Monday, January 11, 2016
By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Sara Brown
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Today: More on T finances; DeLeo to discuss opioid bill
Gov. Baker will present the Soldier's Medal to Staff Sergeant Geoffrey Curtis for heroic efforts performed at the Boston Marathon bombing in the Governor's Office, 11:15 am.
More conversation about the Green Line Extension: MBTA's Fiscal and Management Control Board meets to discuss the Green Line Extension project and the fiscal 2016 budget. Chief Administrator Brian Shortsleeve will also give updates on overtime and absenteeism. At 10 Park Plaza, third floor, Boston, 1:00 pm.
Opioid bill: House Speaker Robert DeLeo, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Brian Dempsey, Rep. Elizabeth Malia and Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez hold a press conference to discuss the opioid abuse prevention bill that is expected to hit the floor for debate and a vote on Wednesday. House Members Lounge, 1:30 pm.
The Friday news dump, revisited: Bigger holes await
The Baker administration announced cuts and other maneuvers to close a $320 million budget gap minutes before 5:00 pm on Friday. The late Friday afternoon news dump feels like an anachronism, dating back to when people got their news in print and would ignore the Saturday paper. The bad news inspiring the Friday treatment was the $50 million in direct budget cuts, with dozens of cuts getting reduced or eliminated, including a reduction in transitional aid to families with dependent children ($750,000) and a Big Data Innovation and Workforce Fund ($1.5 million). The administration plans to close the bulk of the gap with revenue gains through the rest of the year. The commonwealth already is $114 million ahead of plan in tax revenue. See David Scharfenberg's budget cut story in the Globe here, and the list of cuts can be seen here.
Bigger problems await -- about $1 billion budget gap forecast for Fiscal Year 2017. It's from a structural imbalance, fancy words that that indicate the state budget is built to spend more than it takes in. A billion is a big number, and perhaps it will inspire another Friday evening news dump. Last Friday's was worthy of a few laughs, as WGBH's Mike Deehan graphically provided below.
Senators to leave for fact-finding trip on pot
A group of eight senators will travel this week to Colorado to explore the ramifications of legalizing marijuana. "There may also be particular provisions in the ballot question where lawmakers have concerns," state Sen. Jason Lewis, the leader of the trip and chairman of the Senate special committee on marijuana told the Globe's Joshua Miller, "and may want to at least debate a different approach." A referendum question to legalize marijuana appears destined to be on this fall's ballot. http://bit.ly/1RhNVCT
Breaking: Committee votes on $15-per-hour legislation revealed
Breaking this morning: Some sleuthing by State House News Service reporter Andy Metzger reveals who on the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development voted for a bill in to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour for big box retailers and fast food establishments. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Dan Wolf, cleared the committee by a 4-2 margin in November without the identities of the supporters or opponents made public, until now.http://statehousenews.com/ (pay wall)
Mayor to back lobbying rules
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh says he is going to propose regulations for lobbyists at City Hall that could require more transparency to the public. "If you came into this building and you're representing anybody -- whether it's McDonald's or CVS or a developer -- you're going to have to register as a lobbyist to do business," Walsh said to the Globe. Walsh said the restrictions would model state lobbying laws, which require lobbyists to disclose what they are lobbying on and who their clients are. He said he will file his plan next month. http://bit.ly/1UIGEKk
What Mass. Republican surge?
Congressional Democrats in Massachusetts will waltz back into office, facing little to no resistance, reports the Herald's Joe Battenfeld. "The state GOP is all but conceding the nine congressional races in the face of an expected surge of Democratic voters in the presidential contest, focusing on keeping the few local offices and legislative seats they hold." http://bit.ly/1kZTQ0Z
Delivery problems persist for Globe
Thousands of Sunday papers went undelivered as the Boston Globe's delivery problems persisted and more newsroom personnel were called to help deliver the paper yesterday. Dan Adams of the Globe provides an update here: http://bit.ly/1mQ6FMJ
And in case you missed it, Michael Levenson's Sunday Globe feature explored the lives of newspaper carriers, who work for low pay and without benefits. http://bit.ly/1VZfP5O
Derailment raises safety questions
Last week's derailment of a commuter rail train in Andover raises larger questions about the safety of railroad tracks in the Merrimack Valley which are used not only by MBTA trains but by locomotives hauling crude oil and other hazardous materials, Christian Wade reports for the Eagle-Tribune. Officials believe the track in Andover was damaged by cold temperatures, which led to last Tuesday's early morning derailment of a nearly empty commuter train that caused no injuries. http://bit.ly/1ZmUVTu
Pro teams back transgender rights bill
Supporters of a bill to extend anti discrimination protections to transgender individuals say all five professional sports teams in the city now back the measure before the legislature, the Globe reports. The Red Sox had previously backed the bill and now the Patriots, Revolution, Bruins, and, Celtics will come out in favor of its passage, possibly increasing the pressure on Gov. Baker, who is widely expected to veto the bill. http://bit.ly/1ZfTUaB
Trump's Mass. office vandalized
Vandals struck Presidential candidate Donald Trump's new Massachusetts office over the weekend, the Herald reports. The office in Littleton was defaced with graffiti calling the controversial candidate a "Nazi" and "pig." http://bit.ly/1ZmX3e8
Toll change revives license plate debate
A measure that would require Massachusetts to issue easier-to-read license plates may get new life as the Mass Pike makes the shift to open-road tolling, the Herald's Hillary Chabot reports. The EZ-ID plate legislation was first filed more than a decade ago to help make plate numbers easier to remember but has never advanced. http://bit.ly/1ZfRbho
Feds make Mashpee tribe's status official
Federal officials finalized their recognition of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe on Friday, clearing the way for the tribe to begin work on a Taunton casino as soon as this spring, the Cape Cod Times reports. The tribe noted that the publication of its federal recognition in the Federal Register comes after no legal challenges were filed to its efforts to take 321 acres of land in the state under its control. "This cements our right to self-determination now and for future generations," tribal council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said in a release. http://bit.ly/1PRUAjN
God bless the lobbyists
Lobbyists, often cast as villains in popular culture, received some succor from a godly agent on Wednesday at the start of the first formal session of the House. Father Rick Walsh of the Paulist Center, right down Park Street, beseeched a higher power to bless the work of lawmakers and others within the State House. "We ask your blessing also upon the legislative agents who work on behalf of various organizations. May they also seek the well-being of those who lack their resources," Walsh said from the rostrum. After the benediction, Rep. Smitty Pignatelli remarked that about the only group left unmentioned was the press. -Andy Metzger, SHNS
Fascinating film -- Boston by Streetcar, circa 1906
What did Boston look like in 1906? Here's one of the earliest known films of Boston, taken by street car from Downtown Crossing to Copley Square. It's amazing how much Boston has changed, and how much it hasn't.
'Spotlight' reporter attends Golden Globes
Actress Rachel McAdams brought Boston Globe journalist Sacha Pfeiffer as her date Sunday night to the Golden Globes. McAdams portrays Pfeiffer in the movie Spotlight, which is about Globe journalist breaking a story about sex abuse in the Catholic Church. Pfeiffertweeted a picture of her Golden Globe ticket with the caption "Last Sunday I delivered @BostonGlobe to stranded subscribers. This Sunday, thanks to @SpotlightMovie, I'm doing this." More on boston.com here: http://bit.ly/1ZfNPuD
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