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Middleboro Review 2

NEW CONTENT MOVED TO MIDDLEBORO REVIEW 2

Toyota

Since the Dilly, Dally, Delay & Stall Law Firms are adding their billable hours, the Toyota U.S.A. and Route 44 Toyota posts have been separated here:

Route 44 Toyota Sold Me A Lemon



Monday, January 25, 2016

MASSterList: Budget balancing act shorts schools | 2015 lobbying scorecard | Growing pains at the airport


Look around.....the political landscape resembles swarming birds performing their acrobatics.....


....no dissent....no brain-power engaged.....just like Bobble Heads.....



The Boston Globe can't even deliver its own newspapers and is becoming little more than a Hack Newspaper filled with PROPAGANDA and their endorsement means something? 



Wait 'till ya figure out Baker's Energy SCAM!



 

Monday, January 25, 2016


By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Sara Brown
Today: Baker's workforce initiative; T talk on the Ride
Gov. Baker outlines a new workforce initiative for people facing chronically higher rates of unemployment. He'll be joined by Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Ronald L. Walker and members of the Governor's Task Force on Persons Facing Chronically Higher Rates of Unemployment. The new initiatives will be included in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget. The event will be at 11:00 am, Year Up Boston, 45 Milk St., Boston.

The MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board discusses a newly established task force on the Ride, hears about the state of the Red Line, potentially takes action on a Green Line Extension consultant contract, and discusses indemnification. The board will also hear about comments received in regards to late-night service, which is slated to be eliminated or privatized. MassDOT, 10 Park Plaza, suite 3830, Boston, 12:00 pm.

The MBTA's proposed fare hikes get their first public hearing. The T has proposed two plans, raising fares by 6.7 or 9.7 percent on average. It's unlikely ridership will endorse either one. The public will also have a chance to weigh in on commuter rail schedule changes. Breed Middle School, 90 O'Callaghan Way, Lynn, 6:00 pm
A Q&A with City Council President Michelle Wu. Boston Globe City Hall reporter Meghan Irons holds a public conversation with new City Council President Wu, discussing her agenda. Capital One Cafe, 799 Boylston St., Boston, 6:30 pm.
And later this week: State budget artistry, DeLeo priorities
Gov. Baker will file his budget on Wednesday, and the trick will be making filling an estimated $1 billion budget hole look like no big deal. The governor made significant financial assurances at his State of the Commonwealth speech, including bolstering the Rainy Day Fund. He also announced that unrestricted state aid to cities and towns would go up in the 2017 budget by the same amount as revenue - 4.3 percent - at a Massachusetts Municipal Association meeting on Friday. But as Colin A. Young of the State House News Service pointed out Friday, school aid (Chapter 70) is getting a 1.6 percent increase in Baker's budget, breaking a campaign promise he made to increase "total local aid" by the same percentage as revenue growth.
Speaker DeLeo will outline legislative priorities in an address to the House on Wednesday, following an annual tradition started by former Speaker Thomas Finneran. 


The Seaport is victim of its own success

When the Seaport District is fully built out, peak travel in and out of the booming area is predicted to increase by 63 percent, Nicole Dungca of the Boston Globe reported over the weekend. Already the Seaport is a case study in gridlock, and one Silver Line route though the district already operates at 123 percent of capacity. The subtext is the Seaport, now back in the news as the destination for General Electric's new headquarters, is an object lesson in how not to do city planning, although officials are trying to catch up with the needs of commuters to access the area. http://bit.ly/1Jxv44e 

In other inadequate infrastructure news, a surge in overseas flights at Logan airport will put pressure on the international terminal's ability to handle more passengers, the Globe's Megan Woolhouse reports, making it likely that long lines to get through customs will return. Massport is awaiting approval on a $550 million expansion that will nearly double the size of the terminal. http://bit.ly/1ZYwnRb 

Markey draws line in sand on opioid policy
Sen. Ed Markey is among a handful of senators looking to block the confirmation of Dr. Robert Califf as the next head of the Food and Drug Administration, demanding that the agency reverse its decision on allowing the pediatric use of the pain killer OxyContin. "Markey said he is particularly troubled that the FDA last year approved OxyContin for use by children without convening an advisory panel of experts to study the issue and offer advice, as the agency often does before making significant public health decisions," Mark Arsenault of the Globe reports. http://bit.ly/1KyMZ5y

The Globe endorses Hillary
The Globe backs the former Secretary of State: "This is Clinton's time, and the Globe enthusiastically endorses her in the Feb. 9 Democratic primary in New Hampshire. She is more seasoned, more grounded, and more forward-looking than in 2008, and has added four years as secretary of state to her already formidable resume. Democrats in the Granite State should not hesitate to choose her." http://bit.ly/1lIVbJZ

Lobbyists rake it in
ML Strategies led the Boston lobbying league in fees in 2015, taking in about $2.7 million. It was catapulted to the top in part by its work for Wynn Resorts, reports CommonWealth's Bruce Mohl. Many other lobbying firms did well, also, as a chart with the story indicates. http://bit.ly/1VkmVku

Single sales factor for GE?
The Baker administration is proposing to roll out a plan to apply a tax break known as the single sale factor to every industry in the state as a way to generate jobs, Greg Ryan of the Boston Business Journal reports. Presently the tax treatment is limited to mutual fund companies, defense contractors, and manufacturers. http://bit.ly/1QnMIXD

Casino odds, simplified 
Boston Magazine's Erick Trickey breaks down, gambling style, the odds of each of the four pending casino proposals in the state actually being built, giving the longest odds to a Wampanoag casino on Martha's Vineyard. http://bit.ly/1TjP8t9 

Public rattled by snakes-on-an-island plan 
The Department of Fisheries and Wildlife is moving forward with a plan to populate an island in Quabbin Reservoir with 150 timber rattlesnakes. The Globe's Nestor Ramos reports that the proposal is stirring fear and resentment in the Central Mass. region where some are still sore that towns were flooded to create the reservoir more than 75 years ago. http://bit.ly/1QnIDmi 

Retailers back fare hikes as hearings set to begin 
With the first of a series of public hearings on proposed fare hikes at the MBTA slated to begin Monday night, the Herald's Jack Encarnacao reports that the state's retail industry association is backing the efforts to raise more revenue for the transit system. Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said his group does not oppose the hikes and believes user fees are the best way to help fund needed improvements at the T. http://bit.ly/23nz2mu

Healey lauds move to help female addicts 
Attorney General Maura Healey plans to be on hand Monday when Gov. Baker signs legislation that will divert women committed for substance abuse treatment away from the state prison in Framingham, the Herald's Laurel J. Sweet reports. Women needing treatment will now be sent to newly opened beds at the Taunton and Shack state hospitals. "For far too long, too many women have been sent to Framingham, who haven't been able to receive the care and the treatment that they're entitled to," Healey said.  http://bit.ly/1ZMUDjM 

Lawrence asks permission to hire Spanish-speaking cops 
Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera is asking state officials for permission to bypass civil service hiring rules so he can immediately hire Spanish-speaking recruits, the Globe's Milton Valencia reports. Rivera says a federal consent decree meant to correct racial imbalances on police forces are actually hampering efforts to make the police force more reflective of the city's population. http://bit.ly/1RInK8G

Millennials may be surprise factor in NH primary
Millennials could have a huge impact on the presidential election if they decide to show up at the polls. Millennials represent 190,000 of the 326,000 new voters eligible to take part in this coming election, according to the state Elections Division. However, they are not listed in databases, which means they are not included in political polls. "A Rock the Vote" survey found that only 60 percent of millennials who are registered to vote plan to cast ballots in the November election. Only 30 to 40 percent say they're likely to vote inthe Republican and Democratic primaries," the Newburyport Times reported. In the last election, 24 percent of the young vote voted. http://bit.ly/1ORus6f

What's wrong with hydro?
Gov. Baker's plan to tap into hydropower from Canada is facing strong opposition from the New England Power Generators Association. CommonWealth magazine has posted an op-ed from its president, Dan Dolan. "A recent study by the Analysis Group, one of the most respected economics consulting firms in North America, shows that these contracts with Hydro-Quebec could cost Massachusetts ratepayers a massive $777 million in above market, or extra, costs each year - more than $20 billion over the life of the contract." http://bit.ly/1nJiwwF
Charles Baker Sr.'s take on his son the governor's speech

Gov. Charlie Baker bolstered his image as a sweat-the-details manager and a collaborator with the Democrat-dominated Legislature in his first State of the Commonwealth address. So what did his dad think? After proclaiming the strength of the Commonwealth, the governor quoted his father that "success is never final." On his way out of a post-speech event in the Executive Suite, Charles Baker Sr., who served as assistant transportation secretary in the federal government decades ago, praised his son's message and memory. "I think he remembered everything I told him," the elder Baker said. "I think he did a great job. And I was particularly pleased that he identified a lot of the people who've been involved in a lot of these things. That's not only worthwhile, but very smart." -Andy Metzger, State House News Service
Finally, ICYMI, here's Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live: 

REMEMBER: To send your tips to me at gdonnelly@massterlist.com. Op-eds and other commentary are invited for publication on MASSterList.
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