Food trucks deliver great eats and price

Mike Seward wrote a great letter to The Berkshire Eagle this week and beat me to the punch on the matter of food trucks in Great Barrington. As you all probably know, the Great Barrington Board of Selectmen doesn’t seem to want food trucks in town. Hey, I supported most of these young people when they ran for the board, but this stance just shows a lack of experience and maturity.

Now, I love the restaurant owners in Great Barrington and eat in their establishments a lot (witness my last two columns). But, I love food trucks, too. Food trucks fed my kids when they were at Cornell University. Food trucks are exactly what we need in a town where restaurants can be very pricey.

A lot of people can’t afford $25 or $30 for an entree. Of course, there are eateries that don’t charge those prices, but they’ll have to face the additional competition just like radio stations do every time a new one pops up. Variety is the spice of life and I always think, the more the better.

Some of the best food in New York City and Albany comes from food trucks. If you want to charge licensing fees, fine. You can certainly regulate where they can park. Of course, many of our restaurant people will say no. In their shoes, I might object, too. Running a restaurant isn’t easy. You’ve got to be good at it. If you’re not, you’re out of business. Trust me, food trucks won’t be the reason that you fail. It should not be up to restaurateurs whether food trucks or any other competitors should be allowed.

Of course, Great Barrington is about to experience a great upheaval as the ill-conceived Main Street reconstruction process goes forward. The trucks don’t have to be in the middle of town.

In his letter, Seward made a great point about Sean Stanton, who hawks hot dogs and sausages at the Farmers Market on Saturdays. I love them. He voted to table the food truck matter. It is up to the town to decide whether and how to tax these trucks. Certainly the owners are expected to follow state and municipal laws. You pay sales tax in restaurants and the people in the trucks are expected to collect the same taxes. Some trucks have to pay several different localities because they move around.

When the Chartocks first came to Great Barrington in the very early ‘70s, you couldn’t get a lobster until a very entrepreneurial guy had the idea of showing up on Thursday or Friday morning with a lobster truck. It didn’t take long for the supermarkets and others to compete.

This summer when my professor daughter was looking for a way to make money, I suggested a food truck to her and her love, Dan. They thought about it and asked some questions but it didn’t work out. After all, it isn’t easy. You have to buy or rent a truck. It has to be outfitted. It has to meet health requirements and it has to be staffed by people who know what they are doing.

In the general scheme of things, it’s a small matter but it is an important one. I will probably anger some of my best friends in the restaurant business but this is a matter that involves economics, sociology and fairness. Democracy (“from the people”) theoretically involves what is best for everyone.

I like to think of our precious jewel at Lake Mansfield. I see all kinds of families using the facility, some cooking out, some drooling watching those who are cooking out. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to buy a hot dog or a vegetarian delight up there? I’ve seen the ice cream truck parked there. Food trucks would be perfect. Let’s just play fair.

Originally published in the Berkshire Eagle, 4/20/13

The only way out of this mess is term limits

We all know that Andrew Cuomo is a strategic genius. Figuring out what he is going to do next can be a real brain-teaser. The book on Cuomo is that he is what might be called a reactor. When the horrible school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut took place, Cuomo had one of the strongest gun laws in the country passed in record time. He did so using the infamous “message of necessity,” making some of the gun crowd furious. Funny, I don’t remember them yelling about any of the other laws that were passed that way. Some said that Cuomo was trying to get his bill done before Obama but I don’t care. He did the right thing, whatever the reason.

Now, the always competitive Cuomo is in danger of being shown up by Preet Bharara the U.S. Attorney (Chief Prosecutor) for the Southern District. Bharara has been successfully collaring miscreant New York politicians and may, indeed, be running for something himself. So much for the success record of Andrew Cuomo, Sheriff of Albany. Cuomo, you will remember, promised to clean up Albany. He passed an ethics bill right out of the box that put everyone under the same ethics commission rather than allowing the legislature to police itself as had been done in the past. Unfortunately so far, both the old way and the new way seem to be the same: “All talk and little do.”

Not to be outdone, Cuomo comes charging out of the west like Lochinvar with a whole new group of tough (but not tough enough) rules. One of his rules is really interesting: pay the legislators a few more bucks to make them “full time” and prohibit them from outside business interests, which, of course, is how some of them are legally paid off. Of course, if you say to the would-be legal bribers that they can’t give the money to the legislators themselves, does anyone really think they won’t give it to the husbands or wives or children or friends of the legislators? It’s unfortunate, but the only thing that will clear this mess up will be a term limit of eight years. It’s not really a perfect way to go in a democracy but it will keep things moving and limit the acquisition of power. I’m for it but most of my fellow political scientists are not. Cuomo also wants to see a campaign system in which the voters fund elections. I’m definitely for that.

When Cuomo first came into office, he promised to put an end to the onerous “member items” that have been at the bottom of so much Albany skullduggery. Jeff Klein, the head of the Independent Democratic Conference, otherwise known as the Democratic Traitors who split off to help the Republicans stay in office, tried to slip a member item by Cuomo. Klein insisted it was an old member item (allowed) but Cuomo determined that it was a new one. So Cuomo said “no” and yanked it out of the budget, turning a lot of heads.

Since Klein and his group are essential to the Republicans staying in office, and since Cuomo needs him to do this, we have an interesting development. I have long thought that when Cuomo shows up at a Democratic National Convention, he is going to have to explain why he was keeping the Republicans in power in New York. Sooner or later, he’ll have to reinstall the Democrats as the majority party that they really are in New York. When that happens, Klein may be treated as the turncoat that he is by the regular Democrats. This move in rejecting Klein’s budget proposal just may be a signal of things to come.

In any case, Albany is a place where you really have to look carefully at the spoor on the trails to know what’s going on. This could be interesting.

Originally published in the Legislative Gazette, 4/15/13

Continued list of great places to eat

Oh, boy! Last week, I listed a whole bunch of places to eat in Great Barrington. I thought I had all — or at least most — of them, but no matter where I went, I ran into people who chided me for leaving their favorite off the list.

As I feared would happen, I realized that there were some really great restaurants I’d simply forgotten and I apologize to all those who I left out. I was raised in a progressive household where birthday parties had contests with no losers.

Someone wrote to the paper and said that I was mean about the Old Mill. I was not. I said a lot of people loved the place and someone threw a rubber chicken at me. Both true. I certainly did not mean to hurt anyone’s feelings.

So here are some more Great Barrington area restaurants.

At the top of Railroad Street (the Greenwich Village of Great Barrington) are two very good restaurants, Allium and Fiori. People swear by both of them. Just down the block is Twenty Railroad Street, moderately priced but excellent.

There are many things on the menu that the doctors tell you not to eat (fried) but which are really good. Across the street is Bizen, a first-rate Japanese restaurant.

Shiiro’s on Route 7 is also Japanese and down the road is Barrington Brewery. Back down around on the Main Street is Siam Square, a very good Thai restaurant that deserves more patronage than it gets. The people who run it are among the nicest in the world.

Also at the top of Railroad Street is my favorite breakfast place, Martin’s. You may have to wait to get in but the food is fabulous and the wait staff is the best. You just can’t beat this place.

If you like Indian food, there is a wonderful Indian restaurant, Aroma, just South of Route 23, right next to the police station. The last time we went there, the place was packed. Now, there’s bad Indian food and there’s good Indian food. This is very good.

Right on Main Street there is The Well, another moderately priced restaurant. The online reviews are mixed, but the last time we were there we really enjoyed the simple fare.

There is a second Mexican restaurant in Great Barrington called Azteca. Chef Michael Ballon of the Castle Street Café says it’s the real deal. Sometimes it gets overlooked when compared with the fabulous Xicohtencatl.

Two other very good restaurants are The Pizza House on State Road and Manhattan Pizza right across from the Indian restaurant.

Koi and East are both very good eat-in Chinese restaurants, as is the Great Wall, mostly a takeout place although you can eat at one of their tables.

Naji’s Lebanese restaurant has good stuff if you are into Middle Eastern fare.

There are two diners, Ena (across from Kmart) and the Main Street Diner (on Main Street, of course). The latter often has space to sit.

Also on Main Street is the always interesting Gypsy Joynt. You have to get up and order your food, but it’s good. They have great salads and pizza and good music. We like to catch Dona Federico, Dwight O’Neil, Bob Jones and the whole Spurs crew there.

In Housatonic, there is the Brick House. My thirtysomething kids love their hamburgers, pizza and music.

Out in West Stockbridge, there is the Orient Express and the fabulous Rouge which is the soul of West Stockbridge.

In Stockbridge, there is Once Upon a Table, a cozy place to eat good food. Traveling to New Marlborough, there is the excellent Inn on the Green. We love the Stagecoach Tavern in Sheffield and the folks who run it.

As I always say on the radio, if you want to understand the Berkshires, you have to go to The Red Lion Inn. It’s the place in Stockbridge where you take your relatives. They have a main dining room, a wonderful eat-in bar, and one of the few Berkshire night spots, the Lion’s Den.

OK, OK, there are lots of great restaurants in Lee and Lenox, but they’ll have to wait for now.

Originally published in the Berkshire Eagle, 4/13/13

One has to wonder — who’s getting away with what?

Oh, brother. You really have to shake your head and wonder just what some of these legislators could have been thinking. We all know that the Legislature can be likened to a large meat market or maybe a house of ill repute. The rules are simple — it’s all a matter of commerce. People give money to your campaigns or your wife’s business, and later on, with nothing said and no contract, you return their favors by voting for the things they want. It’s all very gentlemanly, don’t you see?

The absolute last thing you want to do is use your words. You do not want to talk to an FBI agent or a confidential informant and accept a deal by saying, into a wire, “If you give me money, I will use my official capacity to do something for you.” If you do that, the chances are fairly good that you will get caught and get sent to jail. Nothing is worth that. You really have to be pretty arrogant to think that you’ll get away with that kind of law breaking. Why would you go that extra and unnecessary step and risk being sent to prison for a good part of your natural life?

Recently, we have witnessed a spate of such foolish activity. It is precisely what state Senator Malcolm Smith (D-Hollis) is accused of having done. The schnook wanted to run for mayor of New York City as a Republican. To do that he needed a document known as a Wilson Pakula, an authorization from the Republicans allowing him to run in the Republican primary even though he’s not registered with the party. Three of the five Republican county chairmen would have to approve. It is alleged that Smith entered into a complicated scheme to bribe said Republican officials to sign his permission slip and that is against the law, big time. There were a lot of people in on the scam and it turns out that the FBI and the U.S. Attorney were among the uninvited guests. In an effort to explain this to my class, I asked if they had ever had a secret which they shared with one other person. Then I asked them whether they had any real confidence that their secret would be kept by that one person. Then I asked them what the chances of a secret being kept would be if you told six people. That is exactly what happed in the Malcolm Smith case.

Not long ago I spoke with a newsman who asked me why so much of the wrongdoing we’ve seen in and around the Legislature comes from the downstate representatives. While that is not always true, it is important to remember that legislators who come from upstate are big fish. If a member of the state Assembly gives a speech in an upstate region, there is a very good chance that he or she will be covered by TV, radio and newspapers. In New York City, forget about that. There’s an old saying that for a New York assemblyman to get that kind of exposure, he’d have to ride naked on an elephant while on fire. If you are anonymous it is far less likely that you will be held responsible for what you do. What’s more, the reason the powers that be put the Legislature in Albany was that they wanted to avoid the evils and corruption coming out of the teeming city. Of course, Albany is not a bed of roses and that theory has been knocked into a cocked hat.

Some legislators commit crimes because they figure they won’t get caught. Recently, two state legislators were arrested for taking bribes. One can only wonder if they’d gotten away with it in the past.

Originally published in the Legislative Gazette, 4/8/13

Campaign finance reform tops Cuomo’s to-do list

One of the items on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s wish list for this legislative session is the passage of a campaign financing bill. This bill would have the voters help pay for political campaigns as long as candidates opt in to all the other rules that govern these contests. This much-needed law is modeled on New York City’s campaign law. If Cuomo REALLY wants it to pass, he will get what he wants because he has one of the sweetest deals that any governor has ever had in the history of the state of New York. He has virtual control of the whole political process.

In the Assembly, he has a house made up of progressive Democrats. To control their tax-and-spend instincts, he has the strangest amalgam of Republicans and breakaway, turncoat Democrats that we have ever seen in charge of the state Senate. The minute Cuomo doesn’t get what he wants, he has the ability to dismantle the nominal control the Republicans have of the upper house of the Legislature. Since Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos does not want to go into minority hell, he basically has to do what Cuomo wants him to. This means that every bill that Cuomo wants will have to be brought up for a vote. In the old days when the Republicans had firm control of the Senate, Skelos’ predecessors simply would not allow a bill they didn’t like to come up for a vote.

It should always be noted that the Democrats (Independent Democratic Conference) will have to do what Cuomo wants especially if what he wants will help Democrats. That’s because they have to go back and face their voters every two years.

The voters in the Bronx aren’t going to like the rogue Democratic leader, Jeff Klein, carrying Republican water. You’d have to be Reuben in the woods not to know that campaign financing will help the Democrats and hurt the Republicans. That’s because Republicans, for the most part, represent the moneyed interests in this country. It’s much easier for the Republicans to get money to run for office than it is for the Democrats, although the Democrats have been getting many small contributions from a lot more people. Nevertheless, everyone on the inside knows that campaign financing helps Democrats and hurts Republicans. The last thing leader Skelos and his Republicans in the state Senate want is a system in which public funds are used to help people run for office.

It isn’t all that easy. In fact, many beleaguered taxpayers do not want to use their tax dollars to help politicians run for office. They have the misguided idea that all politicians are venal people who lie, cheat and steal as much as they can once they get into office. As the old Fram oil filter commercial cautioned us, “You can pay me now or pay me later.” In other words, if we don’t have publically financed elections, politicians will look for other ways to monetize their efforts in order to get campaign funds.

If Andrew Cuomo is able to deliver a fair campaign system, he will have one more item to add to his list of impressive accomplishments that Democrats around the United States will admire. But there are still enough billionaires with unlimited resources who will opt out of the system and spend countless millions of their personal dollars on their own campaigns. Thanks to the conservatives on the United States Supreme Court, nothing can be done about that. The American people have never held that against them, perhaps thinking that at least rich politicians won’t have to steal once they get into office. I am betting that Cuomo gets what he wants. The only question will be what compromises will be in the bill when it does appear. Cuomo has been known to announce results which don’t quite live up to what was promised. Just take a look at the infamous New York state ethics bill.

Originally published in the Legislative Gazette, 4/1/13

Dread about impending road work

Now that the reconstruction of Great Barrington’s Main Street is fast-approaching, the level of dread in our community is rising.

Let’s remember that Great Barrington is the gateway to the Berkshires for many people, since Route 7 is the main north-south road in the county. If you are going north or south, chances are you will have to face this monster reconstruction process.

The town’s business people are quaking in their boots, anticipating the impending chaos. We already know that the argument advanced by the town fathers and mothers that we would be getting free money to do the job turns out to have been spurious. It’s costing us a growing fortune in cost overrun and the tally is rising as we speak. It never fails.

If all the business people and their friends had been eligible to vote on the subject, the outcome might have been different. These folks pay serious taxes and are certainly entitled to some consideration. I know one major business that has already left town, in part because of the hit the proprietor would inevitably face this summer which, after all, is prime buying time.

It doesn’t stop with the construction, either.

Nobody’s quite sure what the street will look like when all is said and done. The last thing we need is a gussied up shopping district with froufrou lamp posts and fewer parking places.

Again, we are receiving backdoor assurances that the parking diminution isn’t going to happen but the proof will be in the pudding.

One of the reasons why Smithsonian Magazine named Great Barrington the best small town in America is its mixed economy. If we don’t watch out, Lee will eat our lunch when it comes to general diversification.

In my neighborhood on Great Barrington’s Castle Hill, people are very concerned (despite some assurances from the honchos) that the crucial right-turn lane from Main Street onto Taconic Avenue may disappear.

If you think “ambulance,” “hospital” and “fire truck,” you will understand how this could pose a real problem. We can only hope that the assurances we have received will stand. Since I am a born pessimist (Murphyist) and am seldom wrong, I can only presume that said assurances that will not hold up.

At the time this decision was made, we all understood, however grudgingly, that it was time to bite the bullet and stop piling layer upon layer of asphalt on the street. We needed a more permanent fix. The problem, of course, is that there is always a tendency to do what doesn’t have to be done. The beautiful flowering trees were going to die so they all had to be replaced.

I had another take. What about the way we all do it at our houses — when a tree dies, you replace it with another tree? When we fix our Main Street, maybe we should put out a tin can so when someone from the Egremonts or Alford drives through, they have to pay a toll to shop or play here. That would certainly help equalize tax rates.

On another matter, a short while ago I said for the hundredth time that the Great Barrington town library we invested a fortune in ought to be open until 10 o’clock at night so the town’s students and citizens would have a place to go after school and work.

I was fed some bad information that the reason the library was doing a bit better was that volunteers had been recruited to staff the place. Now I get a letter from the head librarian saying they only have a few volunteers and the staff deserve the credit for doing extra work in order to keep the library open.

She requested that I ask people to volunteer for their library and I am happy to do so. Her name is Elizabeth Linder and you can reach her care of the Mason Library.

Originally published in the Berkshire Eagle, 3/30/13

For a true democracy, televise the conference meetings

The worst thing about state government is the level of secrecy in our so-called democracy. The Legislature has established a secret language (“legislativeoria”) that only they can understand. Phrases like “first reading,” “second reading,” “third reading,” “lay it aside,” and the like are spread around like jam on bread. Obviously, much of what the Legislature does could be done in plain English but that’s the last thing that the denizens of the deep want to do. The less the people understand, the more likely the powers that be can slip things through, often unnoticed.

My modest proposal is that every citizen should be brought in handcuffed and forced to sit in the legislative galleries and watch the shenanigans on the floor. Every once in a while there will be a meaningful debate but for the most part, the business of the state’s lawmakers is an exercise in Alice in Wonderland, Jabberwocky-like nonsense. Years ago, I took a sabbatical to study the feasibility of televising the legislature. Finally, after years of prodding, they allowed it but to no avail. We end up seeing a lot of people milling about, bored and dispirited. There used to be a very old senator who was frankly an embarrassment to his party, the ruling Republicans. It got so bad that he would drool as he was speaking and a very kind aide would wipe the spittle off his face. Of course, he had to be a committee chairman but every time a bill came up for debate, some Democrat would stand up to ask a question. The moment those rascal Democrats would dare ask a question it was clear that the old senator couldn’t answer, someone would yell out, “Lay the bill aside.”

The whole idea in a democracy is that the people would be re-presented by their legislators. So they all gather in these big, ornate chamber rooms which are periodically refurbished. It is there that the nonsense described above takes place. However, the fix is in. That’s because the majority parties (those with the most members) have already largely determined what will happen. It’s all arranged in the five conferences (there used to be four until a group of renegade senators threw their lot in with the Republicans).

In the Assembly, the Democrats prepare the script which is followed assiduously. In the Senate, however, things have changed. Even with Andrew Cuomo’s help, the Republicans couldn’t draw districts in which their majority was assured. There simply aren’t enough Republican voters in the state. Unfortunately for them, the situation is only going to get worse. The new “traitor” (independent) Democrats, run under Bronx Democrat boss Jeff Klein, have to bring progressive legislation, such as gay rights or a hike in the minimum wage, to the floor. The old days of the Republicans refusing to bring this kind of legislation to the floor are over.

The point is that most of us will never know what is going on in all these so-called conferences. We may watch meaningless nonsense on the floor on television but the action is really taking place in the secret caucuses. Of course, there is no justification for all this chicanery. The language problem described at the beginning of this article does not occur in the conferences. There they speak English. The fix is to put the conferences on TV since that’s where the real action occurs. Of course, if you do that they’ll probably meet in the men’s room.

Back in the evil Soviet Union, they used to have something called “democratic centralism.” That meant that all power came to the people and was deposited with their leaders who dictated on the people’s behalf. That was nonsense then and it’s nonsense when it’s done in the New York State Legislature. It’s all scandalous but I actually like these people.

Originally published in the Legislative Gazette, 3/25/13