My high school in Wilbraham, MA, got the 'Saturday Night Live' treatment due to lighting issue. The school has a server to control the lights with no manual override. The server got hacked and the school hasn't been able to turn off lights since 2021. Still not fixed.

Submitted by The_Sloth_Racer t3_10k6nq2 in funny

I consider this funny but sad at the same time for all the taxpayers in Wilbraham, MA who have been unknowingly paying for electricity for 2 years. The high school, Minnechaug Regional High School, was built in 2012 and the town tried to cheap out and cut corners wherever they could. Cutting so many corners has already hurt them before so this is just another example of why you don't build schools as cheaply as possible, especially in such a rich town where the average income is over $100K.

(I wasn't sure if this is the right sub so if there's somewhere else this post would better fit, please let me know.)

You can watch the SNL clip on the first link...

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PropertySecret5647 t1_j5rirg9 wrote

These light circuits have to be on a breaker, that even if programmable can none the less be shut off.

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DrChemStoned t1_j5uyr1k wrote

Breakers have a finite number of throws before they will fail, not good practice to use a breaker as a switch.

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scottieducati t1_j5optq9 wrote

Plan for efficiency and totally fuck up execution with zero plan B. Ofc it’s in MA.

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j5oqxd4 wrote

We might have some issues in Mass but I'll stay here where we have the best education/schools in the country, best hospitals and doctors, free healthcare through MassHealth for everyone (poor, disabled, elderly, etc.), and some of the best gun control laws which have resulted in the lowest gun deaths over the past 30 years.

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scottieducati t1_j5or16w wrote

What? We have more gun crimes and homicides than NH, VT, or ME per capita. Also not sure how that’s relevant to how things get purchased, built, and signed off on. The list of debacles grows every year, we can start with the new MBTA cars. The mere fact this has been unresolved for so long is a failure of management and leadership.

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canadacorriendo785 t1_j5tyxd3 wrote

Massachusetts has significantly fewer deaths from firearms than the Northern New England states.

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/firearm_mortality/firearm.htm

It's the 2nd lowest rate in the country after Hawaii.

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scottieducati t1_j5u6msr wrote

That’s not a metric of criminality. The post was asserting some measure of safety benefit from our 2A laws. Look up homicide pet capita. Lookup crimes committed with a firearm per capita.

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canadacorriendo785 t1_j5udng1 wrote

Total deaths related to firearms is a much better measure of the effectiveness of gun laws than some vague notions of criminality. "Crimes committed with a firearm per capita" isn't a statisitic that has been kept since 1993.

Besides, the violent crime rate in Mass is significantly below the national average and other states with strict gun laws like Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island have some of the lowest violent crime rates in the country.

The highest rates of violent crime are overwhelmingly in states with less restrictions on guns. Alaska, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana etc.

Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire are the exceptions not the rule.

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scottieducati t1_j5uf3oj wrote

Weird how all our neighbors have different policies but less issues. They’re much closer peers than any state you mention, maybe regional culture is a thing?

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canadacorriendo785 t1_j5ujzlm wrote

I think you're overestimating the difference in violent crime levels between Massachusetts and its neighbors. The rates fluctuate year to year and Mass is consistently well below the national average.

There's also a difference between Eastern and Western Mass. The rate is much higher in the western part of the state, and it's not just Springfield. Pittsfield, North Adams, Greenfield, Turners Falls, Ware all consistently have some of the highest violent crime rates in the State.

I moved to Vermont and trust me there's a lot more crime up here than you think there is. I won't be surprised at all if there was more crime per capita in Vermont in 2022 than in Mass.

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j5oseea wrote

> We have more gun crimes and homicides than NH, VT, or ME per capita.

I wasn't talking about New England. I was comparing gun crimes in Mass/New England compared to the rest of the country, specifically states in the south and southwest like Texas.

> The list of debacles grows every year, we can start with the new MBTA cars.

Oh trust me, I agree with you on that. I know Mass has plenty of issues just like any other place. Mass has plenty of nepotism and that's the first thing that should be fixed. I've spent most of my life in Western Mass around Springfield and Northampton and have also lived in Worcester and on Cape and have seen how differently Western Mass gets treated. We still have some parts of the Berkshires without high-speed internet that Maura Healey finally said will be built but we'll see. I know Mass isn't the best state in the US but it definitely has many advantages over many other states. I know that if I lived in any other state I would be dead because I wouldn't be able to afford the medications that I have to take to stay alive. On MassHealth, I pay nothing for any medical care.

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Leiryn t1_j5p171k wrote

Yeah but you still live in Massachusetts 🤢

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imnotlyndsey t1_j5qmcxa wrote

It could be worse. They could be living in Oklahoma (this is a self roast)

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j5sk9h7 wrote

Or Florida or Texas...

When I think of Oklahoma, all I think of are lots of fields and farms and very few people per capita. Is that accurate?

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procrastinatorsuprem t1_j5rj8mi wrote

Arent he mbta issues because they privatized in 2014? Doesn't Keolis manage the MBTA? I don't remember any problems like this when it was state run.

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scottieducati t1_j5oupdg wrote

LoL so let’s tout our stringent and woefully messed up gun licensing with…. Not our neighbors. Phenomenal.

We could also talk about the layers upon layers of taxation, here. Like a goddamn onion people think it’s normal to pay sales tax on a car, then excise tax on top of it yearly, oh plus inspection requirements. Want to expand your house? That’ll cost you 50% more than in NH because of the vast amount of bullshit.

It’s staggering what folks accept as the norm down here. You are not getting a good return on the immense tax schemes that suck everyone dry. Look at the state of our actual schools (buildings), roads, the T, etc.

We also have a pretty big prison complex here, and a state police force that can’t seem to stop committing fraud and wasting taxpayer monies.

The entire economy of Boston was underpinned by subsidizing secondary education and the schools profited so much they bought half the damn land area and guess what? That means less taxes.

There’s a dire housing problem and the local / state government hasn’t acted to curb NIMBYism for decades. Directly hurting anyone not rich enough to own land here.

So let’s add on a few more passive taxes that folks won’t notice instead of using sound policies to foster affordable housing, mixed-use development, invest meaningfully in infrastructure and transit, and broaden the tax base.

When is it enough to demand some kind of accountability or real change?

I honestly think the incremental creep of mismanagement, taxation, and slapping band aids on core issues has people a bit deluded.

Boston and the surrounding area is great for white collar, high earners who own a home. For…. Everyone else? I’m not convinced.

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Melbonie t1_j5u1a3n wrote

Maybe you should move to Florida with the rest of them. If you do the snowbird thing like all of my family's neighbors do, you can live in MA half the year and enjoy all the perks of a functioning society, and hang out in the cockroach heaven of Florida the other half, for no income taxes. Down here helping out a sick family member caught up in a sick underfunded system right now, and you're deluding yourself if you think less is gonna be more. We have an amazing quality of life in MA, and we take care of each other. Don't believe the hype- it's not any cheaper in Florida- and if you need any sort of help, ever, it's fuck you you're on your own. Same goes for NH. Live Free or Die means if it ain't free, go ahead and die. My aunt just died of cancer up there and it was unnecessarily stressful and unpleasant. Worst kind of blessing that she went fast, as it was all pain, suffering and fighting for any little scrap of help. We get what we pay for, and must experience true lack before we can appreciate anything.

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scottieducati t1_j5u1mbw wrote

So we’re better than FL but can’t improve? They aren’t comparable and I never asserted as much.

MA has plenty of shortcomings and if you don’t see that I’d love some of what you’re smoking. Is it better than some areas? Absolutely. The bar isn’t very high if FL is your comp.

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Melbonie t1_j5u4h5z wrote

I just see the same tired Taxachusetts argument, old as Methuselah and just as fictitious. I paid more taxes as a percentage of income in WA, OR, CT. I paid WAYYY more for healthcare, home and car insurance, utilities, water, gas and groceries in FL, SC and GA. We have plenty of shortcomings in MA, who doesn't, but the fact is that we get a lot of bang for our buck, compared to most states. Particularly all the low-tax states that our tax dollars subsidize. I work in public service, caring for "invisible throw away people" (elderly, disabled, mentally ill) and we could always do better, but are doing light years better than any of the other 6 states across the nation I've lived and worked in. But that's not your cohort, so you don't see it. No offense and I hope you don't, but chances are someday you'll need some of the services we pay for and then you'll see the value.

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scottieducati t1_j5u6bwd wrote

Totally down for better social safety nets and yeah that’s a huge plus for MA vs NH.

We’re also home to big pharma and healthcare so indirectly benefit from it at perhaps the expense of having serious discussions of universal healthcare.

It’s a weird place to be here, so much progressive potential but so much old money, corruption and nimbyism holding things back.

I intended that list more as a list of opportunities to improve things here and less of grievances but realize it may have come across poorly.

I’ve owned a business here and there is a LOT to be done to make things better for small business.

Don’t have to look far from Boston to see them closing and being forced further away… we get banks and chains now. I’ve lost count of shuttered local business in metro west.

The financial burdens to the little guys (but maybe not those in “need”) is astronomical these days. Something needs to change or folks won’t like where we end up.

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Melbonie t1_j5u9xbg wrote

DEFINITELY need to cultivate a way better environment for small business. I'd love to use my public sector skills to craft similar programming for anyone who could use it, not just MassHealth qualified folks. Given the trend toward corporatization of everything, we should really try to be progressive leaders in making small business more achievable. We talk a big game about local source in Western MA, but not a lot of action. I was really disappointed to see the crony capitalism in the MassHealth sector when Baker brought Optum on board- another layer of administration and bureaucracy is not what the system needed, and their services can't be cheap, given all their advertising at Fenway and Gilette. (seriously- what are they even selling, exactly? and to whom?) Don't even get me started on the outsourcing of MassHealth customer service to places like Indiana and Wisconsin...

I was driving to the store a couple weeks ago and saw the Repubic waste management garbage trucks picking up in town and wondered whatever happened to local DPWs-- thinking yeah, they saved money going to the corpo, but now that Republic is the only game in town, they can pretty much name their price, can't they?

I digress for sure, but looking to big business for everything is eventually going to be a losing proposition.

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Top-Zombie-8515 t1_j5txdtf wrote

Hard to believe your argument about having the best schools.

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j5zoz52 wrote

It's not an argument, it's a fact.

Source:

CBS: Massachusetts has the best public schools in the country, ranking shows

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Top-Zombie-8515 t1_j5zpnox wrote

I’m saying this school in your area with no ac don’t support your argument.

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j63z0kq wrote

You don't make any sense.

  1. Massachusetts schools as a whole rate best in the country.

  2. That school without AC is one of the best schools in the county, having almost double academic scores from nearby cities.

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msgajh t1_j5ozxis wrote

Live in Longmeadow, should have put in a windmill or 5

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tittltattl t1_j5ow9b7 wrote

Lmao the only other comment thread here is an argument about how shitty Massachusetts is

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Teknicsrx7 t1_j5rldlb wrote

They don’t call it Massivetwoshits for no reason

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j5thnd9 wrote

Wow, you really put a lot of thought into that, didn't you? Tell me what state you live in that's superior. I know Mass isn't perfect and has its own issues but it's better than living in most other US states unless you're somewhere like Hawaii.

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Louis6507 t1_j5qjstv wrote

Well, it is a very shitty place. OP is delusional.

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j5th7xh wrote

How much time have you spent in Mass (outside of just Boston)? Where do you live that's so much better?

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andre3kthegiant t1_j5s0hij wrote

Seems like they need an new IT pro.
Why not call the company, get a replacement hard drive w/ patched software, and rebuild?

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skiingdiver t1_j5t4vdv wrote

iirc the original company who installed it is gone, the company they bought the lights from is also gone, and the replacement parts are on back order or something from china. you’d think there’s a breaker or something to turn off the lights, or maybe the power company could shut it off?

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j5tg5u2 wrote

The school tried to save money when building the school in 2012 and that apparently didn't include a manual override or shut-off feature. If they shut off all power, kids couldn't go to school so that's not an option.

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SidewaysFancyPrance t1_j5u35jv wrote

At some point this gets super unsafe, if they can't perform maintenance or replace parts/bulbs (or if they do it anyway on live lines). After a year, some higher authority needs to step in and resolve this ASAP, replacing the system if they have to.

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j5zppit wrote

This has been going on for almost 2 years and somehow they kept it hidden from town residents until it was on SNL. Thousands of dollars a month wasted on electricity for 2 years.

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skiingdiver t1_j5uf97t wrote

thanks for the clarification. knew it was some wacky cost-cutting measures

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andre3kthegiant t1_j5t7jsv wrote

Or unplug the server.

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j5tg7ym wrote

They claim they tried that and found if they did that it would disable all lights and there's no backup way to turn them on.

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wobwobwob42 t1_j5tr8uz wrote

The emergency default setting for the lights if you turn everything off, ironically is to keep the lights on.

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j5tgx1y wrote

The school and system were built in 2012. The original company that the school was built by was some cheap company that built identical schools all over and my town "won" a new school after submitting an application so the town would only have to pay something like half of what schools normally cost. The company closed a while ago. This is a town where the average income is over $100K. They didn't even put air conditioners in this new school despite it being a 3-story school that at one point had almost 4,000 students between grades 9-12. There has just been one problem after another with this school from trying to save money.

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acousticentropy t1_j5tgu79 wrote

Thought this was r/Massachusetts for a sec

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Valuable-Hand-7844 t1_j5yv26t wrote

Lol I’m from Ware - moved in 2013 across the country, crazy to see this on Reddit this morning.

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j68vuhp wrote

Nice to see another Western Masshole. Such a small world.

What did you think about Ware? How long did you live there? I'm looking for a 1-bedroom apartment or even a studio and Ware is one of the towns I'm having to look at cuz it's cheaper, even though it's so far from everything. I can't find anything around for under $1,000 a month.

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Valuable-Hand-7844 t1_j68xnyw wrote

I was born in ware in 93’ and lived there until 2013! It’s alright, my family is still there so I come visit about once per year and it’s not the nicest but it’s not terrible either haha

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j6czfh0 wrote

We're right around the same age then. Any area in Ware I should avoid looking at or is it pretty much all the same? The only place I know in Ware is their Walmart. Again, I'm poor and don't have someone to be a roommate so I have to find whatever I can afford, and right now the prices for rent are insane.

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Valuable-Hand-7844 t1_j6gatuj wrote

I’d avoid Aspen st area, Vigeant st mainly - atleast when I lived out there it was kind of the ghetto of the town, not sure if that’s changed much since I typically stay with my dad on the other end of town ( about 5 mins from Walmart)

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Bad_Mad_Man t1_j5t9a2k wrote

They should bypass the whole system and replace the bulbs with individually controlled ones. They will be able to set the bulbs to whatever schedule they like.

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j5tengh wrote

You would think but apparently that's too much thinking for school admin and no manual light switches. They tried to do everything to cut corners when building the school in 2012 and I guess figured teachers didn't need to be able to control their lights. They also cheaped out by not installing air conditioning in a 3-story high school that at one time had almost 4,000 students across grades 9-12, all with laptops. I have two friends that are teachers at this school and ever since the new school opened, it seems like it's just been one problem after another.

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Bad_Mad_Man t1_j5tu44o wrote

Wow, what a fuster cluck! I thought crap like this only happens in large cities and smaller towns and cities were better run.

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Top-Zombie-8515 t1_j5txr6a wrote

Maybe they shouldn’t have asked for a 3 story school they only had to pay 1/2 of…?

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ItalianMeatBoi t1_j5shavy wrote

Fuck “Taxachusetts” high taxes and roads full of holes

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wobwobwob42 t1_j5trjda wrote

Holy shit that's a dumb old myth.

Massachusetts smack dab in the middle of taxes, even though we carry everybody else's fucking weight.

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j5skkmx wrote

> Fuck “Taxachusetts” high taxes

I hate the taxes but at the same time, we have some critical programs here that need to be funded. The problem in Mass isn't that there's not enough money as our previous governor Baker got us out of debt and now Mass has a huge surplus budget which I don't think many states can claim. The problem in Mass is nepotism and somehow funds "disappear" or go to the wrong things/people. We provide MassHealth (expanded Medicaid) which is basically free healthcare for those that need it (poor, elderly, disabled, etc.)... best schools... gun control... no weather that's trying to kill us like fires, earthquakes, floods, mudslides, tornados, hurricanes, etc. Before I was on MassHealth, I had private HMO insurance from an employer and ended up over $30K in debt before my mid-20s, now I pay nothing. I couldn't afford my medical care if I lived in another state.

> and roads full of holes

As far as the roads, there's nothing we can do about that due to the constantly changing weather and temperatures, the roads warp and break, which happens everywhere in New England. Mass has more residents driving on roads so they break down faster than less populated states like NH and VT. Unless we stop semi trucks and changing weather, the roads will continue to fall apart more quickly than in the rest of the country.

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[deleted] t1_j5owbxs wrote

[deleted]

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The_Sloth_Racer OP t1_j5sk0j6 wrote

You don't need to "buy" anything, I'm just posting a news story. You're way overthinking this. I never said I was in high school currently. It was the high school I went to hence "my high school." There's only so many characters you can put in a title.

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