Published October 21, 2010

Howard Friedman, the Boston civil-rights lawyer, told WBUR he recently got a call from Lisa Allen out of the blue — he hadn’t heard from her in some 15 years, when he represented her in a civil suit against the Wareham Police Department.

Candidate Jeff Perry (AP)

“She just felt she couldn’t remain silent anymore,” Friedman said on Morning Edition.

Allen settled the case out of court. Yesterday, she dropped a political bombshell when she broke a long silence to condemn Jeff Perry, a Republican running to represent the 10th Congressional district.

In 1991, Perry was a Wareham police sergeant. He supervised a police officer who later pleaded guilty to illegally strip-searching Allen, who was 14 at the time.

“(Perry) had to hear me screaming and crying,” she said in the statement.

Why does Allen speak now, with less than two weeks before a close election? Did Perry’s Democratic rival, William Keating, play any part?

“Lisa has been under pressure from the press, who’ve been contacting her, and from her family to make a statement,” Friedman said.

“This has upset her from that time to this time. Seeing this story in the press is upsetting. Seeing that Jeff Perry has not really admitted what happened is upsetting to her.”

Make no mistake, Friedman said: Lisa Allen wants Perry to lose the election.

Keating said he has had no contact with Allen, and a campaign spokesman said no one has had any contact with anyone connected to Allen.

Records show Friedman, the lawyer, has donated money to Democratic campaigns and causes. Friedman said the implication is “outrageous,” noting that he has represented Ralph Nader, “who, I can tell you, the Democrats do not like.”

Perry was never disciplined or charged in the 1991 incident. “I heard nothing that night, and if I did, I would have acted right away,” Perry said yesterday.

Editor’s note: I have changed the headline — which was previously phrased as a question — to avoid the suggestion that I’m drawing a conclusion or taking sides.

Published October 21, 2010

NPR terminated its contract with longtime senior news analyst Juan Williams after comments he made about Muslims and terrorism on Fox News.

On Monday, Williams appeared on the “O’Reilly Factor” with Bill O’Reilly.

Juan Williams (Stephen Voss/NPR)

“Look, Bill, I’m not a bigot,” Williams said. “You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”

In a memo, NPR President Vivian Schiller said Williams’ comments were “inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a News Analyst with NPR.”

Williams has not commented to other news organizations on his firing.

The Atlantic’s Andrew Sullivan says Williams is a bigot: “The literal defense of anti-Muslim bigotry on Fox is becoming endemic. It’s disgusting.”

Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin condemned the firing. “Government-funded NPR has apparently caved into left-wing attack dogs on the Internet,” she writes.

Choire Sicha of The Awl writes: “Whenever I get on a plane and see that I’m surrounded by midwestern women in pantsuits, I get totally nervous, because I know that they’re going to yack my ear off about their kids and pets.”

I am trying to find raw footage of the O’Reilly interview. The longest clip I am able to find was re-aired today on MSNBC, interspersed with commentary:

Continue reading →

Published October 20, 2010

Fall Reflections (Paul Keleher/Flickr)

I just can’t get enough of the beautiful fall foliage.

Photographer Paul Keleher shot this photograph along the Charles River in Dover this morning. It’s the Hubbub Photo of the Day.

Published October 20, 2010

The Globe reports on itself:

(AP)

A group of more than a dozen investors and management experts will make an offer to buy The Boston Globe from The New York Times Co., a leader of the group said.

The newly-formed group, which calls itself The 2100 Trust, wants to purchase from the Times Co. the New England Media Group unit, which includes the Globe, Boston.com, and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

“The Boston Globe has been a pillar in the city, the Commonwealth and the region for more than a century. We believe that The Boston Globe’s strongest days can be ahead,” according to a statement from the group.

The Boston Herald identifies the head of the group as Aaron Kushner, 37, of Wellesley.

Back in April 2009, WBUR first broke the story that The New York Times Co. threatened to shut down the Globe. The Times Co. backed off after a long and tense standoff that resulted in deep pay cuts and layoffs.

High-profile suitors lined up to buy the Globe. In October 2009, the Times Co. announced the Globe was no longer for sale.

The Times Co. paid $1 billion for the Globe in 1993. Based on previous reporting, the Globe was estimated to be worth between $20 million and $200 million, but those numbers are almost certainly outdated.

Update: The NYT has the group’s full statement.

Published October 20, 2010

It’s time again to talk about the important book with the boring name — The Beige Book.

BOOM! I redesigned the Beige Book logo.

Basically, the Federal Reserve interviews a whole bunch of companies and compiles a Zagat-style guide to the economy eight times a year. The last book, released in September, was mostly optimistic about New England.

This time around, the Fed reports “more of the same” — nothing to write home about, but not bad. The report released this afternoon does say economic activity in Boston is stronger than at this time last year.

You can pluck out the key details from the opening paragraph:

• “Retailers cite somewhat more positive results than they did six weeks ago.”
• “Manufacturers report continued growth, although some at a slower pace recently than in the first half of the year.”
• “Commercial real estate markets remain in the doldrums.”
• “Sales of residential properties remain below year-earlier levels.”
• “Hiring among retail, manufacturing, and consulting firms remains limited.”

The survey said seven of the Fed’s 12 regions reported moderate economic improvement — an improvement since last month, when Cleveland was the only other growth region, besides New England.

WBUR’s Curt Nickisch tells me that nationwide momentum could give Massachusetts a lift. Why? Boston exports a lot of goods and services to other states. We need to see strong recovery in those other states to keep the orders rolling in.

In other words, a rising tide lifts all boats.

Update: I’m so sick of the piddling little Beige Book graphic that I have designed my own logo, which is featured above.

Published October 20, 2010

I thought we already had our October surprise?

Candidate Jeff Perry (AP)

A woman illegally strip-searched in Wareham almost 20 years ago, when she was 14, says Congressional candidate Jeff Perry — then a police sergeant — did nothing to help her. The woman, identified as Lisa Allen, released a public statement condemning Perry, a Republican running in the 10th District.

“He had to hear me screaming and crying,” Allen said in the statement. “Instead of helping me, Jeff Perry denied anything happened.”

Perry was never charged or disciplined. An officer he supervised, Scott Flanagan, pleaded guilty to indecent assault.

“Jeff Perry was not an honest police sergeant; he should not be in a position of power,” she said.

Allen’s statement was released 13 days before the election. WBUR’s Lisa Tobin tracked down her attorney, Howard Friedman.

[pullquote align=”right” author=”Lisa Allen”]”He had to hear me screaming and crying. Instead of helping me, Jeff Perry denied anything happened.”[/pullquote]

“I don’t think it’s that she has political leanings and that she has any affection, necessarily, for the other candidate,” Friedman said. “I think she simply, well, she says in her statement, she doesn’t believe that Jeff Perry was good cop.

“The incident upset her when it took place, and it continues to upset her. She’s particularly upset that Jeff Perry can run for Congress after what he did to her.”

WBUR’s Democratic political analyst, Dan Payne, calls this “without a doubt the biggest political story since Brown’s winning Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat.”

Perry has not yet returned our phone call.

Here is Allen’s statement on Scribd:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/39755544/Lisa-Allen-Statement-On-Rep-Jeff-Perry

Published October 20, 2010

Did you miss it? Boston’s 6th City Council district — which covers Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury — held a little-publicized special primary election for the seat left vacant by John Tobin, who resigned this summer to take a job at Northeastern University.

Candidates Matt O'Malley, left, and Jim Hennigan, pictured here floating in space, are vying for Boston's sixth City Council district. (courtesy photos)

From a pool of five candidates, Matt O’Malley captured 53 percent of the vote, a majority, and Jim Hennigan came in second, at 31 percent. The remaining candidates received votes in the hundreds. Turnout was 15 percent — which the Globe described as “surprisingly high.”

The two top candidates will advance to another special election, on Nov. 16 — not Nov. 2, when everyone else in Massachusetts will be voting in statewide and national races.

Sound like a big waste of taxpayer money? Maybe not. In August, when the special election dates were decided, Council President Mike Ross said holding the special election on the same day as the statewide election would not result in meaningful cost-savings for the city.

“During my conversations with the Boston Elections Commissioner, the Secretary of State’s office and MassVOTE, it became clear that it would not be possible to hold the election on Nov. 2, given the current election laws and short amount of time between Councilor Tobin’s resignation and November,” Ross told the West Roxbury Transcript.

West Roxbury Patch reports on Hennigan’s uphill battle as he tries to overcome a 20-percent gap with O’Malley — who won the endorsement of Tobin and the Boston Globe.