Updates, Patrick and LaGuer

The Fitchburg PD dropped the hammer, sort of, on Fitchburg State students yesterday, ticketing at least seven cars in the neighborhood around the college.

It's a move to help appease the neighbors, but who knows if it creates a long-term solution. I'm guessing a lot more than seven cars park in the area, so it's really just a dent on the big cheaters, not folks who just park in the street where legitimately available.

In the long-term, there's really only two things that can be done: Build more on-campus parking (where?) or figure out a way to get more kids to park at the arena and take the shuttle. Whether it's through some kind of reward (how about free coffee and donuts while the kids wait for a ride) or some kind of punishment for kids nailed for illegally parking (what, I don't know). There were some official quotes about the usual early-in-the-year learning process, but does this have to happen every fall? Jeez....

Please, don't feed the geese. That's the message from animal rights folks to the city. The best way to get the geese out of Cogshall is to stop feeding them. They'll leave when the food runs out.

We're not the biggest fan of geese (they're dirty, territorial, and make lousy pets. Trust us, we know). We're also not sure this policy would be effective. As Mary Whitney points out, for decades kids (and more than a few adults) have fed the geese down at the park. Would a "suggested" no-feed policy work? Especially with a playground just steps away? Color us skeptical....

Finally, the region is in statewide news as the Ben LaGuer case and Deval Patrick become the Issue of the Week in the governor's race. The Globe advances the story light years today with the news that Patrick donated to the DNA test that eventually sealed LaGuer's fate. The Sentinel wraps up the Healey-Patrick sniping, with some Mazzarella thrown in.

Patrick wasn't the only one roped in by LaGuer back in the day, and his support of LaGuer pre-DNA test isn't really the issue for me. What is, is Patrick's fumbling of this issue. He held back details, allowing them to trickle out. Last week, he walked out on a press conference when he didn't like the questions. That's two rookie mistakes on the big stage in a week. His campaign has been passive since the primary, floating along on strong poll numbers and favorability ratings.

Needless to say, Camp Healey understands you don't end the war with bullets left in your pocket. The Healey campaign has managed to set the tone and issues of the campaign thus far. It's only a matter of time before it catches traction in the polls. Patrick needs to figure out he's in a dogfight and not just fire back, but reclaim the agenda. He did an excellent job on that in the preliminary, but has sucked at it so far in the general. If he wants to win, he needs to get moving. Passive won't win this race.