Costs rising, consumer confidence plummeting

Patriot Ledger, The (Quincy, MA) - Monday, February 11, 2008

By Adam Riglian, The Patriot Ledger

Paul Gallagher keeps the heat in his home at 65 degrees, drives his SUV less and buys groceries in bulk.

The father of a 13-year-old son and 8-year-old triplets has changed his lifestyle to help deal with the high price of necessities, stagnant wages and a slowing economy.

'It's getting more and more difficult to keep a budget,' said Gallagher, a vice president of State Street Bank and a Kingston selectman. 'You are cutting into your savings to pay for (heating) oil, you're not going out to eat as often, you're not buying anything in excess you are going to BJ's and buying in bulk.'

Like many, Gallagher is feeling the financial squeeze from an economy that some say is already in recession, coupled with near-record prices for food and fuel.

The U.S. Labor Department recently reported that consumer prices rose by 4.1 percent in 2007, the biggest increase in 17 years, while wages went up by only 3.2 percent. Energy costs rose by 17.4 percent and food costs rose by 4.9 percent. Both were the biggest increases since 1990.

And, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the gross domestic product the total market value of all final goods and services produced in the country grew by just 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, down from 4.9 percent in the third quarter.

The RBC CASH Index, a monthly national survey of consumer attitudes on the current and future state of local economies and people's financial situations, shows that consumer confidence is the lowest it's been since the survery began, in 2002.

Lee Forker of Hingham, the founder of New England Research & Management, says he believes the economy is already in a recession that could last at least a year.

'I am part of the minority group of economists and strategists that think this recession is in the early stages and that it will get worse,' Forker said.

Prices of necessities have been creeping up in the last few years, so the hit on people's wallets has grown, he said. Consequently, people have less discretionary money to spend, he said.

Forker advises consumers to scrutinize 'every single expenditure they make from this point forward.'

Dan Heitzman of Marshfield, founder and president of Stonebridge Financial Consultants in Rockland, says people should pay down credit-card debt and apply for a home equity line of credit in case money is needed for an emergency.

'Pay down some debt and get (yourself) situated for the long haul,' Heitzman said.

Normally, prices come down when the economy slows, but Heitzman and Forker expect food and fuel prices to remain high because of strong worldwide demand.

Paul Phillips, president of the Quincy Education Association, said workers are beginning to notice that wages are lagging behind inflation.

'You agree to a 3 percent raise and you find out whether you won or lost later,' said Phillips, who added that his union 'broke even' in 2007.

Phillips said members of the union are 'nervous' about their wages keeping pace this year.

Michele Stokes Howes, a Weymouth mother of 8-year old twins, is trying to pinch every penny in her $150-a-week food bill.

Her family eats out less frequently and she is shopping at a supermarket that offers better deals.

'We used to go out a lot more than we do now,' Stokes Howes said. '(Now) we go maybe once every other week. Even a Coke nowadays is $2.50 at some places.'

Stokes Howes has even resorted to using discount coupons, a first for her.

'I've started cutting out coupons,' she said. 'I used to have that 'I can't be bothered mentality.''

For Gallagher, energy costs have been even more difficult to cope with than high food prices.

'It's killing me,' he said. 'My oil bill for November was $417; in December it was $577. I just wrote a check yesterday for $617 for January. And I can tell you, we don't have the heat going.'

Gallagher also said he pays $50 a week to fill up his Toyota Camry with gasoline and $75 every two weeks for his Chevrolet Suburban.

'I think oil is going to kill everybody,' he said.

Adam Riglian may be reached at ariglian@ledger.com.

Film producer with Plymouth ties wins Sundance prize

Patriot Ledger, The (Quincy, MA) - Saturday, February 9, 2008

By Adam Riglian, The Patriot Ledger

It is an honor to be considered for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. It's a big surprise to win it.

Producer Chip Hourihan felt that rush of shock and joy when his film, 'Frozen River' was selected as this year's best dramatic feature.

The film focuses on two women's struggles between working minimum-wage jobs and the lucrative world of illegal-immigrant smuggling across the Quebec-New York border.

'Ours was a very small film, so we were very pleased just to get in to Sundance,' Hourihan said. 'We were just so honored by the attention they paid it.'

So unexpected was Hourihan's success, that his parents, Bill and Joan of Plymouth, did not make the trip to Park City, Utah, the ski-resort hot spot that annually plays host to the festival.

'He honestly did not expect to win,' Bill Hourihan said. 'We said to him, 'We'll book a flight out to Park City,' and he said 'don't bother.''

The award, which has been given to such films as 'American Splendor,' 'Blood Simple,' and 'The Brothers McMullen,' was presented to the 'Frozen River' team by actor William H. Macy.

The jury was composed of filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Mary Harron and actors Diego Luna, Sandra Oh and Marcia Gay Harden.

Hourihan recounted the anticipation on awards night.

'We didn't know in advance, so we were sitting there and I was thinking 'It was an honor just to be here,'' he said.

Tarantino began discussing the winning film without naming it, dropping clues as to what film was chosen.

'When Tarantino said, 'it put my heart in a vice,' that's when I thought 'this could be us.''

Hourihan, who has produced six features planning to shoot two films in Massachusetts, one in New Bedford, the other in Cambridge and Somerville.

The latter film, titled 'Angry Candy' after an E.E. Cummings poem about Cambridge is set to shoot in early 2009.

The proposed Plymouth movie studio project has caught Hourihan's attention. Hourihan lives in Brooklyn, but views Plymouth as one of his hometowns.

'Film studios in a community like Plymouth are a wonderful idea,' Hourihan said. 'Come in to a local place and try to support the craft industry.'

The idea that Hourihan could be back in Massachusetts someday, working on films, is exciting to his father as well.

'I'm sure that would be a real advantage because he loves this area,' Bill Hourihan said.

Adam Riglian may be reached at ariglian@ledger.com.

Bad biz: Pats weren’t the only losers; Super Bowl defeat hurts many merchants’ bottom line

By ADAM RIGLIAN, The Patriot Ledger

Had the Patriots won the Super Bowl, local stores would have been buzzing today with people buying 19-0 shirts and Super Bowl XLII championship hats.

With $15.95 and a PayPal account, you can still get one of those Patriots Super Bowl championship T-shirts on eBay, but it’s not exactly the same for fans or certainly for local businesses.

Lisa Seyffert, co-owner of Pre-Game Sports in Marshfield, estimates that her store will miss out on about $5,000 in Patriots merchandise sales because of Sunday’s Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants.

‘‘We were tripling our days last year (leading up to the game),’’ Seyffert said. ‘‘We made up everything we lost on ice skates and then thousands. It’s going to be a tough February if those (cranberry) bogs don’t freeze back up.’’

A smaller sporting goods store like Pre-Game puts in an ‘‘if-win’’ order for Super Bowl merchandise, which would have arrived today. But while the smaller stores do not have to pay up-front for the goods, manufacturers like Canton-based Reebok produce Patriots championship shirts and hats before the game and are left in a much different position.

Dan Sarro, a Reebok representative, said the company donates the losing team’s goods to World Vision, a charitable organization based in Washington.

Karen Kartes, a World Vision spokeswoman, said the organization used to get a couple of hundred losing-team shirts and caps that were made up in advance for distribution on the field.

‘‘In recent years, it has gotten bigger,’’ Kartes said. ‘‘The NFL has asked their retail affiliates to give to World Vision.’’

Last season, World Vision received roughly $2.5 million worth of Chicago Bears apparel following the Bears’ Super Bowl loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

Those unwanted shirts and hats and jackets that the National Football League wants out of sight are distributed in poorer countries around the world.

‘‘It ends up going to people that desperately need it,’’ Kartes said. ‘‘Some of these people have never worn a new shirt, and they don’t really care what’s on it.’’

This year, Patriots goods will reach about a dozen countries, including Romania and Nicaragua. ESPN will follow the journey of the shirts to Nicaragua as part of a special report.

Sporting goods stores and manufacturers aren’t the only losers after the Patriots’ crushing defeat.

The Patriot Ledger had prepared a special 24-page section commemorating the Patriots’ perfect season. It would have been in today’s paper as the Patriots rolled through Boston in a victory parade.

Adam Riglian may be reached at ariglian@ledger.com .

Ex-Duxbury manager chosen for Marshfield administrator job

Patriot Ledger, The (Quincy, MA) - Tuesday, January 29, 2008

By Adam Riglian, The Patriot Ledger

Marshfield selectmen have unanimously offered the town administrator position to Rocco Longo, a former Duxbury town manager.

Selectmen and Longo were to meet today in closed session to negotiate a contract. Longo, the Duxbury town manager from 1994 to 2005 and current Billerica town manager, has 31 years of management experience.

'Mr. Rocco Longo and his experience clearly surpasses all the other candidates,' Selectman Michael Maresco said Monday.

Without discussion, the board decided Monday night to offer the job to Longo, citing his ability to work with schools, his hands-on approach and his openness.

He was among the finalists chosen by the town administrator search committee, and selectmen interviewed him in public on Sunday.

'I just felt that Mr. Longo's leadership style would be a better fit for the town,' Selectman Katie O'Donnell said.

'He intends to be available 24/7, which is great, but what impressed me more was that he was very committed,' Maresco said.

Longo earns $130,000 as town manager for Billerica. Marshfield's advertised maximum for the town administrator position is $135,000, Maresco said.

Selectmen said they hope Longo can start March 1. He will succeed John Clifford, who resigned late last year, citing the need to devote more time to his law practice. He has since been chosen to become Rockland's interim town administrator.

In other business, selectmen diverted some of the $158,000 the town pays the MBTA to another regional transportation authority.

Under the deal, the Greater Attleboro-Taunton Regional Transportation Authority will extend its bus and van services to Marshfield. The new service will not require any extra money, although the exact amount Marshfield will pay remains to be determined.

Also, Police Chief William Sullivan reported that a police captain position will be filled by Lt. Phillip Tavares.

Tavares, 38, has worked his way up the Marshfield ranks for the past 14 years. He started as an assistant animal control officer.

'I have no reservations, and I can't imagine anyone else coming into that position with his skill level,' Sullivan said.

Adam Riglian may be reached at ariglian@ledger.com.

THE ECONOMY - For some, the rainy day is already here

Patriot Ledger, The (Quincy, MA) - Monday, January 28, 2008

By ADAM RIGLIAN, The Patriot Ledger

Plasterer Charles Bashtway remembers the days when he had plenty of work, but that was before the economy sputtered, drying up business and giving him an unpaid vacation.

‘‘I’m dead. I’m not doing anything right now,’’ said Bashtway, 65, of Dedham, who works throughout the South Shore. ‘‘I used to make pretty good money. Now I have to worry about a rainy day.’’

Bashtway’s worries are growing because of predictions about the economy falling into recession.

‘‘(The) stock market’s lousy, everything is lousy. I was trying to sell my house, and I can’t even do that now,’’ he said.

In an attempt to stave off recession, the Federal Reserve has been aggressively cutting a key short-term rate in recent months and is expected to do so again at the end of a two-day meeting that begins Tuesday. The federal funds rate has been lowered from 5.25 percent to 3.50 percent since August, and some expect the Fed to set the rate at 3 percent Wednesday.

The federal funds rate is the interest rate at which banks lend money they have at the Federal Reserve to other banks overnight.

Dan Heitzman of Marshfield, founder and president of Stonebridge Financial Consultants in Rockland, believes recession is a ‘‘strong possibility.’’

‘‘My greatest concern is that the consumer stops spending,’’ he said.

In addition to the Fed’s interest rate cuts, Congress is working on an economic stimulus package that includes tax rebates and business incentives.

But Heitzman believes the stimulus package won’t be enough to avoid recession.

‘‘I think it’s going to be like putting your finger in the dike,’’ he said. ‘‘Every day we go to the gas pump and we pay our heating bills. That’s a pretty good reminder of how much is coming out of our pocket.’’

Heitzman said the best way to deal with an economic slowdown is to pay down debt and invest.

‘‘My advice is to pare down debt with the (tax rebate) money that comes back,’’ he said.

He also said this is a great time to invest in the stock market. The Dow Jones opened today at 12,027.17, down from 13,056.72 on Jan. 3.

Heitzman recommends funding retirement plans and investing in large-capitalization growth funds. He said that this is ‘‘not a time to be panicking.’’

As for the end of this downturn, Heitzman has a simple way to tell when it’s over:

‘‘We’ll know it’s over when we start thinking about going to the movies or going on vacation. Then it’s over.’’

According to some real estate brokers, the lower interest rates are helping the ailing housing market.

‘‘The interest rates coming down get the people on the fence (to look),’’ said Janice Richmond of Century 21 Network Richmond Associates in Quincy. ‘‘First-time buyers are deciding that ‘this is it,’ or close to it.’’

Low mortgage rates and a backlog of housing inventory have made this a good time to buy, said Rick Murray, a broker for Braintree-based Keller Williams Realty.

‘‘Anyone out there that is seriously looking has low-interest rates and plenty of choices,’’ he said.

Adam Riglian may be reached at ariglian@ledger.com .

Braintree man awarded Bronze Star

Patriot Ledger, The (Quincy, MA) - Wednesday, January 23, 2008

By Adam Riglian, The Patriot Ledger

Staff Sgt. Kenny Butler of Braintree lost his right arm above the elbow after shrapnel from an improvised explosive device ripped through his Humvee in Baghdad on May 14.

Still, he feels relatively lucky.

'I was a lefty, so I made out on that part of the deal,' Butler said by telephone from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He has been recuperating there since being wounded and has been learning how to use a prosthetic.

The 1999 Braintree High School graduate was to receive the Bronze Star today. The medal, awarded for bravery and acts of merit, is the military's fourth-highest combat award.

Sgt. Butler, 27, enlisted in the Army in September 2001, 'right after 9/11.'

He has served in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division since early 2002, completing a tour of duty in Afghanistan and three in Iraq. He has received two Purple Hearts.

Butler said the blast that cost him his arm also sent shrapnel into the right side of his chest; it went through his torso and out the other side. Somehow, the shards missed his vital organs.

'I was the only one wounded, so that was a good thing,' he said.

His father, Joseph Butler, said his son is playing down the Bronze Star, but 'it must mean a lot to him.'

'He's not a vain person. As he sees it, he just did his job,' Joseph Butler said.

Kenny Butler said he hopes to be released from the hospital by early summer.

'Walter Reed's taking pretty good care of me,' he said.

After he was injured by shrapnel during his first tour in Iraq he received his first Purple Heart for that he felt compelled to return to the war with his unit, Butler said.

Despite what happened, he said he has no regrets.

'People really have each other's back and care about each other in the service,' he said. 'I feel like I belong there with the men, in battle. I couldn't let them go without me.'

Edward B. Colby contributed to this story.

Adam Riglian may be reached at ariglian@ledger.com.

Student drinking exceeds national average: Study also shows higher pot smoking rate at Pembroke High

By ADAM RIGLIAN, The Patriot Ledger

PEMBROKE - Nearly half of Pembroke High School students have drunk alcohol and more than a quarter have smoked marijuana in the last month, according to figures from a regional health advocacy group.

The Southeast Center for Healthy Communities study found that 48.3 percent of Pembroke High students had used alcohol and 25.7 percent had smoked marijuana in the past 30 days.

Studies done at the high school and middle school and a survey of parents were discussed during a Pembroke Community Youth Alliance meeting on Thursday.

The study, which surveyed roughly 90 percent of students, puts high school students in Pembroke above national averages in alcohol and marijuana use by between 3 and 4 percentage points. The students also were above the Massachusetts average for alcohol use but below the state average for marijuana use.

Cigarette smoking by Pembroke students was also below the state average, at 17.5 percent of students.

Most troubling for Pembroke High Principal Ruth Lynch was that 30 percent of high school seniors said they had driven under the influence in the past 30 days. The state average is 17 percent.

‘‘The number of students that are drinking and driving, I’m very concerned about that,’’ Lynch said. ‘‘I’ve worked in other high schools, and the most painful experience a principal can go through is the death of a student, and when it is related to drugs or alcohol, it’s just tragic.’’

A meeting has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 30 at the Pembroke Public Library so residents can talk about how to respond to the survey results.

Adam Riglian may be reached at ariglian@ledger.com .