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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



Wednesday, August 31, 2016

RSN: Wanna-Be Presidential Assassin Hinkley Goes Free, Leonard Peltier Left to Rot and Die in Prison




It's Live on the HomePage Now: 
Reader Supported News

FOCUS: Dennis J Bernstein | Wanna-Be Presidential Assassin Hinkley Goes Free, Leonard Peltier Left to Rot and Die in Prison 
Leonard Peltier, the  Native American activist and member of the American Indian Movement (AIM). Here he is pictured in prison. (photo: Unknown) 
Dennis J Bernstein, Reader Supported News 
Excerpt: "This is a clear example of the dual standard of justice when it comes to American Indians versus non-Indian people. And here we have a man, Hinckley, who was an obvious attempted assassin: they caught him in the act. And we have the contrast of Leonard Peltier, who has been in prison 40 years, 10 more years than Hinckley, and they've never convicted him of the actual shooting." 
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MBPC: Effects of a $15 minimum wage across Massachusetts and regionally




MASSBudget 


The Effects of a $15 Minimum Wage on Working People and Families in Massachusetts


Phasing in an increase of the minimum wage to $15 by 2021 would boost the incomes of 29 percent of the Massachusetts workforce. MassBudget's new report analyzes the effect of such an increase across 52 regions in the state, finding that at least 15 percent of workers in every region of Massachusetts would see their wages rise, and in some regions more than 40 percent of wage earners would benefit.

In addition to lower-income households, an increase of the hourly minimum wage to $15 would benefit many middle-income families. In some families one adult may make $30,000 a year or more while another works at a minimum wage job making $20,000.  That family isn't in poverty, but when anyone in that household gets a raise, it helps the family to pay for basic necessities and provide a better life for their children. 

The report finds that statewide, a $15 minimum would increase the incomes of 22 percent of working parents - and 31 percent of all children in the state would benefit. 


$15 min family impacts 
The statewide minimum wage is currently scheduled to rise to $11 per hour in 2017, meaning a full-time worker at the minimum wage will earn $22,880 next year. MassBudget's projections for the effects of a $15 minimum wage assume the current hourly minimum wage being increased by $1 per year until 2021. 

$15 min wage worker type



The link to the MassBudget report is HERE.


The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts.



Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 15 Court Square,Suite 700, Boston, MA 02108


RSN: Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders | We Demand an Explanation for the Price Increases of Mylan's EpiPen





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FOCUS: Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders | We Demand an Explanation for the Price Increases of Mylan's EpiPen 
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. (photo: Salon) 
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, Reader Supported News 
Excerpt: "We are writing today to express our concern with the repeated and significant price increases for Mylan's EpiPen Auto-Injector." 
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RSN: Afghan Opium Production 40 Times Higher Since US-NATO Invasion, Natural Gas Emissions Will Surpass Those From Coal in US




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Glenn Greenwald | Dilma Rousseff's Impeachment Trial Nears an End, Endangering Brazilian Democracy 
Suspended Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff attends a Senate impeachment trial in Brasilia, Brazil, Aug. 29, 2016.  
Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept 
Greenwald writes: "Dilma Rousseff's removal results in the empowerment of a party that was not elected to the presidency." 
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Debbie Wasserman Schultz Wins Primary Against Sanders-Backed Challenger Tim Canova 
Cristina Marcos, The Hill 
Marcos writes: "Wasserman Schultz dispatched a challenge from law professor Tim Canova who sought to capitalize on the controversies surrounding her tenure at the DNC and ride on the popularity of Bernie Sanders." 
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Why Are We Paying $300 for an EpiPen That Holds Only $1 Worth of Medicine? 
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! 
Goodman reports: "Each EpiPen reportedly contains only $1 worth of medicine. Mylan has a near monopoly in the U.S., and the company has seen its profits from the EpiPen alone skyrocket to $1 billion a year." 
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Fight for $15: Chris Christie Vetoes Minimum Wage Hike in New Jersey 
Associated Press 
Excerpt: "Republican Governor Chris Christie on Tuesday vetoed an attempt to raise New Jersey's minimum wage to $10.10 an hour in the next year and to at least $15 an hour over the next five." 
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Afghan Opium Production 40 Times Higher Since US-NATO Invasion 
teleSUR 
Excerpt: "Since the U.S.-led NATO invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the production of opium in the country has increased by 40 times according to Russia's Federal Drug Control Service, fueling organized crime and widespread death." 
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The Chilling Reason Why More Than 1,900 People Have Died in the Philippines 
Evelyn Anne Crunden, ThinkProgress 
Crunden writes: "Rodrigo Duterte has only been in office eight weeks, but his presidency has already been a bloody one for the Philippines." 
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Natural Gas Emissions Will Surpass Those From Coal in US 
Bobby Magill, Climate Central 
Magill writes: "The U.S. is expected to reach a major carbon emissions milestone this year: For the first time, carbon dioxide emissions from burning natural gas for electricity in the U.S. are set to surpass those from burning coal - the globe's chief climate polluter." 
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MASSterList: Maine’s Hamlet | Lights, camera, action | Party hearty at DCR




By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan
08/31/2016

Maine’s Hamlet | Lights, camera, action | Party hearty at DCR



Happening Today
 
Celebrating T Wharf project
 
Gov. Charlie Baker celebrates MassWorks-funded construction progress on the T Wharf in Plymouth with Sen. Vinny deMacedo, Rep. Matt Muratore and other leaders, Plymouth Town Pier, 9 Town Wharf Way, Plymouth, 3:30 p.m.
 
 
Governor’s Council
 
The Governor's Council interviews assistant attorney general Sookyoung Shin, a nominee for the Appeals Court, 10 a.m., and then later reconvenes for its regular meeting at which there’s a pending vote for Peter Sacks, the state solicitor, also a nominee the Appeals Court, 2 p.m, Governor's Council Chamber.
 
 
Senate and House candidates forum in Cambridge
 
With the primary election set for Sept. 8, candidates for the 2nd Middlesex Senate seat and the 26th Middlesex House seat gather for a Matahari Women Worker's Center roundtable forum, including Sen. Pat Jehlen and her challenger, Cambridge City Councilor Leland Cheung, and Rep. Tim Toomey and his challenger, community organizer Mike Connolly, CIC Cambridge, One Broadway - 5th floor, Cambridge, 7 p.m.

Today's News
 
Paul LePage: Maine’s Hamlet?
 
Maine Gov. Paul LePage, who brought his one-man show to Boston earlier this week, now seems to be struggling with the weighty issue of whether or not he should resign from office in the wake of a string of controversies he’s sparked over recent weeks, from accusing blacks and Hispanics of bringing drugs into his state to leaving an obscenity-laced voicemail for a Maine lawmaker. The Portland Press Herald’s Eric Russell reports that LePage at one point in a radio interview yesterday indicated his willingness to resign from office, then only hours later tweeted: “Regarding rumors of resignation, to paraphrase Mark Twain: The reports of my political demise are greatly exaggerated.’”
The Globe’s Michael Levenson has more on the controversy. And the Herald this morning is suggesting that maybe it’s time for LePage hang it up: “Far be it from us to tell Mainers how to govern themselves but LePage is spreading fear and mistrust well beyond his state’s borders. Yesterday he expressed regret for his tirade against a Democratic lawmaker (the same one he said he’d like to challenge to a duel) and even wondered whether it might be time for him to resign. To ask the question, governor, may be to answer it.”
In a way, it’s sort of sad to witness all of this. It’s like watching a troubled person cracking up in public, in a Jimmy Piersall kind of way, and it’s not fun to watch. The Portland Press Herald also reports that it’s gotten to the point that protestors are now urging LePage to either resign – or get help. Maybe it’s a case of both?
 
 
JFK Library selects new chief following recent upheaval
 
Steven Rothstein, a longtime Kennedy family ally who has led Citizen Schools and the Perkins School for the Blind, has been tapped to oversee the John F. Kennedy Library, following the tumultuous tenure of Heather Campion, who resigned in December amidst major staff departures and complaints about her leadership style, reports the Globe’s Jim O’Sullivan. (Fyi: Here’s the library’s press release confirming Rothstein’s appointment.)
Boston Globe
 
 
DCR leaders suspended after Esplanade party
 
Two employees at the Department of Conservation and Recreation have been suspended and ordered to repay $800 in state funds after using public resources to host a private pre-July Fourth party complete with golf carts used to shuttle guests to the Esplanade, Mike Beaudet of WCVB reports. DCR Commissioner Leo Roy and Deputy Commissioner Matthew Sisk voluntarily reported the party—and the public resources used to prepare and hold it—after Beaudet began asking questions. The employees have been suspended without pay, ordered to reimburse the state and will be required to undergo additional ethics training.
WCVB
 
 
No delay: Elderly care waiting list starts tomorrow
 
Starting tomorrow, some elderly residents seeking home care services will be put on a state waiting list because of recent budget cuts, reports MassLive’s Shira Schoenberg. The Executive Office of Elder Affairs estimates that 184 seniors a month will be added to the waiting list, eventually creating an average of 670 people on the list in any given month, she reports.
MassLive

Gun maker sues Healey, accuses her of conducting a ‘fishing expedition’
 
The oil and gun lobbies really loathe Attorney General Maura Healey, don’t they? Earlier this week, ExxonMobil called Healey’s investigation into what the oil industry has known about climate change an “indefensible, partisan and unconstitutional” action. Now Remington Arms Co., in a separate legal action, is suing Healey, saying she’s conducting an unconstitutional “fishing expedition” by seeking personal information about gun owners, reports Greg Ryan at the Boston Business Journal. In March, Healey demanded a number documents from the gun maker to see if it was complying with Massachusetts consumer protection law, including complaints from consumers about the safety of Remington’s guns and ammunition, according to the lawsuit. 
Both of these cases shouldn’t be confused with Healey’s recently announced crackdown on “copycat” assault weapons, yet another action that has drawn intense criticism as well as praise for her action.
BBJ
 
 
Lights, camera, action? Walsh says body cam preparations to continue
 
The Boston police department will continue to ready the launch of its controversial body camera test program so that it can start as soon as a legal challenge filed by a police union is resolved, Antonio Planas and Dan Atkinson of the Herald report. The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association has asked a judge for an injunction halting the pilot program long set to launch tomorrow. That request will be the focus of a court hearing on Thursday. “We’re training the officers and we’re ready to implement the program as soon as the court date’s over, we’re ready to get going,” Walsh said.
Boston Herald
 
 
Forget Charlie Baker. Donald Trump has Fred Smerlas at his back
 
Many big-name Massachusetts Republicans, including Gov. Charlie Baker and former Gov. Mitt Romney, may be shunning Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. But not Fred Smerlas, the former Waltham High, Boston College and NFL football star who’s scheduled to headline a fundraiser for Trump this evening in Hingham, via the Make Massachusetts Great Again PAC, according to the group’s Facebook page. The political action committee, which is separate from Trump’s campaign, was formed earlier this year, MassLive has reported.
 
 
Carmen’s union launches anti-privatization ad campaign
 
The Boston Carmen's Union Local 589, which represents about 60 percent of the MBTA’s 6,500 employees, launched a newspaper and online ad campaign yesterday to protest plans for the privatization of many T services, reports SHNS’s Andy Metzger (pay wall). "Privatization is not a magic wand," reads the open-letter ad, which is also available on the union’s web site. "There is no magic wand to cure the lack of investment and benign neglect of management over the past 20-plus years."
SHNS (pay wall)



Brain surgery be damned: Donnelly vows to run for re-election
 
State Sen. Ken Donnelly, who had to be rushed to the hospital during the waning hours of the legislative session and who later underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor, is serving notice he won’t be pulling out of the September Democratic primary and has every intention of returning to the Senate. “I want all of you to know that it is my expectation and goal to return as your voice and your vote when the new legislative session begins in January 2017,” the Arlington Democrat wrote in an op-ed in the Arlington Advocate at Wicked Local. “I hope this bump in my personal life’s road will make me, as I saw it make so many of them, a stronger, more caring and more effective state senator.”
Wicked Local
 
 
GateHouse down 40 staffers after latest buyouts, layoffs
 
GateHouse has 40 fewer staffers at its New England newspapers following the latest round of buyouts and layoffs at the media company, Don Seiffert of the Boston Business Journal reports. Despite current and past cutbacks, CEO Kirk Davis tells Seiffert the company sees growth opportunities in some areas, including in some business-to-business publications it has recently purchased.
BBJ
 
 
We’re number one … in campus food
 
After years of moving up the Princeton Review list of best campus food quality options, UMass Amherst has claimed the top spot on this year’s rankings, Spencer Buell of Boston Magazine reports. The campus prepares 45,000 meals daily and students and staff enjoy their food at a host of various outlets, including food trucks and through a delivery option. The school says it has doubled participation in its meal program since 1999 and is now the largest campus dining services operation in the country.
Boston magazine
 
 
Nantucket uproar: ‘This is worse than the Zika virus!’
 
Heading into the long Labor Day weekend, reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian is apparently horrifying residents of the state’s most famous fantasy island, i.e. Nantucket, with rumors she’s purchased a home on the resort get-away sandbar that completely rebuilt its downtown to look a quaint fishing village museum that has no resemblance to its former reality. “This is worse than the Zika virus!” the Herald’s Track quotes one longtime Nantucket resident. The rumor doesn’t appear to be true. But don’t you wish it were a reality, if only for the entertainment value?
Boston Herald


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