Monday, July 20, 2015

MASSterList: Our public records embarrassment | The cost of casino delays | Bipartisanship on the North Shore




 

Monday, July 20, 2015




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By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) with Sara Brown
Happening today...
Rep. John Lewis, the legendary Georgia Democrat, will speak at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate about voting rights, civic engagement, and his work with the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. Lewis will appear as part of the EMK Institute's "Getting to the Point" speaker series, 6 pm to 7 pm, Columbia Point, Boston...
Boston's transportation future is the subject of the "Boston Futures: 2024 & Beyond Series" event tonight. Panelists will also discuss how hosting the Olympics in 2024 will impact the city's path toward identifying and implementing new transport solutions for the future. The panelists are: Shelia Kennedy, MIT Department of Architecture; Wendy Landman, WalkBoston; Kent Larson, MIT Media Lab; Carlo Ratti, MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning; Stacy Thompson, Livable Streets; and Eva Kassens-Noor, moderator, Michigan State University. It's at 6 pm,  MIT Lab, Building E14 3rd Floor, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge.

...And the week ahead:
Don't expect the Legislature to come charging back after Gov. Baker's $162 million worth of vetoes he unveiled Friday when he signed the FY 2016 budget. A formal session of the House isn't scheduled until July 29.
... The new MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board will hold its first meeting on Tuesday to establish the role of the board, set board bylaws and determine its meeting schedule. The meeting will feature reports from Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack and MBTA Interim General Manager Frank DePaola as well as a period of comments from the public
...The sales tax holiday seems like a done deal, but not quite. Expect more conversation about pros and cons of the tax-free weekend slated for Aug. 15-16.

State Police discount: Only $1.2 million for those public records
Todd Wallack of the Boston Globe has been like a dog on a bone in covering Massachusetts' dreadfully ineffectual public records law. In recent months Wallack has exposed the absurdities, obfuscation, and high costs that often are involved in obtaining public records from various Massachusetts government agencies, whose bureaucrats are comfortable stalling, overcharging, and redacting with impunity because the law has no teeth. His story yesterday was his best, placing Massachusetts in context with the rest of the nation for slowness with which it responds to public records requests. We ranked 49th with only Hawaii behind us.
It gets worse. We're the only state in the country with the executive office, the legislature and the judiciary exempt from the law.

A bill to reform the public records law just moved out of committee, most importantly placing some limits on how much agencies can charge and giving record-seekers the ability to recoup court costs.

A better law can't come too soon. The State Police have been particularly egregious interpreters of the open records law, finding ways to charge enormous amounts for public records. Wallack reveals that the State Police wanted to charge a Taunton attorney $2.7 million for records involving the use of Breathalyzers. But a State Police spokesman said there was a mistake: The charge would only be $1.2 million. It takes one's breath away. In what democracy can this possibly be tolerated?

It's heartening the Legislature appears to be taking an interest in amending the law and giving it some teeth. It would be even more heartening if Gov. Baker would show some leadership in the matter. ICYMI, here's Wallack's story: http://bit.ly/1HKT3WO 

The cost of doing nothing
Massachusetts is leaving mucho dinero on the table with its slow-go approach to casinos, the Globe notes today, upwards of $1 billion when you add up the lost revenue between the original projected opening of 2016 to a "best-case scenario" of 2018. Sean Murphy provides a good primer on the issues dogging the Wynn casino as well as MGM's issues in Springfield. http://bit.ly/1fXNu0w

A fresh take on the film tax credit
UMass Dartmouth economist Michael Goodman is hardly the first to dissect the questionable economic benefits of the film tax credit, but his critique certainly is one of the best. Peeling away the numbers, Goodman tells us that that Commonwealth has spent $400 million to receive back $260 million in in-state spending. And he has a good idea to reform the tax credit program so it grows the local film industry. http://bit.ly/1I473KL  

Here come the management consultants?
The Boston Herald's Matt Stout had an interesting item Sunday that hints at action to come in the Baker administration. Gov. Charlie Baker filed a $2 million proposal in the supplemental budget to "to assist agencies in organizational transformation and other improvements." The fund could help pay for outside agencies to advise state departments on how to improve efficiency. "The proposal, administration officials said, comes as several departments undergo a process redesign in the wake of Baker's early retirement program, which put roughly 2,500 employees on an early path to being snowbirds," Stout reports. It remains to be seen whether the funding gets approved.

Lawmakers debate over vaping restrictions
State lawmakers are still debating over tougher regulations over electronic cigarettes and nicotine vaping. Public health officials want to regulate them in terms of age limits for sales, banning them in public places, and requiring companies to be transparent on the potential toxins e-cigarettes have. However, not everyone agrees.Businesses argue that these are safe alternatives to smoking tobacco and they shouldn't be over regulated. "Every month, more studies emerge showing that vapor products are far less hazardous than smoking for users, pose no significant risk to bystanders, and are effective at helping smokers kick the habit," Greg Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, said to the Eagle Tribune. "These devices are not tobacco products, and treating them as such sends the absolute wrong message. 

Republican Tisei has high praise for former rival
Congressman Seth Moulton addressed a crowd of Democrats and Republicans in Danvers Sunday afternoon, but not before notable display of bipartisanship. He was introduced by his former opponent, Richard Tisei, who praised Moulton. "He has tremendous leadership abilities and leadership potential for the country moving forward," said Tisei according to Salem News. The thing about Seth I think most people recognize, whether you're a Democrat or Republican ... is that he does really have that sense of service, that he does want to do the very best job he can representing the people of this district and our country." The theme of the vent was "stronger when together." http://bit.ly/1fXGvEY

What to make of The Donald?
Presidential candidate Donald Trump's egregiously insulting comments about John McCain was the talk of the weekend. The Herald's Joe Fitzgerald delves into the political pitfalls of being Donald Trump, noting, "...the most dangerous person in Donald Trump's world is Donald Trump." http://bit.ly/1eb3730

MASSterList publisher speaks
Speaking of bloviating, yours truly made a guest appearance with NECN's The Week in Business with the talented Peter Howe. We covered the bases -- Olympics, casinos, MBTA reform, BRA issues and more. Here's the tape. http://bit.ly/1RJ961n
How to reach me and MASSterList
Nothing makes me happier than comments, tips, suggestions. Also, opinion articles also will be considered. Please don't hesitate to weigh in on what we're missing and where we should look. Reach me at gdonnelly@massterlist.com or on Twitter @geodonnelly.


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