Which makes me wonder why doesn't Framingham have an official fireworks display? Anyone know?

For the longest time we never needed to, Natick had theirs at the Natick Mall and everyone from both towns went to that. When the new mall was built the fireworks show stopped and was never brought back.

Be nice to have a yearly fireworks display over farm pond.

Be nice to have a parade too.

For a big town, Framingham is lacking in some areas.

I love watching professional fireworks displays but it is quite annoying to hear firecrackers going off at all hours for 3 or 4 days straight around the 4th of July. I also don't think people realize how stressful it is to dogs who cower under tables trying to drown out the noise. Framingham police should inforce the law and we should not be encouraging people by posting pictures.

That comment really makes no sense. Parades and fireworks are paid for either by community reserves or private contributions. Framingham has an abundance of businesses that could be asked to contribute to such events. And we have a significant tax base providing a large revenue stream. Nobody gets a 'free ride'. Property taxes are paid by all, either directly by homeowners, or indirectly by renters. Framingham not having fireworks and parades is a reflection of poor community organization and a lack of volunteers. Parades are sometimes organized by Parks & Recs.

the previous commenter was right. every resident, owner or renter, pays property tax. the number of kids in schools is result of number of dwellings. it doesn't matter who lives in the dwellings - there will still be kids, and those kids will go to the schools. the only way to reduce the number of kids in the schools is to reduce the number of dwellings.

parks and recs is wholly mismanaged. they get a pile of money and provide very little. where are the youth sports leagues? (all private) where are the parades? (none) take a look at the parks - they are very poorly maintained. even the beaches require a user fee. look at the bowditch monstronsity. $6 million spent and it sits largely unused, without turf, and with a field too small to play soccer.

framingham has more big american businesses than any town you can name. bose, staples, tjx, fsu, metrowest medical. does parks and recs have relationships with any of them?

little towns like holliston and upton do fireworks. southboro, sudbury, natick and marlboro have parades. the problem is not money, it's effort. what does mr merosi do at parks and recs? why isn't he held accountable?

2 extremes I'm noticing. 1 is those who deny there's any problem with illegals in town. 2 is those who blame the illegals for everything.

Framingham is undeniably burdened with more than its share of illegals. The exact cost is hard to identify specifically at the community level, but it's there. There are extra police, ESL programs at the schools, etc.. To pretend otherwise is silly.

But illegals can't be blamed for everything. As Keith Shultz points out, the school budget would not be reduced anywhere near $20 million without them. This figure is shamefully repeated by disingenuous little people with ulterior motives.

To blame illegals for Framingham's inability to host a parade or a fireworks show is ridiculous. We have $6 million for a football stadium, but we can't have a parade? We have $150,000 for a toddler playground, but we can't have a fireworks show on the 4th? Come on.

I've lived in Framingham for 15 years. My kids are in the schools. I know more about it than you. Find me ONE dwelling with 10 kids. Identify the address or admit that you're a FRAUD. I am TIRED of hearing you MAKE STUFF UP.

Businesses locate and thrive in Framingham because of our ideal location and the region's educated population.

Jim Rizoli CCFIILE.COM Keith....15 years living in the town... LOL You got here when the illegals started coming to the town. I've lived here for 58 yrs...your just a kid who thinks he knows what's going on. The house next to me had 20 illegals in it, they ruined the house had to be completely gutted out. ....Go down Fredrick St, Freeman St, Weld St, Universal ave, Apt complex next to Walmart, Apts on Beaver St ....the list goes on and on. check out who lives there, and then get back to me. You have no clue, and by the way my facts are right on, will even put money on it.

Illegal businesses locate and thrive in Framingham, because they can come and go with impunity. Plus they get to spend your money. The cost is easy to identify if you take the time to do it. No one really wants to talk about it.
Problem is a lot of people's jobs depend on them. Social Service people, teachers, police, courts..etc. Illegals are good for business, but they are costing us plenty.

Keep wishing for your fireworks......

Rizoli's argument that illegals have more kids per dwelling appears to be just a guess. Is there any data or research to back it up? I'd imagine that squeezing extra people into an house or apt has more to do with economics than immigration status. Shultz's challenge to find a dwelling with 10 kid attending Framingham public schools went unmet. Blaming illegals for all that the town lacks is nonsense.

Moreover, Fireworks in other communities are not paid for by the schools or the towns. Parks and Recs, community organizers, and volunteers solicit local businesses for contributions. It is here that Framingham is lacking. For years this was unnecessary since the Natick Mall put on a show. Now it's necessary. Parades really don't need to be an expensive affair. It would take Parks and Recs to coordinate with Fire and Police, and perhaps get a local Lions, Masons or Knights of Columbus group involved.

Jim Rizoli CCFIILE.COM ED....This is no guess at one time it was that bad, now not as bad, but still a problem.
I guess your calling me a liar of what happened next door to me..

You guys have no clue...of what's been going on in this town. No one wants to talk about it and when it is brought up the charges fly of racism, haters, etc etc...
Bottom line the town is a Social service haven and illegal alien sanctuary town....
This is what Framingham will be remembered as and it won't change until the rule of law is followed.

Fat chance of that happening as the chief of police aids and abets the illegality and we the citizens have to suffer for it. This is not a reflection of the rank and file cops who are doing the best they can with a bad situation. I feel sorry for them that have to work in such a lawless town.

In regards to a parade...even if the town did sponsor one....the attendance would't support it. People don't seem to care about anything these days.
If you want to have a good parade get the Brazilians to throw one, they know how to celebrate.
Of course to get them to pay for it is another story. They don't pay for anything, why spoil a good thing going for them.

Joe Rizoli CCFIILE.com
Connect the dots. for 15 or 20 years the town has been flooded with illegals. FLOODED. Use to be 65 a DAY coming in. St Tarcisius Church said there were 5 NEW immigrsnts a day at that church looking for help. Ever since these people have come the TOWN and School services have gone down. Right or wrong here? The downtown is a dump and an embarrassment. It will continue to be so unless the problem is attacked head on and not aided and abetted. Bring RULE of LAW to the town and you get repect for it. Keep allowing the foolishness to continue and you will be paying for it in the various ways though lost town services.

Joe Rizoli

Why do you keep saying 'Connect the dots'? And why do the both of you try to blame everything under the sun on the same people? Lots of communities without any illegals are struggling financially. We're in a recession! Medical costs for town employees have skyrocketed. State aid is down. Property tax revenue is down. Foreclosures are up. So many factors. You can't just choose one; it's not that simple. Lots of people need and use social services. I'm not sure your racist, but when you generalize by ethnicity or nationality you open yourself up to such claims. It seems to me that you resent poor people getting help.

The points about the Parks and Recs division not stepping up and coordinating as they do in other towns may be valid. The absense of community volunteers is sad, but we can't complain about it if we're not out there ourselves. I see that there is a Town Meeting Standing Committee for Communitee Services. What do they do? Should they be working with Parks and Recs to get the ball rolling?

Jim Rizoli CCFIILE.COM....Judy....You actually don't get it! When the flood of illegals swept into the town 10-15 yrs ago with their hopes of grandeur, and riches their mortgage scams, credit card fraud etc....We lost it.
The town has never recouped and most likely never will.
Where is the blame? It's on the people that allowed this to happen. The banks, the Chamber of Commerce, the police, the Selectmen etc. they all had a part in it.
Law and order went out the window and this is the result of it.

Remember before the invasion of the illegals there were hardly any problems.
So the blame is not just the illegals but everyone that aided and abetted them to have a nice life here.
We spoke up as early as 2002 to warn the town of what was going to happened but they didn't listen. We just saw what was happening in California and new it was headed this way.
So I look at my job as done. We warned you, you didn't listen and you accuse us of being the bad guys when in reality we were just the bearer of bad news.
So please understand the illegals were just part of the scam, but a very big part, because without them the deals wouldn't of been made.
A lot of the illegals have left but they left behind a mortgage mess that has hurt the town immensely. There have been over 500 foreclosures and most of them are by illegal aliens. No one is touching that with a ten foot pole because many people are also implicated in this.
It is what it is..

The illegals are responsible for the mortgage mess? Were Morgan Stanley and the rest duped by Framingham's illegal immigrants too? How about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Seems like it's a big conspiracy you've uncovered!

Sudbury recently tried to pass an override to maintain school services. They don't have a lot of illegal immigrants do they? There are lots of problems contributing to financial difficulties in lots of communities all around us. They've been listed, but you've ignored them.

In your more lucid moments, do you ever think you're a little hung up on this whole illegal immigation issue?

Jim Rizoli CCFIILE.COM Judy.. Read my lips "The illegals were responsible for this mortgage mess"! The signing them up was the first stop for the problem.
Once that all happened and the loans were sold etc with the big name players later their share in the scam was done, and the mortgage companies and the banks were left holding the bag.
What I'm telling you no one wants to admit...can you blame them?
This was a whole worldwide "conspiracy' to defraud the public and no one wants to take the blame. Any way you slice it the illegals were the first ones involved.
This is why they came here in the first place in the numbers that they did.
The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, or they thought.
Buy a house with NO money down, no income and your good to go.
This is what happened with them, and the rest is history.
I hope this clears it up for you.

Jim Rizoli CCFILE.COM For all you doubters....Good article about the illegals and the mortgage mess.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/item_ee5fJAlTOSVeeg6iV7xXyN

Great. An article from 2008, in a rag tabloid, by a notorious conservative talking head. Identifying counties with large hispanic populations with lots of foreclosures doesn't prove anything. It's like blaming inner city neighborhoods for the recession because there's high unemployment.

What you need to make your argument is a reputable, verifiable source saying "x% of defaulted mortgages were made to illegal aliens". Otherwise it's pure conjecture. And even if that were true, it would be the lending agencies' fault. Why did they make loans to high risk borrowers, regardless of immigration status? The lenders were the problem. They made bad loans for short term profit. And very few, or none, or the lenders were illegal aliens.

You're guessing that many of the defaulted mortgages were made to illegal aliens. My guess is that number is around 2-5%. Until you prove otherwise, it's pure conjecture - Just a little guy with a big mouth spouting off.

Jim Rizoli CCFIILE.COM Gregory......Michelle Malkin is a reputable writer, sorry you don't care for her. Rag tabloid?? News is news wherever paper it appears in. This paper more likely borrowed the story from her website, or another website.. In regards to "reputable" I've been logging the foreclosures from the local paper over the past few years, 60-70% were Brazilian names, what can I say... No one is bringing this up because mortgage brokers, and bank people were part of this scam. If you were one of them I don't think you would want to be exposed as a cheat would you?
"Little guy with big mouth" LOL....Thanks for the insult.....I just deal with facts and leave the name calling to people like you that have no "facts".
When I present information my facts are right on just look at my website....
No one will ever take me on because my "facts" are not disputable if your looking for truth.

I spend a lot of time researching things, making videos etc.. while guys like you are working....It's a great life I have, you should try it sometime.
Make sure you watch my next Weekly Show on Saturday night 9pm, more indisputable facts about controversial subjects that no one else will touch.
It's all about free speech....even in a town that does it's best to stopping it.

Remember Saturday night 9pm Weekly Show # 118