Post by brassmonkey on Jan 5, 2009 10:55:58 GMT -5
Good luck with this:
'Great places'
As session wanes, lawmakers push to create panel to designate 1,000 such attractions in Bay State
By Matt Viser
Can you think of 25 great places in Massachusetts? Probably. But how about 1,000?
State lawmakers say it can be done, and they want to establish a commission that would anoint 1,000 attractions across Massachusetts as official "Great Places." Brainstorming has already produced some ideas.
Think Faneuil Hall and Walden Pond, they say, but also consider textile factories in Lowell and the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, which has 5,000 objects on four floors and claims to be "the only museum in the Western Hemisphere entirely devoted to the study and display of arms and armor." There's the Paper House in Rockport (made entirely out of newspapers), the hairpin turn on Route 2 in the Berkshires, and Somerville's Union Square, home of the "What the Fluff? Festival," which pays tribute to the sticky marshmallow spread that was invented in Somerville in 1917.
Proponents envision brochures adorned with special seals, perhaps booklets that would cause tourists to flock to places both hidden and well known.
"We thought it would be useful for these attractions to have the seal of approval to be designated as a great place in Massachusetts," said Representative Eric Turkington, a Falmouth Democrat and chief sponsor of the legislation. "It's sort of the equivalent of a UNESCO World Heritage site, in a much more modest way."
But just as the state budget gets larded up with pork, there would be something for everyone. A thousand is enough to give each of the state's 351 towns nearly three great places. Put another way, there would be one great place in every 10 square miles of the state.
"We're hoping not to see the bill earmarked at this stage," said Turkington, who did not run for reelection and will officially give up his seat next week. "Presumably we'll be somewhat objective. But everybody's district might find they have one. And I wouldn't be surprised if they did."
But tell that to Anthony DiDonato, who has lived all his 87 years in Dudley, a Central Massachusetts town of about 10,000.
"I don't think there's a lot of places of interest in our town," said DiDonato, a member of the Board of Selectmen for 35 years. "Years back we had the original Stevens Linen Mill that made towels. We've had wool mills, and probably a shoe factory or something. . . . We're proud of our little town, but there isn't much that would draw people into Dudley as a tourist."
In the waning days of a legislative session that expires Tuesday, the commission to establish the greatest places is one of the proposals with a fate that remains unclear. Because lawmakers are meeting in informal sessions, the bill would need unanimous approval, in addition to the signature of Governor Deval Patrick.
Among the others that could be approved is a bill that would require all schools to sterilize musical wind instruments before they are passed from one student to another, a bill that would protect mothers who are breast-feeding in public from being charged with indecent exposure, and a bill that would establish a 21-member "food policy council" to try to improve the state's agricultural economy.
Legislators and tourism officials - who insist they won't fight over which sites get the designations - say there are plenty of sites to celebrate, and they're already compiling back-of-envelope lists.
The special 15-member "Great Places in Massachusetts Commission" would consist of legislators and tourist groups from across the state, according to the legislation. It would be a bipartisan group, consisting of at least two Republicans, and the governor would get to make three appointments.
The legislation forming the commission is brief, and proponents say it is still unclear what would happen after the places are designated. There is currently no funding tied to the effort.
And while they say simply identifying the places will be a useful exercise in civic boosterism, are they really "great places" when there are 1,000 of them?
"It's more of a promotion to really brag about the places we have," said Anita Walker, executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. "We're looking to showcase what is the heart and soul and fabric of Massachusetts."
"You and I, we would have a hard time coming up with 1,000," Walker said. "But if you ask the people of the Commonwealth, you would get way more than 1,000 places."
"As long as we don't have to put them in priority order, that will help take the competitive sting out of it," Walker added. "How do you compare the Paul Revere House with the Common, with the Public Garden? How is one greater than the other?"
'Great places'
As session wanes, lawmakers push to create panel to designate 1,000 such attractions in Bay State
By Matt Viser
Can you think of 25 great places in Massachusetts? Probably. But how about 1,000?
State lawmakers say it can be done, and they want to establish a commission that would anoint 1,000 attractions across Massachusetts as official "Great Places." Brainstorming has already produced some ideas.
Think Faneuil Hall and Walden Pond, they say, but also consider textile factories in Lowell and the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, which has 5,000 objects on four floors and claims to be "the only museum in the Western Hemisphere entirely devoted to the study and display of arms and armor." There's the Paper House in Rockport (made entirely out of newspapers), the hairpin turn on Route 2 in the Berkshires, and Somerville's Union Square, home of the "What the Fluff? Festival," which pays tribute to the sticky marshmallow spread that was invented in Somerville in 1917.
Proponents envision brochures adorned with special seals, perhaps booklets that would cause tourists to flock to places both hidden and well known.
"We thought it would be useful for these attractions to have the seal of approval to be designated as a great place in Massachusetts," said Representative Eric Turkington, a Falmouth Democrat and chief sponsor of the legislation. "It's sort of the equivalent of a UNESCO World Heritage site, in a much more modest way."
But just as the state budget gets larded up with pork, there would be something for everyone. A thousand is enough to give each of the state's 351 towns nearly three great places. Put another way, there would be one great place in every 10 square miles of the state.
"We're hoping not to see the bill earmarked at this stage," said Turkington, who did not run for reelection and will officially give up his seat next week. "Presumably we'll be somewhat objective. But everybody's district might find they have one. And I wouldn't be surprised if they did."
But tell that to Anthony DiDonato, who has lived all his 87 years in Dudley, a Central Massachusetts town of about 10,000.
"I don't think there's a lot of places of interest in our town," said DiDonato, a member of the Board of Selectmen for 35 years. "Years back we had the original Stevens Linen Mill that made towels. We've had wool mills, and probably a shoe factory or something. . . . We're proud of our little town, but there isn't much that would draw people into Dudley as a tourist."
In the waning days of a legislative session that expires Tuesday, the commission to establish the greatest places is one of the proposals with a fate that remains unclear. Because lawmakers are meeting in informal sessions, the bill would need unanimous approval, in addition to the signature of Governor Deval Patrick.
Among the others that could be approved is a bill that would require all schools to sterilize musical wind instruments before they are passed from one student to another, a bill that would protect mothers who are breast-feeding in public from being charged with indecent exposure, and a bill that would establish a 21-member "food policy council" to try to improve the state's agricultural economy.
Legislators and tourism officials - who insist they won't fight over which sites get the designations - say there are plenty of sites to celebrate, and they're already compiling back-of-envelope lists.
The special 15-member "Great Places in Massachusetts Commission" would consist of legislators and tourist groups from across the state, according to the legislation. It would be a bipartisan group, consisting of at least two Republicans, and the governor would get to make three appointments.
The legislation forming the commission is brief, and proponents say it is still unclear what would happen after the places are designated. There is currently no funding tied to the effort.
And while they say simply identifying the places will be a useful exercise in civic boosterism, are they really "great places" when there are 1,000 of them?
"It's more of a promotion to really brag about the places we have," said Anita Walker, executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. "We're looking to showcase what is the heart and soul and fabric of Massachusetts."
"You and I, we would have a hard time coming up with 1,000," Walker said. "But if you ask the people of the Commonwealth, you would get way more than 1,000 places."
"As long as we don't have to put them in priority order, that will help take the competitive sting out of it," Walker added. "How do you compare the Paul Revere House with the Common, with the Public Garden? How is one greater than the other?"
