Monday, November 23, 2015
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By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) with Sara Brown
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Today: Controversy expected at T Control Board
Gov. Charlie Baker attends the Lynn Economic Development Task Force kickoff event at Lynn City Hall, 9:30 (see item below) then attends the Firefighter of the Year Award ceremony, Kresge Auditorium, MIT, 10:30 am.
MBTA's Fiscal and Management Control Board will consider several controversial issues, including fare policy, service planning, and advertising policy. The board is scheduled to release for public comment the revised 2016 fare policy. MassDOT Boardroom, 10 Park Plaza, Suite 3830, Boston, 1 pm.
Mayor Marty Walsh participates in the lighting of the Trellis in Christopher Columbus Park, Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, Atlantic Avenue, North End, 5:30 pm.
The JFK Presidential Library Forum Series hosts "A Conversation with Maura Healey" where the attorney general will discuss her first year in office and legal challenges facing the Commonwealth with Dean of Harvard Law School Martha Minow, Smith Hall, Columbia Point, Boston, 6:00 pm.
'Spotlight' portrayal snares BC spokesman
In a subplot stemming from the release of "Spotlight," the movie about the Globe's reporting on the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal, a real-life character is calling foul, saying he has been smeared by the movie's screenplay. He is Jack Dunn, the head of public affairs at Boston College, who says the movie completely misrepresents his role at Boston College High School, his alma mater, in advising the high school as the scandal was breaking. In movie dialogue, Dunn is portrayed as callous toward victims, when in real life he says he helped create a plan to help victims report abuse. As the Globe's Kevin Cullen notes, Dunn has a lawyer trying to get the scene deleted, but most likely in vain. http://bit.ly/1XiiMO3
The thrill is gone at Plainridge
The hoopla over the opening of the slots at Plainridge, overhyped by the media, especially theGlobe, is now over, revealing a collection of slot machines that generally take people's money in the name of entertainment (and revenue for the state). Yvonne Abraham of the Globe drops in on Plainridge and points out that as revenue drops, even more competition will soon crowd in.http://bit.ly/1Yn6AOf
So far, this legislative session has been a dud
It seems tensions are building again between the House and the Senate on Beacon Hill in the aftermath of an unproductive legislative stretch before the holiday break, Frank Phillips of the Globe reports in today's Globe. The House passed major two bills just before the break, giving the Senate very little time to consider them. Both, the public records law bill and the net metering legislation, had sat in committee for months. Some members of the Senate say they are fed up.http://bit.ly/21cfujY `
A citizen activist, wanting better accessibility, wages Dunkin' Donuts strike
When MASSterList pointed out recently that it was Donut Day, a reader responded, in essence, that every day is boycott Dunkin' Donuts Day for her, as she is handicapped and struggles to get into their stores. "They (the doors) do fit under the ADA," Carla Charter told me. "It doesn't mean they're easy to get into." Her campaign is to have Dunkin' Donuts stores install handicapped accessible buttons. She has requested a meeting with the CEO for coffee (no dice) and continues to document her donut strike with a Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/1HhfKHP and a Twitter account: @Doors2Dunkins. "No one should have to hold the door for me," said Charter, who uses forearm crutches. "I'm very much into independence. When you have a disability, sometimes little things mean big things."
Ballot question efforts say they've cleared hurdle
Speaking of citizen activism, several ballot petition initiatives seem to be on track, according to a report this morning by the State House News Service's Erica Moser. A question to limited health care pricing, pushed by the SEIU, has gathered over 130,000 signatures before last Wednesday's deadline; advocates for a proposal to prevent "extreme" confinement of farm animals have gathered over 95,000 signatures. The threshold is 64,750 verified as certified voters. As Moser explains, several ballot efforts have fallen short. http://bit.ly/1Obl4xY (paywall)
Poll: Romney would easily win NH primary
New Hampshire Republicans would choose Mitt Romney over the entire current GOP field by wide margin, a poll conducted by the Globe and Suffolk University has found. Romney would in fact double up frontrunner Donald Trump, by a margin of 31 percent to 15 percent. Romney has repeatedly said he's not running and missed a key deadline Friday to get onto the NH ballot. http://bit.ly/1lbSNeW
Somerville bracing for bare-bones Green Line design
Pols and officials in Somerville are coming to grips with what is expected to be a dramatically scaled-down vision for the Green Line extension, the Herald reports. The T is expected to detail the changes it will propose to the court-mandated extension on Dec. 9. http://bit.ly/1N8lG6u
RMV sticking to pay-to-play approach
The Registry of Motor Vehicle is not only sticking to the controversial pay-to-play approach that enables driving schools to move up the waiting lists for road tests, but is promising those schools it will listen to their concerns before m making any changes, according to a piece by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting published in the Telegram. http://bit.ly/1T9EIub
Complaints against Boston police languish
A dozen officers in the Boston police department have had 20 or more complaints lodged against them over the past two decades, and internal investigations into complaints can take years to be resolved, the Globe reports. Overall, however, complaints from the public are down, with 386 formally filed last year, compared with 527 in 2013. http://bit.ly/1Xl3ND1
Emails provide glimpse behind resignation
The Herald's Matt Stout used his Pols and Politics column on Sunday to dig into the relationship between Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton and Carol Sanchez, who abruptly resigned her position as head of the department of conservation and recreation earlier this month. Stout sees signs of an "at-times tense working relationship" in the emails the Herald obtained through records request. http://bit.ly/1T9xYw8
'This is Lynn's time': All in on the city of Lynn
The Baker administration has launched what may be an unprecedented task force aimed at encouraging economic development in the city of Lynn, the Globe's Jon Chesto reports. Led by development secretary Jay Ash, the group sees enormous potential in the city's proximity to Boston, large amounts of undeveloped or under-developed land and its largely hidden waterfront.http://bit.ly/1Objw6Y
Fare hike 'on the table'
MBTA chief administrator Brian Shortsleeve told WCVB's Ed Harding and Janet Wu on Sunday's "On the Record" program: "We don't do a very good job collecting our fares...It's a lot of money. I don't have a number for you." Given the need to boost revenue at the T, Shortsleeve said "Fare policy's a big part of it. And you're going to hear the control board talking about that in the coming weeks. I'd say nothing is inevitable. But everything here is on the table." http://bit.ly/1PVcG5z
Trump in Birmingham: It gets uglier and uglier
This is a new, new low. Following a Trump rally Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama, where a black activist appeared to be punched and kicked as he fell to the ground before he was removed from the rally, Trump said the following day: ''Maybe he should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing. I have a lot of fans, and they were not happy about it. And this was a very obnoxious guy who was a troublemaker who was looking to make trouble.''http://bit.ly/1MxoVmk
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