Weekly roundup - The night before Christmas
Baker picks portraits over selfies
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Nobody likes a selfie more than Gov. Charlie Baker.
So where else could the governor have been found this week of Christmas than crouched down, arm extended, with a cell phone in his hand as a smiling passerby delighted in their good fortune to have wandered upon the governor of the Commonwealth.
"I like the informality of it, and I like the fact that it has a certain festive notion to it. And truthfully, it's a little more intimate than the portrait stuff, and people can do silly things if they want to. And believe it or not, underneath it all, I'm somebody who really appreciates silly stuff," Baker told the Boston Globe about his penchant for posing.
Baker made not one but two trips to the Salvation Army red kettle outside the Macy's in Downtown Crossing where he had a little friendly competition going on between Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and House Speaker Robert DeLeo - friendly being the key word.
In the end, it was DeLeo who hauled in the most cash for the Salvation Army's holiday drive, earning bragging rights until at least next year. But surely Baker will gladly toast the House leader's victory if DeLeo delivers the goods early next year on opioid abuse prevention and energy legislation.
In the flurry of end-of-year interviews that Baker sat for, helping to fill holiday news holes, the governor foreshadowed more of the same messaging next year from his corner of the State House that consumed debate for much of first year in office - the need to pass opioid addiction, energy and charter school legislation.
"I would like to see it happen sooner rather than later. I would like to see it happen earlier rather than later," Baker told the News Service in a joint interview with DeLeo and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, expressing just a slight a touch of impatience.
For all the good will engendered between the "Big Three" this year, even the ever-popular governor knows much remains unaccomplished.
That could not have been made clearer than by the conversations at the MBTA Fiscal and Management and Control Board meeting where the newish board adopted a fare policy that set the stage for the fare hike debate coming after the holidays.
This after T officials revealed that nearly a quarter of the MBTA's workforce earned more than $100,000 this year, bolstered by overtime and what appeared to be an unparalleled work ethic demonstrated by the leader in the clubhouse who will take home more than $315,000 in 2015. This super-elf worked 4,455 hours, including 2,600 hours of overtime. That's more than 85 hours a week.
Fare increases are never popular, but less so when coming off a winter when public transit riders had little reason to trust the T would even be able to get them to their destinations.
With officials eyeing hikes that could climb as high as 10 percent on some modes of transit, the T's ability to handle this winter - should it ever arrive - will be paramount.
Former Gov. Michael Dukakis, an avid T rider who commuted on the Green Line when 'His Excellency' was still part of his former title, urged Baker to not just talk the talk, but ride the rails himself if he's serious about fixing the T. From his home in Swampscott, Baker could try the commuter rail, or, since he seems to get along so well with Democrats, might we suggest a commute by boat out of Lynn with senator and rival Democratic Party Chairman Thomas McGee.
Then there's the little issue of building a budget for fiscal 2017 facing what the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation identified as a potential $1 billion gap between revenues and current spending projections. The administration is already eyeing mid-year corrections that could be rolled out before or when the governor's budget gets filed in late January, and any new spending initiatives are likely to be severely constrained as Finance Secretary Kristen Lepore looks to wean the state off one-time revenues while addressing rising and longstanding fixed costs in health care, pensions and debt service.
These, however, are tomorrow problems. It is Christmas after all, and by Wednesday afternoon it had become abundantly clear that visions of sugar plums had supplanted any concerns over winter resiliency or the state's energy portfolio mix.
After firing a warning shot at licensed gun dealers reminding them that she's been watching who's been naughty and who's been nice, Attorney General Maura Healey took to Twitter to dish on prosecutorial strategy for the never indicted Whoville bandit.
"Mr. Grinch should not do hard time," Healey Tweeted in response to a Globe article on how Bay State prosecutors would have approached the Grinch's case had he actually stolen Christmas.
Boston Medical Center and Tufts Medical Center gave out early Christmas gifts to their employees when they announced that starting in January all service, clerical and technical employees would take home wages of at least $15 an hour, a significant milestone for coalition in Massachusetts participating in the national push for a $15 minimum hourly wage.
Baker also lobbied President Barack Obama for a little extra to put in the pockets of fishermen, joining with the Congressional delegation to request funding for commercial fishing safety training grants, another new program being foisted on the Bay State fleet at their own expense.
At least gas prices are down to an average of $2 a gallon.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Low wages not a pervasive problem at the T where workers routinely take home six-figures.
Merry Christmas!
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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