Let's remember that a bunch of Wealthy White guys proposed hosting the Olympics with an aging and outdated public transportation system and gridlocked traffic..
It's time to address the infrastructure gridlock and address long term public transportation for the entire Commonwealth without raising fares.
Weekly round-up: A labor of love
Dukakis and Weld tag team Baker for a rail tunnel
Labor's love-hate relationship with Beacon Hill's majority party and its leaders spiced up a holiday-shortened week as the Legislature eased back into work and Gov. Charlie Baker played host to a couple of atypical rail enthusiasts.
It's not every day that a sitting governor sits down with two of his older predecessors who are hoping to convince the next generation on the merits of a major public infrastructure project. So when Michael Dukakis and Bill Weld, who happens to be Baker's mentor, ventured up the hill on Wednesday to pitch the governor on building a rail tunnel linking North Station and South Station, the Odd Couple's visit understandably became the talk of town.
Baker, in his now predictably studious approach to major decisions, said he would have to do more "homework" before making a decision on the North-South rail link, which Dukakis called a "no-brainer" that would reduce traffic congestion and facilitate regional economic development by creating a seamless link between the state's Amtrak, commuter rail and MBTA train services.
"This is not the Big Dig, folks. This is very different," assured Dukakis, who went on to pan the idea of expanding South Station, which coincidentally now bears his name.
As for Baker, who chose to speak to reporters separately from Dukakis, the governor said, "This is a lot of money, taxpayer money, and a lot of people call me skeptical when I get into these conversations. I'm not being skeptical. I'm being cautious. There's a difference."
It was another high profile visit, however, that got the week started. President Barack Obama swooped into Boston on Monday to headline the Greater Boston Labor Council's annual Labor Day breakfast, using the state as his backdrop to announce a new executive order requiring federal contractors to provide paid sick leave to their workers.
It was the president's 21st visit to the Bay State since entering the White House, a trip that included a clam chowder detour to the Union Oyster House on his way out of town.
Obama's remarks - full of Tom Brady puns and nods to the state's ahead-of-the-curve policies toward workers - helped to bring some unity to the annual celebratory event where the fraught state of the relationship between organized labor and Beacon Hill Democrats was on full display.
Gov. Baker and First Lady Laura Baker welcomed Obama on the Logan tarmac before Obama made his way to the Park Plaza and the governor, who did not attend the ostensibly Democratic affair, went about the rest of his day.
While Baker could have easily become the target of red-faced labor leaders who continue to be upset about the governor's efforts to privatize some lesser-used bus routes at the MBTA, the Republican's crime against labor took a backseat to the perceived betrayal by Democrats who became Baker's accomplices.
When Greater Boston Labor Council President Rich Rogers wasn't bashing the Pioneer Institute, he was blaming House Democrats for capitulating (his word) to Baker's MBTA reform agenda, which included a suspension of the law meant to protect state jobs from unchecked privatization.
This is a movie that has been put on the big screen before. Remember a rage-filled Bob Haynes of the AFL-CIO waving his finger in the face of Massachusetts Municipal Association Executive Director Geoff Beckwith and threatening to pull labor support for House Speaker Robert DeLeo and his members in 2011 when lawmakers voted to limit some collective bargaining rights around municipal health care?
House Democrats, actually a more moderate bunch than their reputation might suggest, have reason to not be too concerned about mending fences before next year's election. The choice, in its basest form, came down to angering a few family members who inevitably come back to the fold, or picking a fight with a wildly popular governor who had the public on his side.
With Labor Day behind them, lawmakers began to trickle back to the State House where DeLeo, four-fifths the man he used to be, was waiting. In a Sunday Boston Globe interview, DeLeo opened up about the fact that in early August he made the difficult decision to have an operation to remove a large portion of his stomach.
Opting for a surgical solution after years of unsuccessfully battling his weight, the slimmer speaker said he dropped 42 pounds and feels better than ever, even if he has to imagine that his sugar-free popsicles are filet mignon. So good, in fact, that he was ready to commit to seeking another term next fall.
The Office of the Child Advocate released another damning examination of the Department of Children and Families management policies, which Baker read as a supporting document to his administration's own assessment of the problems at DCF.
A day later, the governor named Cambridge Family and Children's Service Executive Director Maria Mossaides as the state's next independent child welfare watchdog. Mossaides replaced Gail Garringer, who was quickly announced by Attorney General Maura Healey as the leader of her child and youth protection unit.
The heat wave that had temperatures soaring into the 90s at the beginning of week made it all the more jarring when Boston City Hall put out word that it was accepting its first shipment of road salt. In the words of Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, winter is coming.
Baker, noting the less than rosy forecast in this year's Farmer's Almanac, told municipal leaders that he hoped all damage claims with the Federal Emergency Management Agency stemming from last winter's snowfall should be resolved by Thanksgiving.
As it prepares for hopefully a better winter performance, the MBTA dropped another bit of bad news in what seems to become a weekly unfolding of dirty laundry that started with cost-overruns on the Green Line extension and now includes a ballooning operating deficit.
Officials outlined the contours of a growing deficit that could swell to $427 million in four years as expenses outpace growth in ridership and revenue - a long-running story at the T. The admission comes just a year after the Legislature passed a law seeking to infuse the agency with new capital to avoid this kind of year-to-year crisis budgeting.
"Between now and December we're going to run some scenarios of what it would take to balance the budget," MBTA Interim General Manager Frank DePaola said.
In other news, Suffolk County prosecutor Paul Treseler won confirmation this week from the Governor's Council to become the next chair of the Parole Board, and Sen. Jennifer Flanagan outlined recommendations from a special committee on opioid abuse that could have the Senate considering high-school drug screenings before the end of the month.
The week was capped off with somber ceremonies at the capitol remembering the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The Duke and Big Red team up over their shared love of trains.
About the Author »
Matt Murphy covers major media, lobbying firms, government agencies, political junkies as well as towns Statewide. He likes to cover politics and campaigns.
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