A Laundry List of Items

It's been awhile, and not much has really gotten me in a lather lately. But a bunch of things are worth noting, so here we go...

--The news that the city ran a $60,000 isn't particularly disturbing to me. Here's why: It was no secret the city was pretty much spending every single dime in had last year. There was pretty much no wiggle room. $60G is less than one-tenth of a percent in a $95 million budget. It's like one of us needing to come up with $50.

This isn't something worth cheering, of course. It's a product of the shaky foundation on which the budget sits. But when you've given yourself no margin to work with, these kinds of things are going to happen. It just as easily could have been $60,000 in the black. Still nothing to cheer about, but just that slight change would keep all this off our radar screens. Forget the $60K, and look at how we got there. That's still the story.

--Far more disturbing is the situation with enterprise fund running a deficit. This is a situation that need prompt and appropriate attention. Someone needs to figure out what the problem is and solve it. Pronto.

That said, Ted DeSalvatore said this week the "whole enterprise business" needs to be investigated. Maybe, but it's not a problem with the "business." Enterprise funds are a regular way of operating, and work. You need to think long and hard about killing the enterprise and moving the program into the general budget. The city needs to figure out how to fill this current gap, but if you move the fund into the budget, suddenly the best and obvious way is to transfer money from other departments. It's the last thing the city needs right now.

--Mayor Dan Mylott is moving forward with the idea of placing the city's pension fund in the state's program, and doing the same with city employee insurance. Two most excellent ideas, as I've been screaming for months now. Particularly on the insurance side. This will save the money, if the unions don't try to screw it up.

--I watched the Ted DeSalvatore interview on FATV's "Inside Fitchburg" last night. I haven't watched any of the others, but I will. Host Bill Gates is mostly ignoring the policy and politics, and getting the candidates to talk about their backgrounds, how they grew up, and what kind of people they are. He does a good job, and it's the rare opportunity to get beyond handshakes, standouts, and policy bloviating.

--Football season starts tomorrow. I can't wait.

--Finally, some Sox talk. For some reason, I can't find the initial post from the spring, and it kills me, because I really want to get Rupert K out in the open on this one. Way back, when the Sox were killing teams, I said 95 wins would win the division. As of this morning, they'd need to go 11-13 the rest of the way to get there. For the Yankees to catch the Sox, they'd need to go 18-4 the rest of the way. That's right, 18-4, and with Clemens suddenly achey, they might need to go back to Mussina, which most Yanks would rather not see happen.

Yes, the Sox made it interesting -- and sweep by the Yanks next weekend would probably again throw New England into a tizzy -- but it certainly appears the Sox are in good shape. Rupert argued the Sox were doomed. I thought he was wrong then, and he certainly appears wrong now.

That said, I'm not totally comfortable with this team in the playoffs. A little more clutch hitting would be nice. Some semblance of a reliable Schilling would help. A health Manny is important. That and the fact that the Yankees lineup makes them dangerous in the postseason and the Angels are just flat-out good, makes me wonder about the playoffs. But, most importantly, they're in, and that all that matters for now. We can worry about matchups later.