Watch for the GE Taxpayer Subsidy SCAM!
Thursday, January 14, 2016
By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Keith Regan
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Today: The GOP debates; Lynch chats
Solar talk: Reps. Jonathan Hecht and Frank Smizik and Sen. Jamie Eldridge host a discussion about the community benefits of solar and the policies required to grow the shared, low-income, and municipal solar markets, Room 428, 11:00 am
Expect updates on the Health Connector, trumpeted as a Baker administration success, as the Health Connector Authority meets. The agenda includes executive director's report, 2016 open enrollment and outreach update, and a "state innovation waiver consideration update." It will be held on the 21st floor, One Ashburton Place, Boston, 2:00 pm.
Congressman Stephen Lynch joins Joshua Miller of the Boston Globe for "LIVE Political Happy Hour," sponsored by Suffolk University. At the Modern Theatre, 525 Washington St., Boston, 5:30 pm
GOP candidates contending for the White House gather in South Carolina for their first debate of the year. Candidates will again be split into two tiers based on polling data, with tier two candidates featured in a debate airing at 6:00 pm; the main event starts at 9:00 pm with Fox Business anchors Maria Bartiromo and Neil Cavuto as moderators.
Coming tomorrow: Eviction protest
City Life/Vida Urbana plans a rally tomorrow in Dudley Square, 6:30 pm, to protest forced evictions. The rally will be held in front of 9-13-15 Ruggles St. According to the rally announcement, "In 2015, owners decided to clear out the building and convert to luxury housing. There are 5 families left in this 15-unit building, all low and moderate income, working class people of color, all long-term tenants. They all face eviction in coming weeks."
GE wanted us as much as we wanted them
Indeed, they could have gone anywhere in the country. And while General Electric may not want to admit it, it probably wanted to relocate here just as much as local business and political leaders wanted them to come. GE craves access to the newest innovations in health care, cleantech, robotics, and you name it. If GE was going to move and stay on the East Coast, Boston was the natural and really only choice.
Of course, political leaders have to pay tribute, in the form of incentives, in these recruitment situations, otherwise corporations feel disrespected. A $120 million state incentive number was thrown into the relocation announcement, but there few details on the specific inducements. The city has offered another $25 million in property tax breaks. It's likely GE could have squeezed another city harder, but it would ultimately short-changed itself, for what it really wants is access to intellectual capital. Here are a few thoughts on the big news:
- One of the most humorous promises by the state: A "Commitment to existing local transportation improvements in the Seaport District." There are significant rush-hour gridlock issues in the Seaport, so it will be interesting to see what improvements are in store.
- GE will indeed pay taxes: Known for its ability to avoid corporate taxes, GE's move here will provide plenty of state income tax. Those 800 good jobs taxed at the 5.1 percent rate will yield serious revenue. GE CEO Jeff Immelt made $18.5 million in 2014. That would have generated close to $950,000 alone in Massachusetts income tax. More to the point, GE should be the classic gift that keeps on giving as it invests in startups and serves as a magnet for other companies.
- One of the biggest winners: The nonprofit community, particularly those involved with STEM education and workforce development. GE will want to be a good corporate citizen and local nonprofits will benefit.
Abundant coverage includes:
The Globe's Jon Chesto, who broke the story yesterday, has a fuller overview here: http://bit.ly/1RlGdYu
The Boston Business Journal gets reaction from local business leaders: http://bit.ly/1P1zmmF
It's better than winning the Olympics, says the Globe's Shirley Leung: http://bit.ly/22ZVW38
About those tax incentives. WGBH's Adam Reilly presses Mayor Walsh on the topic.http://bit.ly/1PZSU7V
80 amendments later, House passes opioid bill
The House passed an opioid bill last evening after hours of debate and some 80 amendment proposals. Republicans sought to restore stricter provisions in the bill, including allowing hospitals to involuntarily hold addicts for 72 hours, but were unable to prevail. The bill now contains a provision giving doctors 24 hours to conduct a substance abuse evaluation of a suspected addict. Much more on the bill, which moves back to the Senate as competing bills get reconciled, by MassLive's Shira Schoenberg:http://bit.ly/1RmA7XE
Northeastern adjunct strike averted
Recently unionized Northeastern University adjunct facility reached an agreement with the university yesterday, averting a planned walkout on January 19, according to an announcement released this morning by SEIU Local 509. The three-year agreement "makes significant progress in compensation and course stability, professional development and the faculty role in decisions that affect their work," according to the union.
Three Powerball winning tickets sold
Early reports indicate that winning Powerball numbers were sold in Florida, Tennessee and California, putting an end to the frenzy that led to a $1.6 billion jackpot. Had a winning number been sold in Massachusetts, the state would have reaped significant rewards, reports Colin A. Young of the State House News Service. But even as it played out, the extra ticket purchases will help state coffers.http://bit.ly/231drjP (paywall)
Meanwhile, two $1 million Powerball tickets were sold in Massachusetts. http://bit.ly/231gA2T
Audit smacks judges over probation fees
Judges across the state are unevenly collecting monthly probation fees, according to a report released Wednesday by State Auditor Suzanne Bump. According to MassLive's Shira Schoenberg, judges routinely waived the fees without documentation or requiring public service instead and in some cases collected fees from those not required to pay. "Our audit found that rather than justice being impartial, the fate of many residents has instead been a matter of geography and dependent on which court supervised them during their probation period," Bump said. http://bit.ly/1P2oq8m
Data storage hampering cop cams in Worcester
Officials in Worcester have run into a hurdle in their efforts to outfit police officers with body cameras, install dashboard cams in cruisers and increase video surveillance at city police stations: the cost of storing all that video. The Telegram's Nick Kotsopoulos reports that city manager Edward Augustus Jr. hopes to present a plan to the City Council for moving forward later this year. "There are phenomenal costs associated with the storage of that volume of video," he said, noting that video would have to be kept for up to three years. http://bit.ly/1PZPmCE
Warren endorsement still heavily coveted
Democratic presidential candidates continue to hold out hope they will receive the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the lone female Democrat in the Senate who has yet to support Hillary Clinton, the Globe's Annie Linskey reports. Linskey details the relationships between Warren and both Democratic front-runners, speculates that Warren may wait until the nomination is locked up and notes that much of Warren's power base comes from the same supporters who are keeping Bernie Sanders hot on Clinton's heels in the polls. http://bit.ly/1Q7DgJK
Sex offender info disappearing
The state's Sex Offender Registry Board says it is removing 40 names a day from its database as it moves to comply with new guidelines form the Supreme Judicial Court, the Patriot Ledger's Neal Simpson reports. Meanwhile, a backlog of new offenders awaiting classification is expected to continue to grow until the board catches up with its reclassification work. http://bit.ly/1ZwWApL
Walsh wants to toughen residency rules
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh says he wants to toughen the residency requirement for city employees, though his proposal carves out numerous exceptions for current police employees and his own staffers, the Globe's Andrew Ryan reports. http://bit.ly/1SOQuvG
Boston's highest rated Uber driver speaks
Boston magazine interviews a Boston Uber driver who won a driver rating contest before she moved to the West Coast. http://bit.ly/1RGlIGe
Headline of the day
"Police remove deer suspected of being kept at a pet in East Boston" (in the Globe) http://bit.ly/1SPfvH6
Quote of the day
"The issue facing lawmakers today is not whether marijuana should be legalized, the issue before lawmakers today is how marijuana should be legalized." - Dick Evans, chairman of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol at yesterday's State House hearing on legalizing marijuana.
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