I'm glad I don't write for money

or work for the city here. It's a brutal business.  When a major developer cracks the whip, people have to jump, and writers have to write what the boss tells them to write.   After his posting on Masslive on Monday, Fred Contrada of the Republican had to write a retraction, the building inspector is incommunicado, and a million questions will remain unanswered until the new development group meets with the community.  If there is confusion in the community about whether Opal or Historic Round Hill LLC is running this project, it's a problem that Peter Picknelly and Demetrios Pantelakis created. The papers filed with the Massachusetts Secretary of State don't lie. Picknelly exited the development group on July 8, 2013 shortly after the corporation got bank financing. He never told anybody in Northampton that he had spun off the development to Pantelakis and James Hebert. Pantelakis was running the project all last year, and the freezing of the pipes occurred on his watch. He never had any experience with managing a big project.  

I believe Louis Hasbrouck did tell Fred Contrada that the project was dead, but then the Mayor probably called him and told him to shut up.  Louis hadn't seen any progress since last summer. This spring, Pantelakis resigns or is fired. Why, we'll never know. I'm not going to go find him, although I think I know where he is and what he is doing.  So nothing  happened at all with the project until Fred and I start asking questions and making calls.  Calls are not returned,  Public embarassment looms for the Mayor and Picknelly.  Picknelly gets his ducks in order, gets architects and builders lined up, and an interview scheduled with the Gazette.  A new beginning, and no one asks any awkward questions.  To go to the Opal story, click here.