Saturday, January 12, 2013
Former executive director Frank Splaine resigned in 2009 after it was uncovered he spent hours each week in a local bar and social club while he was supposedly working.
The plan unveiled this week by Gov. Deval Patrick to consolidate 240 housing authority offices across the state and eliminate more than 1,000 politically-appointed local commissioners is aimed at removing waste and corruption from the system, says Patrick. The action stems, in part, from a slew of corruption scandals uncovered within the public housing system in the past few years. Readers may remember that Peabody featured in that unfolding story as well in 2009. Former Peabody Housing Authority Executive Director Frank Splaine resigned after news reports uncovered that he regularly spent hours each week at Champions Pub and the Italian-American Citizens Club while he was on the clock. Those habitual visits were not accounted for in his …
42.531047
-70.927332
Peabody Housing Authority
75 Central St, Peabody, MA
/articles/housing-authority-scandal
775595
/locations/8579522
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Doing away with local housing boards and consolidating individual offices into six regional ones is Gov. Patrick's idea for addressing waste and corruption in the public housing system. Do you think that's a good idea?
The Peabody Housing Authority, one of 240 public housing authorities across Massachusetts, would all but vanish as part of a proposal from Gov. Deval Patrick to streamline public housing management operations. The purpose of local housing authorities is to manage and maintain subsidized housing and, often, to advocate for affordable housing for lower-income residents. The administration reportedly estimates the consolidation would save more than $10 million a year in salaries and administrative costs. According to the Boston Globe, while Gov. Patrick's proposal would centralize public housing management into six regional offices, a small number of managers and maintenance workers would remain at local housing authorities. And, says the …
42.531047
-70.927332
Peabody Housing Authority
75 Central St, Peabody, MA
/articles/governor-s-proposal-expected-to-all-but-abolish-peabody-housing-authority
775595
/locations/8571419
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The food pantry is offering a free weekly farmers market to some local residents who can't usually afford costly fresh produce for their families.
[Editor's Note: The article has been updated to reflect a correction. It was incorrectly reported that Jaclyn Corriveau was a volunteer for the farmers market pilot program. She is in fact being paid to manage the market.] Peabody's food pantry has been offering a farmers market of its own this summer to residents who can't often afford to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. This market, in fact, is free and families can take as much as they need. "It's basically a farmers market for people who can't afford a farmers market," said Haven from Hunger Executive Director Alyse Barbash. "Here, you can get whatever you need...there's no limit." Currently, the Haven sets up shop on a grassy clearing at the corner of Higgins Middle School each …
42.527319
-70.94178
1 Tanners Ct, Peabody, MA
/articles/haven-offers-farmers-market-of-its-own
/locations/7608940
Saber Walsh
11:02 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013
This is the new era of the Uber-Hack, so all the governor will likely be doing is what the did with the state college system: make it look like a consolidation when in fact it created many more layers and dark spaces to play "Hide-O-Hack." more ›