Coming up this week: Overrides, anyone?
The Legislature may act this week to initiate override of any of the $162 million in vetoes Gov. Charlie Baker issued in this year's budget. Among the most controversial vetoes were a $17 million cut in full-day Kindergarten grants, a $5 million reduction to the UMass system, a $2 million cut in a homeless program, and $500,000 removed for tourism centers.
The clock is also ticking for the sales tax holiday bill, the annual shopping ritual that is scheduled for Aug. 15-16 if it gets through the Legislature. The bet is it will pass again, although several legislators roughed it up at a hearing last week, as the State House News Service reported. Today's Globe picks up the story, with some similar themes of general disgruntlement. The undercurrent here may be that Gov. Baker has ushered in a new sensibility of penny pinching, challenging items that may never have received a second thought in more loosey-goosey budgets. The Legislature may, in turn, be doing the same. A $25 million kiss to retailers (and shoppers) once a year hasn't created this much anguish since the idea was introduced 11 years ago.
The Sales Tax Holiday benefits consumers, Main Streets and retail employees. Consumers love it and 72% say they will shop in MA for the holiday instead of with tax free internet/NH sellers. It's a proven winner, incentivizing shoppers to invest back into our local economy, while allowing MA businesses to recapture more than $168 million in sales otherwise headed to NH/internet. It also drives more than $50 million in new local investment and creates 627 new permanent full time jobs. *****SPONSORED*****
|
Today's big conference call
Gov. Baker is expected to call into United States Olympic Committee meeting today to give an update on the progress of the Boston bid. Who wouldn't want to be a fly on the wall for this call? The Globe reported yesterday that the USOC is leaning on Baker to become a booster, which is not about to happen until the state-commissioned report on the bid from the Brattle Group arrives next month. One would expect the consultants to assess the probability that the games will turn a profit, the bold assertion of Bid 2.0. The Globe's Mark Arsenault also reports that Mayor Marty Walsh is under pressure from the USOC to sign the guarantee that taxpayers would cover the costs of any overruns. The lack of public support has the USOC nervous, but were Baker to get behind the bid, it would likely boost the numbers considerably and give Boston 2024 the momentum it desperately needs. John Powers' excellent column in the Sunday Globe puts the Boston 2024 bid, the polling numbers it needs to achieve, and the IOC's thinking in perspective. http://bit.ly/1geKPjg
More on the call: Is today D-Day for Olympics?
Speculation is growing that the USOC just may pull the plug on the Boston bid as soon as today. Boston magazine's Garrett Quinn outlines the building tension, saying the USOC may not be able to wait until the Brattle Group report comes out. Quinn's analogy is Boston 2024 is down 0-3 in the series, and today's call is Game 4. http://bit.ly/1VIDM2p
The Governor's statement on his position for the bid
Gov. Baker issued this statement yesterday, printed in today's Boston Herald in its story on today's USOC meeting: "The Governor has made clear that reviewing the independent analysis of the Olympic bid before making any decisions is the only responsible path forward, ensuring taxpayers are not on the hook in Boston 2024's latest plan. Governor Baker has also repeatedly stated that he has no intention of entering into any agreement that leaves the people of Massachusetts responsible for costs associated with hosting an Olympic games." The Herald says the USOC is adamant about getting more government support for the bid. http://bit.ly/1DIIKRq
Olympics to the rescue for hellish traffic circle?
If there is a Boston Olympics, yet one more nagging local problem may be solved. That's the subtext for yesterday's front-page feature in the Globe on the infamous Kosciuszko Circle, the overburdened and dangerous rotary in Dorchester. An improved Kosciuszko Circle is among the many improvements Boston 2024 promising Boston -- making many readers wonder why it must take an Olympics to fix a brutally screwed up intersection. Topping the irony in the story was Boston 2024 executive director Rich Davey dispensing a solution to the intersection when apparently he did nothing about it when he ran the Department of Transportation. http://bit.ly/1LLCEWW
Goldberg wants to ramp up competition with Plainridge
State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg had this quote in Colin A. Young's State House News Service story Friday afternoon about the impact on lottery sales from the new Plainridge racino: "As someone who comes out of a competitive business, when you see your competition approaching you, you don't wait until it impacts you, you proactively own the marketplace. In terms of accessing increased capital from the Legislature, we're going to have to show them data that we are being impacted. That's why we are monitoring Plainridge very, very carefully, because it will give us initial data that we can access and then move forward." Here's the whole story: http://bit.ly/1Ipg3hY
Dunkin' CEO on NYC's new $15 minimum wage: 'Outrageous'
Nigel Travis, CEO of Dunkin' Brands Group, actually said the Big Apple's plan to phase in a $15 per hour minimum wage for fast food workers was "absolutely outrageous" on CNN Friday, the Boston Herald reported. He said the fast food industry was singled out without a chance to make its case, and the move may catalyze a reduction in jobs. The Herald's Donna Goodison notes the fight is still alive in Massachusetts to move the minimum wage to $15. It's now $9 and on its way to $11 per hour. http://bit.ly/1SJwgQA
Ending the numbers game at UMass
Tuition is going up at UMass, and it's about time, writes Globe opinion editor Mark Pothier, because the school has kept tuition (money it traditionally hasn't controlled) low and fees, which it does control, high, to the tune of about $13,000 this coming academic year. That's about to change as the Gov. Baker has approved allowing UMass to keep its tuition, rather than having it go to the general fund and hope it comes back to the universities. http://bit.ly/1In3tv8 |
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 atgdonnelly@massterlist.com or on Twitter @geodonnelly.
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment