Wednesday, January 20, 2016

The Kinder Morgan Pipeline SCAM! MASSterList: T has most breakdowns in nation | Let the snow hyperventilation begin | Texting-and-driving madness to be addressed



While the Closet Tea Bagger Baker is successfully removing the PUBLIC FROM PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, another ANTI-ENVIRONMENT PROJECT is unfolding courtesy of KINDER MORGAN. [Let's remember that Charlie Baker opposed Cape Wind. Whose pocket is he in? Kinder Morgan maxed out contributions to Charlie Baker. Bought & Paid For Baker?]

Below are just some of the articles posted on this site that clearly display the KINDER MORGAN PIPELINE SCAM

This & that....Blackburn and other Republican congresspeople are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Koch Industries and other polluters who put profits ahead of the future of our country and planet


Fracked gas across Massachusetts?


Taxpayer Funded Dirty Fuel Pipeline in Massachusetts?

This, that.....

Remember that MASSACHUSETTS FRACKED GAS PIPELINE?


Massachusetts: You're being SCAMMED by the FRACKING GAS PIPELINE!


RSN: Night of the Living Dead, Climate Change-Style


RSN: Vancouver Oil Spill Shows Why [Kinder Morgan's] Trans Mountain Pipeline Should Not Be Built


Kinder Morgan Pipeline SCAM


The Heroes

Massacgusetts Kinder Morgan Dirty Energy Pipeline

Pipelines and Propaganda: Kinder Morgan's Massachusetts pipeline


Kinder Morgan stands firm on proposed natural gas pipeline route THROUGH MASSACHUSETTS


Kinder Morgan: GET THE FACTS! Don't get snookered!




 


Wednesday, January 20, 2016


By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Keith Regan

Today: Youth voting, health cost drivers
The Alliance For Business Leadership hosts a session on the topic of youth voting. The lineup includes Alan Solomont, dean of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service; Peter Levine, Tisch College Associate Dean for Research; and Nancy Thomas, Director of the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education at Tisch College. At CIC Boston, Edison Conference Room - 16th floor, 50 Milk Street, Boston, 12:00 pm.

The Health Policy Commission meets to release its 2015 Cost Trends Report and policy recommendations to address health care spending drivers, 50 Milk Street, 8th Floor, Boston, 12:00 pm.

The T, along with the MassDOT, continue to crunch numbers. Department of Transportation Board of Directors meets jointly with the MBTA's Fiscal and Management Control Board. The officials are expected to discuss budgetary issues and the capital budget for the MBTA and MassDOT. The control board will continue meeting after the joint meeting adjourns. 10 Park Plaza, MassDOT Board Room, Boston, 1:00 pm.

Texting and driving: Will we stop the madness?
Sen. Mark Montigny was typically candid in an interview with Michael Norton of the State House News Service last week about the current law on the books that bans texting while driving. "We made a mess in 2010 by doing a half-baked law," he said. The texting ban is difficult to enforce, for who knows what someone is doing when they're looking at their phone. And thus it has been free ride for less-than-fully-mature multi-taskers who sometimes forget they're driving 3,500 pounds of automobile. They need to be saved from themselves and we need a law that protects us as well.
The only effective way to stop texting-and-driving is to ban handheld cell phone calls. So when the Senate reconvenes tomorrow, one top agenda item will be to consider a law that the police actually can enforce. "The latest version of the bill bans drivers from using a mobile electronic device unless the person is using the device in a hands-free mode and not touching or holding the device except to 'activate, deactivate, or initiate a feature or function,' " Norton reported, creating only a little wiggle room for scofflaws, who will face an initial fine of $100. If passed, people will still text and drive, just not with as much impunity.



Snow's coming, and let the hyperventilating begin
A storm is coming, so are stories about weather-related trauma and dread. The media is not going to miss the opportunity to hype the hell out of this weather event. Reporters are calling up psychologists who relate concerns about "anticipatory anxiety." Missing in most reports in the "anticipatory delight" of most schoolchildren looking for a snow day. Here's the Globe's Mark Arsenault on Boston girding for real winter, with a detour to Valdez, Alaska. http://bit.ly/1NjyemZ


REMOVING THE PUBLIC FROM PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION! 

Late-night T service: It's almost a goner
The MBTA has all but made up its mind to cut late-night weekend service. But it has to go through the motions of having hearings and listening to people who need the service but soon won't have it anymore. The first two hearings were held yesterday, and the most telling comment came from Charles Planck, an assistant general manager for operations strategy and support at the T, who, after explaining the challenging expenses of late-night operations, said: "This is a per-trip cost that's really unsustainable for the MBTA." Why other cities can afford it but not Boston likely has something to do with $9 billion in principal and debt on the T's books. See Nicole Dungca's coverage of the hearings: http://bit.ly/1V7ebhp
Another GE perk: Up to $100M for the Northern Ave. bridge
The city has committed up to $100 million to fix the Northern Avenue bridge, the old metal structure that was shut down as unsafe in 2014. The Globe's Shirley Leung reports that the state has committed another $25 million to improve roads and pedestrian traffic in the Seaport area. Adding earlier incentives, that brings the total commitment to as much as $270 million. http://bit.ly/1Nk3cvb
Walsh to launch Office of Housing Stability, explore a $15 minimum wage
In his state of the city address last night, Mayor Walsh announced a new city department, the Office of Housing Stability to help keep and create affordable housing. He also will force a task force to explore the implementation of a $15 per hour minimum wage, which has gained momentum in pockets here and has been passed into law in Seattle and Los Angeles. Nik DeCosta-Klipa has five takeaways from the speech here:
Homeowners continue to stall pipeline
A subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, which is seeking to build a natural gas pipeline in Massachusetts, is looking to the state to force hundreds of homeowners to give it access to their property so it can conduct surveying work. Christian Wade, State House bureau chief for Community Newspaper Holdings, reports that Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company LLC, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, says it needs access to 408 properties whose owners are refusing to allow workers on their land. "Tennessee has in good faith made efforts to obtain survey permission ... including sending at least two letters requesting permission and attempting to discuss the request in person or via telephone," the company wrote to officials in the Department of Public Utilities. http://bit.ly/1Ow2fUF

Rizzo makes it official, will run for open seat
Former Revere Mayor Dan Rizzo announced yesterday he will run for the senate seat being vacated by Anthony Petruccelli, whose resignation takes effect at the end of the day tomorrow (11:59 pm, according to the State House News Service's Katie Lannan). http://bit.ly/1KqHzJO (pay wall)
State Pension fund ekes out a positive return
The state's $60 billion pension fund for teachers and state workers had 1 percent return in 2015, Beth Healy of the Globe reports. In a year when stock indexes were negative, the 1 percent return can be considered a minor victory and a tribute to trim some of the fund's stock holdings. http://bit.ly/1ZM8v37
T has most breakdowns in nation 
T riders may finally have a data point that backs up their daily reality: The Boston Business Journal's David Harris reports that the MBTA has the most breakdowns of any major transit system in the U.S. The National Transit Database shows the T had 219 mechanical failures in 2014, four times the national average and 6 ahead of the second-most beleaguered system, in New Jersey. http://bit.ly/1Ow6zTN 

Group asks Walsh to cancel Gran Prix 
A coalition of Seaport residents is coalescing around efforts to stop the IndyCar race planned for Labor Day weekend, the Herald's Matt Stout reports. The group launched a Website and has written Mayor Marty Walsh asking for the event to be canceled because of the disruption it will cause residents of the neighborhood. http://bit.ly/1PpEV8v 

State will meet emissions goal, if ... 
Massachusetts is on track to meet a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emission below 1990 levels by the end of the current decade, the Globe's David Abel reports. But the Baker administration says keeping on schedule will require legislative support for Baker's push to sign long-term deals to bring Canadian hydropower-generated electricity into Massachusetts.  http://bit.ly/1luSXxD

MGM project draws mostly praise in hearing 
The majority of speakers who appeared during a Springfield City Council hearing on the MGM casino project Tuesday spoke in favor of keeping the project on track after a host of design changes the city must okay, MassLive's Peter Goonan reports. Representatives of MGM told the council changes to the mix of housing to be built and other tweaks are positive for the overall project. http://bit.ly/1RSNPSS 

Another mark on the map for DraftKings 
Texas officials are the latest to put a bulls-eye on daily fantasy sports sites such as Boston's DraftKings. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton posted a statement online declaring daily fantasy do not meet legal guidelines in the state, the Boston Business Journal's Sara Castellanos reports. http://bit.ly/1V89SlU 

Worcester will refund parking fines 
Worcester will reimburse thousand of dollars to residents who had their cars towed or ticketed Monday during a snowfall that took the city by surprise, the Telegram's Brad Petrishen reports. Cars were towed or ticketed in the early hours of Monday, even though a snow parking ban had never been announced. The city says all of the 739 people who were issued $50 tickets for violating the parking ban, and 347 whose cars were towed, would be paid back. http://bit.ly/1luPBe3 

Controversial gun policy to take effect in Lowell 
A new policy for issuing licenses to carry guns in Lowell will likely go into effect, despite continued outcry from gun rights advocates over the plan first unveiled last November, the Sun's Grant Welker reports. The measures require applicants to take a safety course and explain in writing why they want a license. http://bit.ly/1luMyTo
Documentary on the Italian-American experience in the North End to debut
A new documentary on the history of Italian-Americans in the North End premiers tonight at Suffolk University's Modern Theatre. Boston magazine has a preview.


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