Man About Canton: A New Way to Get Things Done
By Joe DeFeliceDID YOU KNOW …
One month after Bank of America got pummeled by consumers and politicians for introducing plans to charge $5 per month for debit card use, they have now done a complete u-turn and scrapped plans to charge customers. The company said it was responding to customer feedback and a competitive marketplace. Many customers turned to Twitter and Facebook to spread their ire over the proposed debit card fees.
Social media outlets have provided a powerful means for consumers to take on large corporations, from banks to airlines to hotels. Even before Bank of America’s turnaround, most other banks announced they were steering clear of imposing similar charges. JP Morgan Chase & Co., one of the largest U.S. consumer banks with 26.5 million checking accounts and 5,300 branches, also decided that it would not charge customers who use debit cards to make purchases.
Now that the consumers have won the debit card fee fight, MAC and others better be prepared for new bank fees, such as higher checking and savings account and overdraft charges, higher ATM fees, and possible fees if consumers want to receive paper statements in the mail. However, as one communication expert said, “Social media has allowed consumers to instantly share discontent and do something about it. What has been clear is that what happens online has a palpable effect in the real world.” Consumers now have a means to fight back with social networks.
The Blue Hills Regional High School football team (8-0) has allowed only 30 points through its first eight games, a microscopic 3.8 points per game. According to stats compiled by the Boston Globe, that is the second stingiest among the 225 teams in eastern Massachusetts.
A tribute to Thom Healey, a 1971 Canton High School graduate, will be held on Friday, November 18, at 6 p.m. in the Tirrell Room, 154 Quarry Street in Quincy. The tribute will raise money for esophageal cancer research. For further information and tickets, email Jane Ford at jf412@aol.com.
Bill Keating, a Democratic congressman (Quincy) and also a former state senator from Canton and a former district attorney, raised $313,000 in the first nine months of 2011 for his first congressional reelection campaign. In Keating’s election campaign in 2010, he raised $1.5 million and spent nearly all of the contributions on his election bid.
The LoJack Company, an auto theft detection device manufacturer, plans to consolidate its three offices in Westwood into one complex at the former Tweeter headquarters off Route 138 in Canton by the end of this year.
Legislation is being considered at the State House that would bar those under 18 from getting body piercings without written permission from a parent or legal guardian, who must accompany them.
Rock and roll great Chuck Berry recently turned 85.
There are 103 certified organic growing farms in Massachusetts, the same number as New Hampshire. Vermont has 537, while Rhode Island has only 23.
The Milton Art Museum, with more than 260 pieces in its collection, has permanently moved to Massasoit Community College in Canton. The college will house the museum’s collection, which includes works by Picasso and Cézanne.
Kimberly Dadasis of Canton recently ran the New York City Marathon. Her time was 3:46:32, and she averaged 8:40 miles the entire race. Both MAC and her husband, Bill, congratulate her on a job well done!
Tucker Donahoe of Canton, son of Robert and Maureen Donahoe, was recently named a captain for the Middlebury College varsity hockey team. His younger brother, Robbie, is also a member of the varsity team.
Congratulations to the Canton High School golf team, which recently won the Hockomock League championship for the first time in the program’s history.
It is interesting to note that the Canton High School football team has averaged the most points per game in the Hockomock’s Davenport Division through the first eight games. However, the team has also given up the most points per game. The CHS football team has been very competitive this year, playing all the large schools, close in score for most of the game.
The CHS girls’ volleyball team won the Davenport Division with a perfect 8-0 record. It is the eighth time in the last nine years that the CHS volleyball team has won the Hockomock League championship.
All of the town’s municipal unions and the Canton Teachers Association have settled on a one-year contract with no salary increases.
Developer John Crugnale is seeking a special permit under the town’s flexible development bylaw for a 17-lot subdivision off Stonewood Drive, off York Street. The flexible development bylaw allows for smaller lot sizes if the developer agrees to set aside land for open space. Crugnale would develop only half of the 44 acres he owns off Stonewood Drive.
George Washington, the first president of the United States, died the last month of the last year of the 18th century at the age of 67.
You have to take it as it happens, but you should try to make it happen the way you want to take it.
This is all for now folks. See you next week.
Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=9611
Posted by Joe DeFelice
on Nov 16 2011. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion.
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