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Monday, December 28, 2015
By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Sara Brown
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Today: Baker at the RMV; Cape Cod heroin documentary
Gov. Baker, along with Lt. Gov. Polito and Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack, will be at the Haymarket Registry of Motor Vehicles office to trumpet customer service improvements. Baker recently said "basically everybody [is] getting through in less than 30 minutes." 10:00 am, 136 Blackstone St., Boston.
HBO will air its documentary on heroin addiction on Cape Cod tonight. "Heroin: Cape Cod, USA," airs Monday at 9:00 pm. Here's today's Globe story on reaction of affected Cape Cod families to the film: http://bit.ly/1OgAMr7
Snow is in the forecast for tonight: http://bit.ly/1QRH2rW
The Belichick OT call
We are not a sports publication, but we can't help ourselves: There isn't and will never be a logical reason to elect to kick when you win an overtime coin toss. Unlike electing to kick when winning the opening coin toss (a classic Patriots strategy), giving the ball away in OT can only hurt you. But you knew this already, as you watched the Jets march down the field in four plays for the OT win yesterday.
Mere amateur sports analysis like mine is easily brushed off, and the Boston media did its best to rationalize Coach Belichick's decision, which he defended with barely more than a few words. Basically he bet, and bet wrong, on his defense. For longer explanations, see theHerald and the Globe. But for my money, one of the best analyses is in the New York Daily News with its lead sentence: "Bill Belichick handed the Jets the best Christmas gift they could imagine: the ball in overtime." http://nydn.us/1VlKpGy
Public records responses -- cities and towns get an F
It was as brilliant as it was simple: Send two common public records requests to Massachusetts' 351 cities and towns and see how they treat the request. The responses were all over the map, with 58 percent failing to respond within the mandated 10 business day period, and 25 percent taking 40 days or more. And it gets more bizarre from there, with some towns asking for as much as $900 for commonly available public payroll records. The story, by the Globe's Todd Wallack with research help from WCVB investigative reporter Mike Beaudet's journalism class at Northeastern, points out why laws without adequate enforcement mechanisms can be routinely flouted and misinterpreted. The House passed an updated and in some ways tougher public records law, which is expected to be considered by the Senate early next year. http://bit.ly/1NRv3ED
Plainridge's reversal of fortune
Plainridge Park Casino has gone from hero to zero in a mere six months, as it's become increasingly obvious that the state's first and only casino is struggling to compete with nearby Twin River in Rhode Island. Revenue figures continue to fall below expectations, and one reason is the decision of Twin River to up the ante, offering three times the number of machines along with live table games. The Globe's Sean Murphy reports from an eerily quiet Plainridge here: http://bit.ly/1NSlHbz
AG investigates Quincy cop's OT
The Patriot Ledger reports that the Attorney General's office is looking into the case of a Quincy police lieutenant who was suspended for getting paid for hours he didn't work. Police Lieutenant Thomas Corliss was suspended Dec. 9 after an internal investigation revealed his regular city shifts overlapped with detail and other city work on 21 different occasions. http://bit.ly/1IxGGnt
'The cleanest place in Boston'
The Chipotle restaurant in Cleveland Circle where more than 100 people were sickened has gotten a clean bill of health from the city and has reopened. "The Chipotle is probably the best place to eat right now, because it's the cleanest place in Boston. ... They have a clean bill of health," Boston's Inspectional Services Department Commissioner William "Buddy" Christopher Jr. said to the Herald. Inspectors found many violations at the restaurant earlier in the month including onions being stored next to raw chicken, an uncovered dumpster and a rusted out magnetic knife holder.http://bit.ly/1NIU7zC
City spends OT budget before snow flies
The city of Boston has spent through its $1.2 million Department of Public Works overtime budget before the first snowflake has fallen, the Herald reports. The city had exceeded the budget by Dec. 11, due in large part to preparations for and cleanup from festivals and other special events. http://bit.ly/1PrRjHJ
AG: Gaming Commission violated open meeting law
Officials from Suffolk Downs are among those calling on the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to revisit earlier decisions in the wake of the Attorney General's determination that the commission repeatedly violated the state's open meeting law, the Herald reports. The AG's office said before Christmas that the MGC's practice of holding informal lunch meetings -- first reported by the Herald -- where a host of issues before the commission constituted violations of the law. http://bit.ly/1OTvIVX
Niche clinics dominate marijuana prescriptions
Three years after medical marijuana was legalized in Massachusetts, the vast majority of patients using the drug are being licensed by a small number of specialty clinics, the Lowell Sun reports. Citing Department of Public Health numbers, the Sun says 20 doctors accounted for 94 percent of the marijuana prescriptions issued in the year that began in October of 2014. http://bit.ly/1MCUh7H
On Cape Cod, data show opioids crisis persists
Despite a year's worth of attention from political leaders, data from across Cape Cod contain few signs the opioid crisis is relenting. The Cape Cod Times reports on overdose deaths and medical calls and says while total deaths are down in some areas, officials in Hyannis reported an overall increase in overdoses responses. The region is the focus of a recent HBO documentary on the opioid crisis and Falmouth Police Chief Edward Dunne plans to convene a summit on the issue early next month. http://bit.ly/1OouLnU
Baker on marijuana legalization:
"I think marijuana, the more I learn about it, the more I learn about its impact on teenagers, themore I learn about its connection to heroin, the more I learn about its connection to addiction generally, the less I like legalizing it." In an interview with the AP here: http://bit.ly/1mK9uix
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