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Regardless of his suggestions for Pittsfield, Charles Murray is a notable right wing hack. His main claim to fame is the incredibly ignorant book The Bell Curve. He also works for AEI which was one of the big cheerleaders that lied us into the Iraq War.
His work should be taken with a grain of salt. I can guarantee that every economic analysis he does will boil down to blaming poor people and giving the ruling class (unless they are Democrats, in which case they supposedly created the poor) a pass.
You've got the wrong Charles Murray dude. AIER's Charles Murray is Charles Edgar Murray,
Editor: Thanks for pointing that out. As a followup, Mr. Murray from AIER is a former professor of economics; the Mr. Murray who wrote "The Bell Curve" is a political scientist with the American Enterprise Institute. I could see how someone might be confused by similar names and institute acronyms. But if he had been the "The Bell Curve" author, we certainly would have mentioned it.
While you have politely and properly withdrawn your assertion, I will respectfully suggest that we do follow your advice and take all economic opinions with a "grain of salt", as you put it.
In many ways, I "feel" for Mr. Murray as economists must deliver a static forecast in a dynamic world.
Whie I am by no means pointing the finger directly or solely at Mr. Murray or AIER, I would imagine that he would agree that forecasts are based on a series of "if/then" statements. As the actual scenarios vary from those expected (and they could be less than material variations), then forecasts are subject to modification.
A year from now any (or all) predction(s) Mr. Murray made at this meeting could be completely wrong. And that's not a flaw of Mr. Murray specifically (the same could be said of any forecast I make), it's simply a flaw of delivering a set of one-time predictions and then leaving that information with a group of listeners that are not able to receive fairly regular updates.
My point? If whatever Mr. Murray said at this event (static forecast) turns out to be "wrong" a year or so from today, it is extremely likely that he, like any good economist, changed his mind somewhere along the line (dynamic world).
"When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir." - John Maynard Keynes
State Fire Marshal: New Tracking Tool Identifies 50 Lithium-Ion Battery Fires
STOW, Mass. — The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services' new tool for tracking lithium-ion battery fires has helped to identify 50 such incidents in the past six months, more than double the annual average detected by a national fire data reporting system, said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine.
The Department of Fire Services launched its Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Investigative Checklist on Oct. 13, 2023. It immediately went into use by the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal's office, and local fire departments were urged to adopt it as well.
Developed by the DFS Fire Safety Division, the checklist can be used by fire investigators to gather basic information about fires in which lithium-ion batteries played a part. That information is then entered into a database to identify patterns and trends.
"We knew anecdotally that lithium-ion batteries were involved in more fires than the existing data suggested," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "In just the past six months, investigators using this simple checklist have revealed many more incidents than we've seen in prior years."
Prior to the checklist, the state's fire service relied on battery fire data reported to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System (MFIRS), a state-level tool that mirrors and feeds into the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). NFIRS tracks battery fires but does not specifically gather data on the types of batteries involved. Some fields do not require the detailed information that Massachusetts officials were seeking, and some fires may be coded according to the type of device involved rather than the type of battery. Moreover, MFIRS reports sometimes take weeks or months to be completed and uploaded.
"Investigators using the Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Checklist are getting us better data faster," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "The tool is helpful, but the people using it are the key to its success."
From 2019 to 2023, an average of 19.4 lithium-ion battery fires per year were reported to MFIRS – less than half the number identified by investigators using the checklist over the past six months. The increase since last fall could be due to the growing number of consumer devices powered by these batteries, increased attention by local fire investigators, or other factors, State Fire Marshal Davine said. For example, fires that started with another item but impinged upon a battery-powered device, causing it to go into thermal runaway, might not be categorized as a battery fire in MFIRS or NFIRS.
Albert Ingegni III was applauded for four decades of service on the Zoning Board of Appeals during City Council. Mayor Peter Marchetti presented him with a certificate of thanks for his commitment to the community.
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Between disagreements about site design and a formal funding process not yet established, more time is needed before a decision can be made.
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The Ordinances and Rules subcommittee on Monday unanimously supported a pay raise for election workers, free downtown parking for veterans, and safeguards to better protect wetlands.
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A parking study of North Street will be presented at Tuesday's City Council meeting. The design maintains parallel parking while expanding pedestrian zones and adding protected bike lanes. click for more