Category Archives: Boston

Honda Village is still at it; let’s see if the threat of a class-action lawsuit will put a stop to it!

[You can read the whole series of Honda Village postings here.] January 22, 2010 Ray Ciccolo Village Automotive Group 75 North Beacon Street Allston, MA 02134-1912 Dear Mr. Ciccolo, Once again, I find myself sending you a M.G.L. Chapter 93a letter because of Honda Village’s deceptive trade practices. In June 2009, Honda Village started sending… Read More: Honda Village is still at it; let’s see if the… »

New Massachusetts unemployment insurance employer Web site crashes and burns upon launch

(Simulblogged at universalhub.com.) The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a convoluted(*) unemployment insurance system, under which employers are required to make various quarterly and annual filings and quarterly payments involving at least two different state agencies. This system is administered by the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA), who decided to replace their old, paper-based system with… Read More: New Massachusetts unemployment insurance employer Web site crashes and burns… »

Frank Shaw / Vanguard Realty: Another junk-mailing Realtor

I first asked Frank Shaw at Vanguard Realty in Brighton, MA to stop sending me junk mail in January 2008, through a contact form on his Web site.  He ignored me. More junk mail arrived in late March, so I asked him again, this time using both the form and a phone call. He sent… Read More: Frank Shaw / Vanguard Realty: Another junk-mailing Realtor »

Family “Letters to the Editor” Score: +1

In today’s Boston Herald: Learn from Israel Monday, January 11, 2010 The Israelis do not use racial profiling for airport security (“European response mixed to new U.S. security demands,” Jan. 4). They use profiling, which includes patterns of behavior, coordination of intelligence and sophisticated modeling of which country of origin as but one factor. Interviews… Read More: Family “Letters to the Editor” Score: +1 »

Comcast Tech: “Comcast already disconnected? But I’ve got to disconnect SOMETHING!”

As I’ve discussed at length, I recently switched from Comcast internet & phone to RCN + Vonage because of dissatisfaction with Comcast’s business model (i.e., rip customers off at every opportunity), pricing (i.e., not at all competitive) and customer support (i.e., awful).  I thought this afterthought might be amusing to some… When the RCN installers… Read More: Comcast Tech: “Comcast already disconnected? But I’ve got to disconnect… »

Gutters and gutter covers — a third opinion

Recently, I wrote about trying to figure out what to do about my gutters.  Ned Stevens says three of them needed to be replaced at a cost of $600.  New England Gutter Kings says that they can be repaired for only $400, and for $1,360 I could install gutter covers that will be warrantied against… Read More: Gutters and gutter covers — a third opinion »

Advice needed: What to do about our gutters?

I’m hoping that someone out there who knows more than I about rain gutters, who has done work on their own gutters similar to what I’m considering, or who has used one of the companies I’m considering, will be able to provide some helpful insight and advice… We use Ned Stevens (NS) to clean our… Read More: Advice needed: What to do about our gutters? »

Joe Fitzgerald’s token Christmas-loving Jew

To: letterstoeditor@bostonherald.com To the editor: On Dec. 10, Joe Fitzgerald wrote about Irina Koltoniuc, his favorite Christmas-loving Jew, for the sixth time (“Jewish immigrant champions Christmas”).  Does he keep writing about the same woman because he’s too lazy to find someone else, or because he can’t find any other Jews willing to talk about how… Read More: Joe Fitzgerald’s token Christmas-loving Jew »