Category Archives: Stories

Basketball Assault and Neighborhood Response

Posted on Friday, July 6, 2007 by • 1 comment

John Briggs writes today in the Burlington Free Press about trouble at Pomeroy Park in Burlington’s Hill-Old North End area. The basketball court there draws a lot of intense games. Neighbors complain of loud explicative-filled language, and games going on outside of allowed hours.

A woman who came out to ask a couple players to tone it down at 3 AM was assaulted recently… a terrible thing. This was first reported on our ONE East Neighborhood Forum and since then has been the focus of dozens of postings among neighbors. The police, parks and rec, and a city councilor have weighed in too on that forum.  John writes…

The crime has become a persistent topic on the neighborhood’s e-mail newsletter sponsored by the Front Porch Forum. Some who have written to the forum and others who live nearby say the basketball court, well-known as the site of “high level” recreational basketball, as Parks Director Wayne Gross put it, is out of place in the close-packed neighborhood.

The first round of messages declared outrage and indicated plenty of pent-up frustration about the situation with the basketball court. Then some messages were posted that raised the concern about racism and/or classism. This elicited a strong backlash claiming no racism (although some of the ongoing basketball playing crowd is African-American, the assailants were actually white college students). Now some members of the neighborhood have called a meeting to map out a plan for how to work towards a reasonable solution. The tone of many recent postings has been solution-oriented.

In another case, a woman was shouted down for requesting quiet during late hours.  John reports…

She called the police, and the players, in that instance, were ticketed. In a note on the Front Porch Forum, she said “swearing and inappropriate language is used on a daily basis” on the basketball court. In response to the many comments on the forum about the assault, Burlington Police Lt. Jennifer Morrison described the attack as “reprehensible” but added “it is unlikely that the perpetrator will be identified.” She said patrols have been increased near the park since then.

I’m grateful for John’s accurate attribution to Front Porch Forum in his article. Best wishes to all involved in this issue… I’m glad that FPF has proved useful. I also hope that working on this challenge will bring neighbors together in a lasting way that may have not occurred otherwise.

Another Mama-Baby Moose Tale

Posted on Thursday, July 5, 2007 by • 1 comment

Patrick just posted the following moose story on the FPF Westford Neighborhood Forum. I guess I’ve got a soft spot for baby moose tales.

Many neighbors on Brookside Road caught sight of a young moose on the loose in early June. The calf roamed on the road and in our front yard. She/he looked a little lost and perhaps it was searching for it’s mother.

The plight of the baby became a worry of many with whom I spoke. They were worried that Mom and baby were lost to each other.

My wife called the Fish and Wildlife commission to alert officials and to find out what might be able to be done. The official had said that there was no report of a downed moose, and that young moose calves are “hellions”, often betraying parental instructions to stick around.

Although I cannot at all confirm the safety of the baby moose, I can at least confirm that 2 days after the sighting of the baby, a large adult was seen by my wife and I while driving home. The large moose was walking in the thrush along Brookside road, about one mile away from the school.

We speculate that the baby and this Moose are a mother/baby pair and it eased our minds to know that in all likelihood the two were back together.

Kudos for Front Porch Forum

Posted on Friday, June 29, 2007 by • No comments yet

Burlington seems to be suffering an increase in break-ins, vandalism and the like.  Much is shared on the various neighborhood forums hosted by FPF.  Local officials weigh in too.  Here’s a gem that just arrived on the ONE East Neighborhood Forum from Tim this evening…

I’d just like to offer some kudos here:

* to Front Porch Forum for creating a medium for neighbors to communicate issues quickly and easily
* to the police and government officials of all types for watching and responding to this forum on a regular basis

I think I can speak for most members of the community and say this:  Whether or not we are satisfied with every response we receive, we appreciate everything our officials are doing to improve and maintain our quality of life.  We have to acknowledge that FPF has created a communication path and that its being used, successfully, by our community.

Thanks Tim!

Congratulations Ms. Moose and Baby!

Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 by • 23 comments

HELLO MOOSE LOVERS: Please check out the photos below (and here’s another moose photo taken by a friend in her Vermont neighborhood) and then stop by our core website… the national award-winning Front Porch Forum… 30% of our pilot city subscribes already!  Cheers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Front Porch Forum member of the Hinesburg Village Neighborhood Forum posted this today…

Yup, we are still in the sticks, no matter how developed we are. Must be getting crowded in the swamps as well.

Followed by this note from his Colchester, VT friend with these incredible photos…

In my 5 years in Colchester, I have never seen a newborn baby moose. This one was not even a half a mile from our house. The mother picked a small quiet neighborhood and had her baby in the front yard at 5:30 am We were out bike riding when we came upon the pair. The lady across the street from this house told us she saw it being born. We saw them at 5:30 pm . So the little one was 12 hours old. What an awesome place we live in to see such a site.

[See the comments below… seems that this moose mom and babe might hail from Alaska, not Colchester!]

People who don’t know they need FPF

Posted on Sunday, June 24, 2007 by • No comments yet

Got the following note from a Front Porch Forum member today…

I have been part of my Huntington forum for several months and think it is wonderful. Thank you for launching such a great community builder! I was hesitant at first to join the forum, only because in Huntington we have a wonderful/helpful/supportive community already. Once I joined, though, I realized how helpful it can be! I am in contact with neighbors I hadn’t known that well – it just serves to widen my “circle.”

With people who are already super-plugged into their neighborhood, Front Porch Forum seems to get one of two initial rections… (1) “Great, where do I sign up” or (2) “No thanks… I already know everything and everybody.” The member above was, in some ways, a (2) who forced herself to check it out anyway… good for her!

In most cases, I’ve given up trying to convince the second category of folks. However, they often come on board some months later after FPF comes up over and over.

PodTech features Front Porch Forum

Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2007 by • 1 comment

Robert Scoble and I talked on camera about Front Porch Forum during a party at Googleplex NYC last month… part of the Personal Democracy Forum.

Works better than craigslist?

Posted on Monday, June 18, 2007 by • No comments yet

One of the good folks I met at the SEABA event the other evening just followed up our conversation with the kind posting below.  Thanks Barb!

“I had an extra ticket for a concert at the Flynn and posted it for sale on Craig’s List. After three days with nary a bite, I  tried the Front Porch Forum and received a response the following morning. Nice going!”  -Barbara Smorgans Marshall, Redrock Neighborhood Forum

Making Lemonade (from Life’s Lemons) on a Bicycle Built for Two

Posted on Friday, June 15, 2007 by • No comments yet

Here’s one of my favorite Front Porch Forum postings from today…

Hi Neighbors – I’m an experienced cyclist who, due to a visual impairment, can’t ride as fast as I’d like to. My solution is a tandem. I’m looking for experienced, or non-experienced cyclists who’d like to ride with me, (preferably in the front!), and experience the joy of tandem cycling. My bike is a spectacular 27 speed Santana with a comfortable front saddle and very adjustable seat post and handlebars. ONE East Neighborhood Forum

Inspiring!

When Members Sell Your Service better than You

Posted on Thursday, June 14, 2007 by • 1 comment

I attended a wonderful event in the neighborhood this evening hosted by Burlington’s SEABA (South End Arts and Business Association) and located in Lake Champlain Chocolates‘ newest building.  LCC CEO Jim Lampman shared stories of their success over the past 25 years and then architect John Anderson, who designed the project, talked of his vision of a vibrant, walkable Burlington… where people can’t help but keep walking, drawn from one interesting block to another by art, architecture, parks, views, etc.

As I mingled with the crowd afterward, I was struck that in each small group of people where I stopped to chat, Front Porch Forum would come up.  As I prepared to explain the service to those unfamiliar with it, I repeatedly was brushed aside by a current FPF member who would extol its virtues and implore the uninitiated to go right home and sign up!  In each case, they were more emphatic than I would ever be… and they each had a first-person story to tell of how it was working for them in their neighborhood.

Outsold by our own members… we must be on to something!

Lightning Strikes… Inside House!

Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 by • No comments yet

Can’t say I’ve ever heard of this… from the Huntington Neighborhood Forum…

We’d like to see if anyone knows who we could talk to about lightning in our house… yes IN our house. Our home is built over a fair amount of ledge and from what we understand lightning travels along ledge. We actually see flashes in the house in usually one area (N) although the storm a couple of weeks ago produced flashes in the basement (S) and at our barn. There is also a big pop, kind of like a large flash cube going off. We unplug the computer & phone but have still lost the phone. We are off grid and it must have struck the system because it was a bit messed up for a while and got it our DC freezer. A $300 storm! A light in the barn, that was off at the time flashed on when that was happening at the house. It’s scary! We’re wondering about grounding the house and have in the past called about lightning rods but the cost was VERY prohibitive for us, we’re talking over $10,000!!!

This has been going on for a while and seems to have gotten worse over time. Any thoughts or ideas would be very appreciated!

Any ideas? I’ll pass them along via Front Porch Forum.

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Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more

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