Wednesday, December 2, 2015
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By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Keith Regan
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Today: 'Winter happens' -- and the T happens as well
The Baker administration wants to make it clear it's completely on this winter thing. Thus, Gov. Baker and MBTA general manager Frank DePaola will brief the media on preparation efforts and show off new equipment as if to try to scare off winter at the South Boston Emergency Center, 20 Foundry St., 9:15am. Meanwhile, the T has an "awareness campaign" for this winter to keep riders better informed. The tagline:"Winter Happens. But we know you still need to get there." The Globe today has astory on the campaign, and it's one that isn't complete without the reader comments. One wise aleck wrote: "How about 'The T ... Happens' "?
More transportation thinking: The Committee on Transportation holds an oversight hearing on the MassDOT five-year capital budget; repairs on roads, tunnels and non-Massport airports; the Project Selection Advisory Council recommendations; and the Chapter 90 program. Room A-1, 10:00am.
The Coalition for Farm Animal Protection, the organizers behind an initiative petition aimed at eliminating cruel confinement of animals on factory farm plan to deliver more than 100,000 signatures to the state elections division. One Ashburton Place, Boston, 2:30pm.
The T should hand over Green Line report
When the Green Line Extension cost estimate ballooned to $3 billion, a $1 billion over budget, the newly formed MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board naturally wanted answers. The T sensibly hired a consulting firm to figure out what happened. In a presentation this week, the firm, Berkeley Research Group, concluded contractors took advantage of a contracting system that failed to rein in prices. It looks like a crucial component of an epic amount of mismanagement that threatens the project's completion.
But the T won't share with the public the actual report, claiming to CommonWealth Magazine it was prepared under the direction of counsel and thus it is "attorney-client" privileged. This is shaping another chapter in the ongoing battle of the media to obtain documents that the public has every right to review, and to CommonWealth's credit, it won't take no for an answer and is appealing to the Secretary of State. The denial of the records request would appear to be specious, self-serving reasoning. As CommonWealth's Bruce Mohl and Jack Sullivan note in their story, the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled "that direct communications between attorneys and agencies are covered by the privilege but said so-called 'work product' that is not produced by the lawyers are presumed to be public records." More here: http://bit.ly/1ICXbsW
Board showers praise, pay on PRIM's Trotsky
It's not every state employee who gets $100,000 in raises over a two-year period. But not every employee is Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM) Executive Director Michael Trotsky, who has run the state pension fund since 2010 and has been beating investment return benchmarks with abandon. Trotsky will make $395,000 after receiving glowing reviews from the pension board. Colin Young of the State House News Service has more on Trotsky's track record. http://bit.ly/1QTAA3a(paywall)
Scot Lehigh takes pot shots at deer policy
Deer hunting in the Blue Hills as form of public policy has inspired Globe columnist Scot Lehigh to have some fun at the expense of a few Baker administration officials, particularly Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matt Beaton. Lehigh suggests that other methods should have been tried first. http://bit.ly/1SvAGLR
Meanwhile, the deer death count is up to 41 following the second day of hunting.http://bit.ly/1NqdZIY
Beacon Hill Institute, Suffolk U. to go separate ways
The conservative Beacon Hill Institute, a think tank that generated reports on the impact of tax policies and Massachusetts' competitiveness, will end its affiliation with Suffolk University at the end of next year. "I think the entire administration made up their mind that they were troubled by what we were doing in some way, where we were getting money, how we were using the money, what we were saying, and they wanted things to change," said David Tuerck, the director of the institute, in the Globe. Tuerck said he will look to establish the think tank as a freestanding institution.
Dot. Ave reborn?
Dorchester Avenue is seen as a potent area for redevelopment, according to a story today by the Globe's Tim Logan. "The Boston Redevelopment Authority is circulating sketches of what a stretch of the street lined by low-rise warehouses and staging yards would look like as a corridor of retail and apartment buildings, some as tall as 300 feet. There would be parks laced throughout, with better sidewalks and 12 blocks of new streets added in back toward the South Bay Rail Yard." http://bit.ly/1lX5hHP
'Tightwads' won't fund First Night
The city's annual New Year's Eve celebration, First Night, is again running in the red, and Globe columnist Shirley Leung blames 'tightwad' corporations that won't support the event. She writes that Fidelity Investments supports First Night, only not here, but instead in Raleigh, NC. Leung calls around, and proves to be a pretty good fund-raiser herself. http://bit.ly/1LNMMdY
Healey: Insurance hikes too high
Two major insurance companies improperly used winter storm data to justify higher rate increases following last winter, the office of Attorney General Maura Healey has found, the Globe reports. Both Mapfre USA Corp. and Safety Insurance Co. put too much emphasis on recent storms in their analysis of future rates, Healey says. The report may put pressure on the Division of Insurance to revisit the hike requests. http://bit.ly/1QTw7NN
Buyouts help reduce salary costs $190 million
Massachusetts will spend $190 million less than anticipated on salaries this fiscal year thanks to the early retirement program launched to address a budget deficit, MassLive's Shira Schoenberg reports. That figure would be above the $170 million targeted by the Baker administration, but does not include the costs of buying out employees. The state had hoped 4,500 workers would leave voluntarily, but just under 2,500 ultimately took the money and ran. http://bit.ly/1TkpiCL
Auditor slams DOT over Gloucester bridge
State Auditor Suzanne Bump released a scathing report on the Department of Transportation's handling of a Route 128 bridge reconstruction project in Gloucester, the Globe reports. Bump's office says the DOT wasted as much as $2.6 million on the project because it did not fund a pre-construction inspection that would have revealed structural issues that led to delays and cost overruns. http://bit.ly/1Rm43lx
Bay State benefits from highway bill passage
A rare event in Washington -- the bipartisan passage of a Highway Bill -- will mean more construction funds for Massachusetts in coming years, the Enterprise reports. The $305 billion, five-year transportation bill will send more than $5 billion to the Bay State over that time period, an increase of nearly 10 percent. http://bit.ly/1NH8Des
Patrick to advise in Chicago
Former Gov. Deval Patrick is headed back to his native Chicago to serve as a "senior adviser" to a task force set up to examine the city's police department in the wake of a high-profile police shooting incident, according to the Globe. "I hope I can offer the mayor and his task force some guidance and feedback on the important work they now undertake," Patrick said. http://bit.ly/1NnIACG
Uber CEO: We can fix commuting traffic
In a speech Tuesday in Boston, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said the ride-sharing service will be launching a service that takes commuter "carpooling to the next level," WBUR reports. Kalanick said UberCommute, which has yet to launch, has the power to change one of the immutable realities of the Greater Boston area. "We do imagine a world where there's no more traffic in Boston in five years," Kalanick said, eliciting a chuckle from this in attendance. http://wbur.fm/1N3iN3s
Please share with us: It's the MASSterList gift guide
Most of us could use some shopping assistance during the holidays, and who better to help than the astute and discerning readership of MASSterList? We're looking for your gift-giving suggestions for those shopping for fellow grownups. You know, unusual gifts, smart gifts, memorable gifts, your favorite gift. Things you would want or things other people would be pleased to receive. Send a brief description of the gift, its price range, and if we receive enough suggestions, we'll have MASSterList's first gift-giving guide, either this Friday or Monday, or both. Send your ideas togdonnelly@massterlist.com.
Quote of the day: "Our whole goal is to make transportation as reliable as running water." -Uber CEO Travis Kalanick
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