifically your tax assessment. And once you know what it is, explains Leslie George in the assessor's office, you can do something about it.
The state has been overseeing a reassessment of values. Of course, values — drawn from 2008 figures — are mostly down, but that doesn't necessarily mean your bill will go down. "Your assessment can go down, but sometimes the tax rate goes up," George explains.
On the other hand, you might want to know how they got your assessment. And if they've credited you with a swimming pool or a bowling alley in the basement and you don't have either, now is the time to head to the Mary Alley Building and clear up the confusion.
You can look up your assessment — or anyone else's if you're terribly nosey — until Nov. 4 at Abbot Hall, at the Abbot Public Library or from your own computer by accessing the town Web site.
An offer you can't refuse
Louis Ferrante has undergone a kind of metamorphosis in his life. He started out in an Italian Catholic family in Queens, New York City, where he aspired to a life as a Mafia soldier in John Gotti's Gambino crime family.
Today, he isn't a gangster and he isn't Catholic either. In fact, he's become something of a scholar and an Orthodox Jew besides. The transformation happened while he was reading his way through nine years in a maximum-security prison.
It's an extraordinary story, and Ferrante will be discussing it and selling copies of his own book "Unlocked: A Journey From Prison to Proust" at the Jewish Community Center on Sunday at 5 p.m. Admission is $25.
SDLqLorraine Bracco ("Sopranos" actress) optioned his book for a movie," notes an impressed JCC Director Tony Daniels. "He worked for John Gotti." At the same time, Daniels says, everyone can relax. Ferrante got himself out of jail with an appeal. And he got himself into jail by refusing to "rat" on Gotti.
You might approve or disapprove of that — but it means no one is looking for Ferrante so it ought to be safe to attend.
Third time's a charm
Assistant Town Counsel Marc Miller's advice to the selectmen leading to the cancellation of Wednesday night's discussion of the investigation into Allie Castner's death was his third go at the topic. Asked how the meeting could happen, he first said it should be in closed session.
Some days later, he decided that a closed session would violate the Open Meeting Law. Thus, he urged an open meeting, adding, "What's going on in the investigation? I don't think that's a question that deserves a 'no comment.'"
On Wednesday, Miller, a former selectman in Lynnfield, appeared "at nobody's request" with a change of heart. It came, he said, "after very, very careful thought." He strongly urged that no meeting be held lest it lead to litigation or befoul the ongoing criminal investigation. This advice carried the day, bringing along all five members, even a reluctant Bill Woodfin.
It also led the board to ban any more public conversation, among the members or from the residents, of the tragedy. That brought former Selectman Bill Purdin to the microphone — he'd attended with Castner family friend Greg Spanos, who seemed stunned after he was forbidden to speak of the tragedy.
"I always thought the Board of Selectmen was one place where we listen," Purdin said. "You might not respond, but you can listen."
Perhaps mindful of the difficult situation the board is facing as a result of the Castner tragedy — with bitter charges of conflict of interest in the air — Purdin mused briefly on his experience as a selectman.
"I miss it sometimes," he said. "But not very often."
