Month: September 2015

Boilerplate GMG Political Statement:

Good Morning Gloucester Does Not Endorse Candidates and this press release should not be indicative of a an endorsement or non endorsement of any candidates:

My name is Kathryn (Piraino) Goodick and I am running for Ward 4 City Council in the upcoming November election. By way of introduction, I am a life-long resident of Gloucester and the daughter of the late Grace (Ventimiglia) and Rosario Piraino. I grew up on Orchard Street, attended Hovey School, Fuller School, Central Grammar and Gloucester High School. You see, I am Gloucester, through and through.

After graduating from Gloucester High School, class of 1976, I didn’t take what my parents would call the “right way”. Like so many others, instead of going off to college, I went straight to work. I was fortunate enough to land a position that afforded me great opportunities as I climbed the corporate ladder – all this on a high school education! With the voices of wonderful mentors, they encouraged me to obtain my college degree. I started going to Salem State College – now a university – and graduated in 2010 cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. My parents didn’t live to see that day, but I know that they would be very proud of me.

I have been married to my husband Doug for 23 years. We built our home in historic Dogtown Common over twenty years ago and we are blessed to have a modern blended family. Doug and I are the very proud parents of our children Lauren (20) and Adam (16), as well as Doug’s daughter Kelly (from his marriage to Nancy Goodick). Lauren is a junior at Salem State University and Adam is a sophomore at Gloucester High School. In addition, Doug’s daughter Kelly (Mahoney), her husband John, and their two boys Ethan and Connor round out our immediate family.

As a wife, mother of two, and a Director of Human Resources at SwervePoint, my life is devoted to helping others. The job of ward councilor requires a proactive person, and that is me! In my personal and work life, when there is a problem to be addressed, I tackle it head-on. I will bring the same energy and focus to serving the people of Ward 4.

Though I have never been actively involved in politics, I was thrown into it earlier this year when I received my property tax bill and discovered that our current City Council had voted to shift the water debt to the taxpayers. This vote was taken with little to no communication to the taxpayers, and the bills sent in the mail with no explanation of why they were so severely increased. This is not how the city of Gloucester should treat the taxpayers.

The vote on the water debt shift, and the lack of transparency surrounding it, set off my personal quest to make a change in the way the city is handling our money. After letters to the editor, and speaking out at City Council and School Committee meetings, I helped to form Gloucester Citizens for Responsible Government. In the process of taking action on behalf of the taxpayers, I realized that many of our elected officials aren’t truly interested in transparency or listening to the residents. There is a decided lack of answers and too many closed doors. So, I decided to take action and run for office.

I don’t know when it happened or how it happened but, I feel that our beautiful city has lost its way. We are tangled in bureaucracy and everyone trying to take credit for action they did nothing to deserve. We can do much better. It is time to elect people to office that are not politically entangled, concerned about their own political clout, and have lost sight of why they were elected in the first place. I am running for office for the first time to take action and make positive changes. When I say “transparency”, I actually mean transparency. When I say, “I want to hear what you have to say”, I actually mean that I want to hear what you say. When I say that our schools are good, you can trust me because my children actually attend Gloucester schools.

In Ward 4, there are many issues that concern me including the damages to our water reservoirs; the lack of police patrolling the outlying areas that are not “downtown”; the roads, sidewalks, and cross walks that need repair; the damages to our open spaces in Dogtown and to the quarries from visitors who leave their trash and swim, along with their animals, in our drinking water. Ward 4 residents are lucky to live in a beautiful area of the city, and our property taxes are higher as a result. Unfortunately, the ward is often overlooked in favor of downtown issues, and I want to change that when I sit on the Council.

Recently, I attended a meeting of the residents of Lanesville and was horrified to hear of the lack of support that they have received. The trash around the quarries, the heavy drinking at the quarries, visitors who park for the entire day which leaves the businesses unable to have adequate parking which impacts their business. After the meeting was over, I jumped into action contacting the mayor to get some relief to the residents of Lanesville. The police and DPW quickly got into action. There are many ways to resolve these problems and the residents are eager to put those ideas forward to the City. They deserve to be heard by our DPW, Chief of Police, and City Council, and I will work hard now, and as their Ward Councilor, to make sure these issues get property addressed.

Ward 4 and the City of Gloucester needs fresh ideas to address the problems we face. We can’t make changes by electing the same people over and over again to run our City. I am new to politics, and will bring a new perspective to solving the issues we face, which is what our city sorely needs.

Please contact me at GoodickWard4@Gmail.com, or 978-879-6205 if you would like to discuss the issues facing Ward 4 and the City of Gloucester. Please join me at my campaign kickoff event this Friday, August 28^th at 7 p.m. at my home at 10 Dogtown Road in Gloucester, or at my Ward 4 Meet and Greet event on Monday, August 31^st at 6:30 p.m. downstairs at the Gloucester United Methodist Church. I want to meet and hear from YOU about how to make our ward and city better!

I am passionate and committed to making a difference and I know that I have the skills, talent, and ability to do this – for you, your children, and the future generations! Let’s make Gloucester great!!

All my best,

Kathryn Goodick

Candidate for Ward 4 City Council

All The Light We Can See
Jennifer McCurdy Carved Porcelain
Janis Sanders Oil on Canvas

Show Dates: September 12 ⎯ October 18, 2015
Opening: Saturday, September 12, 6-8pm

Jennifer McCurdy From the cracked conch shell on the beach revealing its perfect spiral, to the milkweed pod burst in the field, its brilliant airborne seeds streaming into the sunlight. She is concerned with the play of shadow on form, the elusive glimpse of light absorbed or reflected in the balance between convex and concave. Recently she has been magnifying that light in explorations with gold leaf gilding that illumines vessel interiors to reveal new curves and patterns. Jen has been selling her porcelain in art shows and galleries for the last thirty years and her work is included in the collections of several institutions, including the Smithsonian Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC, the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, NY, and the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, CA.  She maintains a studio in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts.

Janis Sanders is an accomplished oil painter, who has won awards for his unique painting style. He works with a palette knife, spontaneously and vigorously, often en plein air. Throughout the year he can be found painting in places of beauty, including the grassy dunes of Truro, the calm marshes of the North Shore and the rugged coast of Maine. Janis attempts to capture the smell and feel of place; salt air, sea spray, summer grass, verdant marsh, an old house on the water’s edge, wind in hair, sun on face. His self-assigned task is to “convey the ethereal thing of light in paint, as the sun casts its breath on the world.”  Janis is represented in galleries throughout New England as well as Santa Fe. His work hangs in prestigious collections in the United States and overseas.

Last Chance to See:

Beauty in Nature: Diane Chen KW, Hand Carved Vessels

Show Dates: August 7-September 7, 2015

Location: Lexicon Gallery, 15 Lexington Ave.#1, Magnolia, MA

http://www.lexicongallery.com/?page_id=26

Diane works in partnership, each piece a collaboration with a ceramic artist who throws or hand-builds the form she carves in exquisite detail with echoes of organic elements such as interwoven vines, grasses, ropes, flowers, roots and leaves. Often there is a trace of whimsy, i.e., teapots that hold no water. Lexicon Gallery hours are fri-sun 12-5pm and mon 4-7pm during the Magnolia Farmers Market or for appt email seyrelwilliams@gmail.com

15 Lexington Ave, Magnolia, MA 01930
Hours: Fri-Sun 12-5pm
Mon 4-7pm During Magnolia Farmers Market
Or By Appt SeyrelWilliams@gmail.com
www.LexiconGallery.com

The best Parade of sails ever. More participants, more spectators and unbelievable weather.

Take just 4 minutes 42 seconds, relax and enjoy this spectacular and growing Gloucester tradition.

just a few photos from this morning’s Parade of Sails.

#schoonerfestival

I took hundreds of photos of the schooners that are participating in this year’s schooner festival that I get to weed through and play with this evening. However,  I wanted to share what the outer harbor looks like right now in a live blog post.

#schoonerfestival

Thanks for the invite Mayor Theken

https://instagram.com/p/7SwJ57A1yp/

Schooner Festival 2015 10:54am
Stage Fort