Thursday, August 27, 2015
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By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) with Keith Regan
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Today: Swearing in new State Police superintendent; a train event in Holyoke
Gov. Charlie Baker will swear-in Major Richard McKeon as the new superintendent and colonel of the Massachusetts State Police. Attorney General Maura Healey will attend the swearing-in ceremony, Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester, 12:30pm... Then Baker visits Massachusetts tech giant EMC, where he will meet with employees. The meeting will be open press, but the facilities tour will be closed to press. 50 Constitution Boulevard, Franklin, 2:30pm... Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack are expected to attend a ceremonial ribbon-cutting to mark the opening of the new $4.3 million Amtrak passenger train station in Holyoke. When the first train stops at the station around 1:45pm, it will be the first time a passenger train has stopped in Holyoke since 1966, according to the Department of Transportation. The station will be one stop along Amtrak's Vermonter line, which connects northern Vermont to New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., 74 Main Street, Holyoke, 12:30pm.
Donald Trump to be greeted by protesters
It won't be only Donald Trump and some 700 admirers and curiosity seekers Friday evening in Norwood. Count on protesters being there, including NARAL Pro-choice Massachusetts, which sending out notices and organizing a protest.
The cost of living in Boston -- high but not quite over the top
What does it cost for a family of four to meeting basic needs in Boston? About, well, exactly $85,793. That's according to the Economic Policy Institute, which released a calculator feature on its website to allow people to type in ZIP codes to get a breakdown and rollup of essential costs. This is a good news, bad news story. The good news is Boston is considerably below Washington DC ($106,493), New York ($98,722) and San Francisco ($91,785). The bad news is the essential costs numbers for the likes of tech centers like Raleigh, NC, and Austin, Texas, are each about $20,000 lower than Boston. The Wall Street Journal's story identifies Morristown, Tenn. -- a city of 29,000 in the eastern part of the state -- as the least expensive place in the country, at $49,114 per year, to raise a family of four. Here's the link to the site: http://www.epi.org/resources/budget/ Some of the numbers feel like fiction but the bigger point stands. The cost of living in a satellite of big cities is spiraling upwards while some mid-tier cities are relatively reasonable.
How to break the Open Meeting Law? Let us count the ways
What do Somerset, Swansea, Topsfield, Wayland and Boston have in common? They all are places with government entities that have violated the Open Meeting Law in the last five years. In the second part of his special report, MASSterList correspondent John Hilliard explores the common lapses of government boards in obeying the Open Meeting Law, the struggles of citizens to get government boards to comply, and the general lack of consequences for their actions. http://bit.ly/1Vc68Rx
The high rents in Lawrence
When the population of a city grows by 22 percent at a time when the number of housing units increases by less than 2 percent, you've got the makings of a housing crisis on your hands. In Lawrence, with a median household income of about $30,000, about 40 percent of the population is paying more than half of its income in rent. Commonwealth's Bruce Mohl has details of the report that spells out the problem. http://bit.ly/1NWcDU4
Texting-and-driving sting: Yes, it's a problem
If you're a curmudgeon like me, you have to say it's about time. One only has to drive for about two miles before encountering a distracted driver absorbed in electronic communications. West Bridgewater police proved just how prevalent the problem is, stopping 78 people in a 3-hour time span. Of those, 34 were cited and fined. One does worry about Big Brother taking over the driving experience, but it may be time of some adult supervision (of adults) about texting and driving. The Boston Globe has the story. http://bit.ly/1KPEgv8
The revenge of early retirement: Paperwork bottleneck delays foster placement
A slew of early retirements at the Department of Children and Families has helped create a paperwork backlog that is delaying the approval of new foster homes, WGBH reports. Citing workers at DCF, the radio station says nearly 100 staffers opted for the early retirement buyout package offered by the state. Advocates said the smaller headcount is contributing to a longer lead time to bring new foster families on board, along with stricter background check requirements.http://bit.ly/1MPu2PG
Simmons moves its MBA program online -- and alums aren't happy
Facing declining enrollment, Simmons College has is eliminating its brick-and-mortar MBA for an online program. It's a move that has some alums unhappy. A Boston Globe editorial broke the news last night and weighs in on the matter, concluding: "The online market for MBA programs is an increasingly crowded space. It can only be hoped that Simmons can retain its all-important mission: nurturing a new generation of women business leaders." http://bit.ly/1JzPdnN
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