Tuesday, January 19, 2016
By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Keith Regan
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Today: Walsh's SOTC address; pot findings 'eye opening'
Mayor Marty Walsh will give the annual State of the City address at Boston Symphony Hall tonight. His speech will focus on education, according to reports. Eric Levenson of Boston.com previews the speech here, checking in on the mayor's promises from last year:http://bit.ly/20bm4WH
Pot legalization advocates and opponents can hear what a Massachusetts senate delegation learned on a visit to Colorado last week as Sen. Jason Lewis chats with Boston Public Radio hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan, noon, WGBH 89.7.
Lewis was interviewed by Antonio Caban of the State House News Service in a story posted this morning. "Back from what he called an 'eye-opening trip,' Sen. Jason Lewis says Massachusetts needs to be prepared for challenges, including the need for increased financial resources to regulate the industry, if voters legalize marijuana use by approving a ballot question in November." http://statehousenews.com/
While the legalization of marijuana is debated, police brought charges against Bill Downing, a well-known advocate for legalization, on distribution charges. http://bit.ly/1PcRav7
Gov. Charlie Baker will deliver remarks at the opening of the MassArt Design and Media Center. 3:30 pm, MassArt Design and Media Center, 621 Huntington Avenue, Boston.
The MBTA holds the first of several hearings on eliminating "late night" weekend service. 10 Park Plaza, second floor, Boston, 10:00 am.
Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Quinsigamond Engineering, Science and Technology Center, 2:30 pm, Worcester.
Millionaire tax debate debuts today
The issue likely will simmer in the political background until 2018, but today we'll get a preview of what likely will become a very intense debate: a state surtax on million-dollar earners. A petition is slowly making its way to the 2018 ballot that proposes a surtax on incomes over $1 million -- a four percentage point premium, moving the rate for the second million, and any millions after that to about 9 percent. If you're unfortunate enough to make only $999,000, you would still pay the 5.1 percent income tax rate.
Advocates say we need the money (which the ballot language targets for education and transportation) and also argue that progressive taxation that begins at the $1 million level is only fair. Opponents will say that targeting the wealthy will only encourage their migration out of state, send a negative message about the Massachusetts political climate and damper growth. It should be noted that most states have progressive rates, and some, of course, have no income tax at all. Here are the highest marginal rates on state income taxes in the US (source: the Tax Foundation):
California: 13.3%
Hawaii: 11%
Idaho: 7.4%
Iowa: 8.98%
Maine: 7.95%
Minnesota: 9.85%
New Jersey: 8.97%
New York: 8.82%
Oregon: 9.9%
Vermont: 8.95%
Wisconsin: 7.65%
More fun facts: There were about 12,500 million-dollar earners in Massachusetts in 2013 who earned a collective $42.7 billion. Meanwhile, in advance of today's hearing, 71 economists have signed a petition endorsing the millionaire tax, the State House News Service's Andy Metzger reports in this preview: http://statehousenews.com/news/2016119 (paywall)
The action intensifies in NH, the land of indecision
What are voters thinking in the Granite State as the presidential primary draws near on Feb. 9. Apparently many, upwards of 40 percent, are not sure who they're going to vote for, which only intensifies the frenzied campaigning of the candidates down the stretch, reports Christian Wade, State House bureau chief for the several Massachusetts papers, including the Lawrence Eagle Tribune. "New Hampshire voters are notorious for keeping their options open until the last minute," Wade quotes Andy Smith, a political science professor at the University of New Hampshire. "These aren't party activists, they're just regular voters, and the majority of them won't pay attention until Election Day." http://bit.ly/209Eh71
GE river cleanup still ongoing
While Boston celebrates the decision of General Electric to move its headquarters to the Seaport, western Massachusetts hasn't forgotten GE's history, including the polluting of the Housatonic with PCBs, whose $250 million cleanup is ongoing, reports Gintautus Dumcius of MassLive, and the full scope of which is yet to be decided. http://bit.ly/1StFZyF
Pittsfield hasn't forgotten GE's decision to leave town. The company once employed 13,000, and in the 1970s began phasing out jobs. "There's a faction of the populace here that just loathes GE to this day both for leaving and also for leaving PCBs that have to be cleaned up," one former GE employee told MassLive's Shira Schoenberg. http://bit.ly/1JW7IFk
Suffolk Construction hits casino jackpot
Boston's biggest construction firm has landed the coveted contract of building Wynn Resort's Everett casino. Wynn Resorts has tapped Suffolk Construction to oversee construction of its Everett resort casino, awarding John Fish's company a contract worth $1 billion, the Globe's Todd Wallack reports. Fish began courting Wynn immediately after he won the Eastern Mass. casino license and the contract is the largest single deal in Suffolk's 33-year history. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Fish said. http://bit.ly/1T121YZ
Oh no, here comes the snow
Reports of a big weekend storm already have Gov. Baker and Mayor Walsh on alert. They spent "five to ten minutes" discussing the weather, Baker told the Herald, as a storm approaches that could hit Friday night and last throughout the day and evening on Saturday. (If a significant storm does materialize, you can bet its approach will be covered as if a tsunami were approaching Boston Harbor.) http://bit.ly/1JecXjL
DiMasi seeks pension payments
Thomas Kiley, attorney for former House Speaker Sal DiMasi, plans to argue before the Supreme Judicial Court next month that DiMasi is owed $127,000 in pension payments withheld since his conviction on corruption charges, the Herald's Laurel J. Sweet reports. Kiley plans to argue that DiMasi should have continued to receive monthly payments of nearly $5,000 up until the time the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up his appeal. http://bit.ly/1OD4Ny8
Top line in place, real budget work begins
With state budget writers in agreement on how much to spend in the next fiscal year, the real work of budget-building now begins, WGBH's Mike Deehan reports. Gov. Baker and lawmakers now begin the difficult process of deciding where to spend the $26.86 billion. http://bit.ly/1lqnLzy
Another state in play for DraftKings?
Daily fantasy sports site DraftKings may have to deal with legal battles in yet another state, as officials in Maryland are pressing lawmakers to take up regulation of the burgeoning industry during the current legislative session, according to the Boston Business Journal's Sara Castellanos. http://bit.ly/1Rxytmd
Data show black males most likely to be stopped
Black men are most likely to be stopped by Boston police, according to data the ACLU sued the department to have released, Boston.com's Allison Manning reports. Some 60 percent of those stopped by police for questioning or investigation were black males, compared to the overall black population of 25 percent in the city. http://bit.ly/1Zye4gf
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