Here’s what Michael Dukakis says it’ll take to fix Boston’s traffic crisis

"Let’s just get the damn public transportation system working well."

Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis during an appearance last year before the MBTA board to express his support for a North-South rail link in Boston. –Jim Davis / The Boston Globe

By Nik DeCosta-Klipa 

November 26, 2019 

Michael Dukakis says Massachusetts doesn’t need congestion pricing or any big tax increases. To improve the state’s transportation system, the former Democratic governor and presidential nominee says it comes down to leadership.

After reading The Boston Globe‘s recent Spotlight series on the region’s traffic congestion, Dukakis called for a change in the current administration’s priorities — and perhaps also personnel.

“The answer is clear in my judgment: Don’t spend any more money on highways,” Dukakis told Boston.com in an interview Monday night, following a wide-ranging Brookline event during which he cautioned his preferred presidential candidate, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, against running too far to the left on health care and politely asked that neighbors resist the urge to leave Thanksgiving turkey carcasses at his house this year (“Please don’t. No more turkey carcasses”).

“I’ve been fighting highways since the 1960s,” said the 86-year-old former governor. “This city would have been paved over if we let these guys do what they wanted to do. And by the time I left office, we had the best public transportation system in the country.”

Dukakis touted improvements to the MBTA during his time in office, including new cars and the Red Line extension to Alewife. But he said the transit system was neglected by subsequent administrations, amid projects like the Big Dig. Now, amid the region’s congestion crisis, Dukakis says a simple, renewed focus on the MBTA could good a long way toward increasing ridership and freeing up the roads.

The MBTA’s oversight board recently approved a longterm plan to make the commuter rail more frequent, accessible, and integrated into the larger mass transit system. However, the vision left out any mention of the long-proposed underground rail link between North and South stations, which Dukakis believes is critical.

“How can you talk about a regional rail system with a one-mile hole in the middle?” he asked, rhetorically.

“We’ve got to turn the T into a top-notch transit system,” Dukakis said. “And sorry, we’ve had administration after administration not paying attention to this.”

To mitigate the financial and economic impacts of traffic congestion, some drivers will need to be persuaded to switch to mass transit. And while the recent Spotlight series found that drivers often need strong incentives to change their commuting habits, Dukakis dismissed the notion that drivers are deeply wedded to their cars.

“They’re not,” he said. “That’s nonsense. Some people gotta drive and one of the ways you get them to support investment in public transportation is to prove to them that if you do the investment in public transportation their auto commute will be better.”

Dukakis said he supports incremental 3-cent increases to the gas tax every three years, but said proposals like increased tolls in high-traffic areas or surcharges on commercial parking spaces aren’t necessary.

“I don’t think you need any of that,” Dukakis said. “For one thing, it’s politically difficult. And for another, let’s just get the damn public transportation system working well.”

To do that, he suggested changes were needed among the state’s highest-ranking transportation officials.

“Charlie Baker is an intelligent guy,” Dukakis said. “Doesn’t he understand the single most important ingredient in the quality of public services is the people you pick to run them?”

While he was generally complimentary of current Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack (who worked for Northeastern’s Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy) and MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak, the Brookline native said someone with experience running a large public organization — not necessarily a transit expert — was need oversee and implement the transformation of the system.

“Get yourself a first-rate CEO and get to work,” he said.

Dukakis also spoke nostalgically about the work done by his former transportation secretary, Fred Salvucci. Dukakis said none of the current officials could match up and that he would be looking for someone who did, if he were Baker.

“There are other Salvuccis,” Dukakis said.

LINK

MBTA riders are waiting for your magic wand....and it's not there!

OK, Charlie! 

MBTA riders are waiting for your magic wand....and it's not there! 

Baker’s clear he’s no fan of North-South Rail Link

DINA RUDICK/GLOBE STAFF/FILE 2015

Former governors Michael Dukakis (left) and Bill Weld have been pushing the current governor to advance the rail-link plan.

By Jon Chesto GLOBE STAFF  JUNE 10, 2016

Governor Charlie Baker made clear Thursday that he isn’t a big fan of a proposed rail tunnel to connect North and South stations, saying he is focused on making existing MBTA lines more reliable.

Baker told business leaders he would move ahead with a feasibility study for the North-South Rail Link. But he indicated he would prioritize state funds for fixing the subway and commuter train lines that are running today.

“We’ll do the study,” Baker said at a morning meeting of the New England Council, a business advocacy group. “We’ll see what it says. But I really want the investment to be in the core system.”

A spokesman later emphasized that Baker is keeping an open mind.

But his comments about the rail link followed more general comments about why riders need to see a properly functioning transit service first, before expansions. He criticized previous leaders’ “fascination with growth and expansion . . . to add a few thousand riders” while not updating basic signals and switches for decades.

Baker said three-fourths of his administration’s five-year capital plan for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority — about $4.9 billion — is focused on modernizing existing infrastructure and improving reliability. Only about one-fourth of the plan is devoted to expansion, and much of that money would be swallowed up by the Green Line extension already underway from Cambridge to Medford.

“I will be called a nonvisionary on transportation a lot over the next few years [but] there’s nothing visionary about not investing in the core system,” Baker said. “If you want people to get on the thing and ride, you have to give them a better product, one that will get them where they need to go, when they need to get there. It means you have to invest in the core system, period.”

One main reason the Baker administration is moving ahead with the rail link study: the tag team of former governors Michael Dukakis and Bill Weld. They have been pushing the Baker administration to champion the once-discarded project. State lawmakers have authorized $2 million for a study, but it’s up to the administration to decide how much to spend, up to that cap.

Baker’s comments also underscored his rift with Dukakis over the need to expand already-congested South Station.

The Baker administration is moving ahead with a $1.6 billion plan, one that would add seven tracks at the station. Baker said the project, coupled with a move of the Postal Service facility next door, would unlock the development potential along the downtown side of Fort Point Channel while accommodating more frequent trains.

Dukakis argues that a North-South Rail Link would make a South Station expansion unnecessary, because trains could just continue through to routes north of Boston rather than stop in the city.

Baker is not convinced.

“I don’t see a scenario where not expanding South Station ultimately makes sense,” Baker said. “Governor Dukakis says we don’t need to expand South Station. I kind of think we do.”

Dukakis remains undeterred. He said the rail link could eventually pay for itself, because of increased ridership and operating efficiencies that would come from connecting the northern and southern halves of the MBTA’s commuter rail system.

The tunnel also has the support of a number of prominent politicians north of Boston who want their constituents to have the option of taking commuter rail all the way to South Station.

“The problem here is we essentially have two commuter rail systems that are operating independently of each other,” Dukakis said.

There’s another potential benefit that Dukakis cites. A South Station expansion would necessitate more layover space in Boston for trains, particularly for the middle of the day when they don’t run as frequently.

Dukakis said two locations under consideration — Widett Circle near South Boston, and Beacon Park Yard in Allston — would be better suited for development instead of more rail yards.

Dukakis said he doesn’t have a good estimate of how much the rail link would cost. But he said advances in construction technology should make it much less expensive than the estimated $8 billion-plus floated when then-governor Mitt Romney shelved the project more than a decade ago.

To many, the rail link was something that should have been done when Interstate 93 was buried under downtown Boston as part of the Big Dig.

“To do it now, to have to navigate what they’re going to navigate, I can’t imagine it being anything other than outrageously expensive,” said Michael Rubin, a real estate lawyer at Posternak Blankstein & Lund’s Boston office.

Rubin said the existing lines needs to be prioritized. He mentioned a colleague from Haverhill who has had commuter trains canceled on her within the past month, as well as two times when she needed to walk through a tunnel to escape a broken-down Green Line car.

Rafael Mares, a vice president at the Conservation Law Foundation who specializes in transit issues, said he recognizes that completing a north-south link would be much tougher now than it would have been during the Big Dig.

But that doesn’t mean it should be ruled out, he said.

“If we have a bigger vision for our transportation system, there are number of projects that should be on the list, and this is one of them,” Mares said.

“It’s really important to look at costs. But what we’re missing frequently is what the benefits are. And only if you look at both can you see if you’re getting a good deal or not.”

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/06/09/governor-rush-back-north-south-rail-link/UV3vZNM50P9HI7OqJih65L/story.html

Guv Charlie Baker should ride the T!

Guv Charlie Baker was in office when the SNOW MAGEDDIN of 2015 shut down public transportation and Guv Charlie Baker proved his inability to govern in an emergency. 

IT SHOULD BE MANDATORY THAT EVERY ELECTED OFFICIAL USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION! 

Never mind the freaking cars and FREE PARKING that contribute to the GRIDLOCK! 

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh recently made a comment that he was familiar with the GRIDLOCK because he had to use a car to get to his 'commitments.' 

Try using PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, Mr. Mayor! Then you'd understand how poor it is. 

Michael Dukakis encourages Charlie Baker to take a ride

Matt Stout Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Credit: Angela Rowlings

I HAD A GREAT TEAM’: Former Gov. Michael Dukakis offered tidbits of advice to Gov. Charlie Baker on how to better the MBTA, including during the winter.

Michael Dukakis — who as a sweater-clad governor led the state and the MBTA through the historic Blizzard of 1978 — is offering a range of tips to Gov. Charlie Baker on how to cure the ailing transit agency’s woes, from getting strong leadership and unsaddling its debt to even riding the T himself.

“We had a terrible winter this past winter, but no storm was as bad as the storm of ’78. … And that place never shut down in ’78,” Dukakis said yesterday of the T in a wide-ranging interview with Herald reporters and editors.

“I had a great team,” he said. “One of (Baker’s) jobs — and he knows it — is to restore a certain amount of confidence in our ability to do anything. And the collapse of the T 
during the winter was terrible. It’s not going to happen 
overnight.”

Dukakis said basic things helped the local rail lines survive the ’78 blizzard as it dumped 27.1 inches of snow on Boston, including running trains 24 hours a day as the powder fell.

Dukakis, who famously rode the Green Line to the State House while in office, said regularly hopping on a trolley wouldn’t hurt Baker, either.

“There was nothing hokey about it. I’ve been riding the T since I was 5. But it doesn’t hurt to have a chief executive who’s on it,” the Brookline Democrat said. “I learned more about the T and my own administration riding the T than I did in the State House.”

Dukakis recounted one story of being on a train as it broke down. He said he approached the motorman to get an explanation, who complained that the T wasn’t replacing the “pans” on the cars.

“I said, ‘What’s a pan?’ He said it’s a piece of metal that goes under the streetcar and is bolted up there and protects the works from snow and ice,” Dukakis said.

“So I get to the State House and call (then-transportation secretary) Fred Salvucci. And I said, ‘Fred, I have it on good authority that they’re not replacing the pans.’ He said, ‘That couldn’t be. I’ll call you back.’ … He called back and said, ‘The guy’s right.’ ”

Readying the MBTA for another potential winter onslaught has remained at the center of Baker’s plate after the T crumbled amid record-breaking snow earlier this year. He won approval for a Fiscal Management and Control Board to oversee the agency, and the T has poured more than $90 million into winter resiliency efforts, including replacing miles of third rail.

But righting the debt-ridden T will take years of reforms — and Dukakis, who is now actively pushing for the state to pursue an underground rail link between North and South stations, said funding fixes, as of now, shouldn’t start with raising fares.

“There’s a lot of reasons it’s costing so much. One of them is the debt that was loaded on it from the Big Dig. The state has got to assume that,” Dukakis said. “Before you talk about fares, (the debt) is a huge burden which the system should not be carrying. … You gotta show people that you’re seriously turning this thing around.”

The T is paying $109 million a year toward Big Dig debt, according to a report released yesterday by the FMCB. The board itself called the T’s total outstanding debt — it sat at $5.3 billion as of Halloween — an “enormous burden” on the T’s operating budget.

“Which is why sustainable debt management and state assistance to help with Big Dig and legacy debt service should be examined,” the board wrote in its report.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_politics/2015/12/michael_dukakis_encourages_charlie_baker_to_take_a_ride

CapeCodToday: SHNS: Weekly round-up: A labor of love Dukakis and Weld tag team Baker for a rail tunnel

Let's remember that a bunch of Wealthy White guys proposed hosting the Olympics with an aging and outdated public transportation system and gridlocked traffic.. 

It's time to address the infrastructure gridlock and address long term public transportation for the entire Commonwealth without raising fares.  

Weekly round-up: A labor of love

Dukakis and Weld tag team Baker for a rail tunnel

ARTICLE | POLITICS | SEPTEMBER 13, 2015 06:00 AM | BY MATT MURPHY, STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

- See more at: http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2015/09/13/226149-Weekly-round-labor-love#sthash.OduRzgd5.dpuf

Labor's love-hate relationship with Beacon Hill's majority party and its leaders spiced up a holiday-shortened week as the Legislature eased back into work and Gov. Charlie Baker played host to a couple of atypical rail enthusiasts.

It's not every day that a sitting governor sits down with two of his older predecessors who are hoping to convince the next generation on the merits of a major public infrastructure project. So when Michael Dukakis and Bill Weld, who happens to be Baker's mentor, ventured up the hill on Wednesday to pitch the governor on building a rail tunnel linking North Station and South Station, the Odd Couple's visit understandably became the talk of town.

Baker, in his now predictably studious approach to major decisions, said he would have to do more "homework" before making a decision on the North-South rail link, which Dukakis called a "no-brainer" that would reduce traffic congestion and facilitate regional economic development by creating a seamless link between the state's Amtrak, commuter rail and MBTA train services.

"This is not the Big Dig, folks. This is very different," assured Dukakis, who went on to pan the idea of expanding South Station, which coincidentally now bears his name.

As for Baker, who chose to speak to reporters separately from Dukakis, the governor said, "This is a lot of money, taxpayer money, and a lot of people call me skeptical when I get into these conversations. I'm not being skeptical. I'm being cautious. There's a difference."

It was another high profile visit, however, that got the week started. President Barack Obama swooped into Boston on Monday to headline the Greater Boston Labor Council's annual Labor Day breakfast, using the state as his backdrop to announce a new executive order requiring federal contractors to provide paid sick leave to their workers.

It was the president's 21st visit to the Bay State since entering the White House, a trip that included a clam chowder detour to the Union Oyster House on his way out of town.

Obama's remarks - full of Tom Brady puns and nods to the state's ahead-of-the-curve policies toward workers - helped to bring some unity to the annual celebratory event where the fraught state of the relationship between organized labor and Beacon Hill Democrats was on full display.

Gov. Baker and First Lady Laura Baker welcomed Obama on the Logan tarmac before Obama made his way to the Park Plaza and the governor, who did not attend the ostensibly Democratic affair, went about the rest of his day.

While Baker could have easily become the target of red-faced labor leaders who continue to be upset about the governor's efforts to privatize some lesser-used bus routes at the MBTA, the Republican's crime against labor took a backseat to the perceived betrayal by Democrats who became Baker's accomplices.

When Greater Boston Labor Council President Rich Rogers wasn't bashing the Pioneer Institute, he was blaming House Democrats for capitulating (his word) to Baker's MBTA reform agenda, which included a suspension of the law meant to protect state jobs from unchecked privatization.

This is a movie that has been put on the big screen before. Remember a rage-filled Bob Haynes of the AFL-CIO waving his finger in the face of Massachusetts Municipal Association Executive Director Geoff Beckwith and threatening to pull labor support for House Speaker Robert DeLeo and his members in 2011 when lawmakers voted to limit some collective bargaining rights around municipal health care?

House Democrats, actually a more moderate bunch than their reputation might suggest, have reason to not be too concerned about mending fences before next year's election. The choice, in its basest form, came down to angering a few family members who inevitably come back to the fold, or picking a fight with a wildly popular governor who had the public on his side.

With Labor Day behind them, lawmakers began to trickle back to the State House where DeLeo, four-fifths the man he used to be, was waiting. In a Sunday Boston Globe interview, DeLeo opened up about the fact that in early August he made the difficult decision to have an operation to remove a large portion of his stomach.

Opting for a surgical solution after years of unsuccessfully battling his weight, the slimmer speaker said he dropped 42 pounds and feels better than ever, even if he has to imagine that his sugar-free popsicles are filet mignon. So good, in fact, that he was ready to commit to seeking another term next fall.

The Office of the Child Advocate released another damning examination of the Department of Children and Families management policies, which Baker read as a supporting document to his administration's own assessment of the problems at DCF.

A day later, the governor named Cambridge Family and Children's Service Executive Director Maria Mossaides as the state's next independent child welfare watchdog. Mossaides replaced Gail Garringer, who was quickly announced by Attorney General Maura Healey as the leader of her child and youth protection unit.

The heat wave that had temperatures soaring into the 90s at the beginning of week made it all the more jarring when Boston City Hall put out word that it was accepting its first shipment of road salt. In the words of Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, winter is coming.

Baker, noting the less than rosy forecast in this year's Farmer's Almanac, told municipal leaders that he hoped all damage claims with the Federal Emergency Management Agency stemming from last winter's snowfall should be resolved by Thanksgiving.

As it prepares for hopefully a better winter performance, the MBTA dropped another bit of bad news in what seems to become a weekly unfolding of dirty laundry that started with cost-overruns on the Green Line extension and now includes a ballooning operating deficit.

Officials outlined the contours of a growing deficit that could swell to $427 million in four years as expenses outpace growth in ridership and revenue - a long-running story at the T. The admission comes just a year after the Legislature passed a law seeking to infuse the agency with new capital to avoid this kind of year-to-year crisis budgeting.

"Between now and December we're going to run some scenarios of what it would take to balance the budget," MBTA Interim General Manager Frank DePaola said.

In other news, Suffolk County prosecutor Paul Treseler won confirmation this week from the Governor's Council to become the next chair of the Parole Board, and Sen. Jennifer Flanagan outlined recommendations from a special committee on opioid abuse that could have the Senate considering high-school drug screenings before the end of the month.

The week was capped off with somber ceremonies at the capitol remembering the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

STORY OF THE WEEK: The Duke and Big Red team up over their shared love of trains.

About the Author  »

Matt Murphy, State House News Service

Matt Murphy covers major media, lobbying firms, government agencies, political junkies as well as towns Statewide. He likes to cover politics and campaigns.

- See more at: http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2015/09/13/226149-Weekly-round-labor-love#sthash.OduRzgd5.dpuf

MASSterList: Rail link: the next big infrastructure question? | Boston's best bloggers | Extra nail in Olympic bid's coffin

 

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

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By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) with Keith Regan

Today: Animal protection protest; demonstration against ICE Animal protection leaders officially launch their 2016 ballot campaign to phase out the use of small crates and cages to confine farm animals. Humane Society of the United States CEO Wayne Pacelle, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals CEO Carter Luke, and Zoo New England President John Linehan are among those scheduled to attend at State House steps, 10:30am... Centro Presente holds a "public action" to highlight and publicize "the disconnect between what ICE says their policies are and the reality (their) community is experiencing." They want to "emphasize that the deportation machine is still active and functioning with the new Priority Enforcement Program (PEP) as the tool to continue criminalizing (their) communities." The demonstration will be in front of the State House, 11:00.am... Boston Mayor Martin Walsh attends the Boston Centers for Youth and Families end of summer celebration, Tobin Community Center, 1481 Tremont Street, Boston, 4:00pm.   For a full daily political schedule, subscribers can go to the State House News Service's detailed listing: http://statehousenews.com/schedule/wednesday     The Brattle Group's extra nail in the coffin The Olympics might have cost as much as $3 billion more than estimated, according to the Brattle Group, the Cambridge consulting firm hired to stress test Boston 2024's bid. The report raised the taxpayer risk to high alert, prompting Gov. Baker to say it would have convinced him not to endorse the bid. Boston 2024 shot back yesterday criticizing the report, saying it missed the mark in several areas, including the media center. The Brattle Group says the media center, which was pegged at $50 million, cost $500 million in London. Boston 2024 says its plan was to refurbish existing space. In general, Boston 2024 claims the report relied too much on comparing costs to previous Olympics, especially London, rather than exploring the specifics of its bid. The Globe's Mark Arsenault has more in this story. http://bit.ly/1NtNdiP The North-South rail link -- two former governors unite With exquisite timing, two former governors have banded together to push for a new infrastructure project -- but an idea that is over a century old: the North-South Rail Link. Will it be the next infrastructure project cause celebre? Linking North and South stations, an idea that's been considered and rejected because of its cost, would almost pay for itself, say former governors Mike Dukakis and Bill Weld. "Connecting the two stations will bring enormous benefits to Boston and the region. It will take thousands of cars off the road every day. It will earn millions of dollars in new passenger revenues and millions more in maintenance savings -- money that can be used to pay for all or most of the project." The price tag is approximately $2.7 billion. One might think that with a public transportation system that's carrying $9 billion in debt, the rail link might remain low on the priority list. But you know, it might be another opportunity for the Brattle Group to give us a reality check. Here's the governors' column: http://bit.ly/1TUn4Ju Globe columnist Shirley Leung is intrigued by the effort of these two strange political bedfellows, and writes about their relationship here: http://bit.ly/1PlHR7w    The Elements of Blogging Just who are the best bloggers in Boston? I asked that question of Mark Leccese, longtime political journalist and now professor of journalism at Emerson College. Leccese, an old friend, former colleague and fellow hacker on the hardscrabble fairways of Putterham, was unequivocal as usual. "Adam Gaffin at UniversalHub.com, hands down. He has so many readers who contribute so much to his blog -- it's a true conversation, led by Adam." Others? Bluemassgroup.com and redmassgroup.com -- "I always read them one after the other." Leccese himself was an accomplished blogger, writing the "Gatekeeper," following the deeds and misdeeds of the media on Boston.com. Now he's written, along with co-author Jerry Lanson, THE book on blogging, called "The Elements of Blogging." It is well written, practical, informative, and full of Q&As with bloggers of all stripes, from a travel blog couple to a California woman who blogs in Portuguese. Here's a link to the book's web page:http://bit.ly/1NiPE8w. And please send us links to your favorite bloggers, which MASSterList would be happy to feature in future editions. DCF woes not new to Baker  Charlie Baker is just the latest governor to grapple with issues within the Department of Children and Families and also oversaw changes at the agency during the Weld administration, the Globe reports. Baker, who also saw DCF become a campaign issue while facing off with Martha Coakley, said the improvements made under his watch did not go far enough in the areas of "staffing and caseloads." http://bit.ly/1HVv9ab   Consultant's ties questioned  The Herald reports that close ties between the consultant hired to review the agency's handling of the recent case of a 7-year-old boy who almost died and the head of DCF are raising questions about that investigation. The consultant, Etta Lappen Davis, also worked with DCF Commissioner Linda Spears on a on a probe of the agency ordered by then-Gov. Deval Patrick. The paper said watchdog groups believe any appearance of conflict could be a problem given the scrutiny the agency is now facing.  http://bit.ly/1USz151   Head-to-head in New Bedford  Deadline day came and went Tuesday without former mayor Scott Lang entering the New Bedford mayor's race. That sets up a head-to-head face-off between two-term incumbent Jon Mitchell and former Barney Frank staffer Maria Giesta, the Standard-Times reports. It was widely believed Lang would join the fray -- in recent months he has begun posting videos that offer his views on local issues -- but he told the paper the workload at his law firm would make running impossible.  http://bit.ly/1HVut4q   White House makes history with local hire  The White House made history by tapping Brookline resident Raffia Freedman-Gurspan as the first openly transgendered official to work in the Obama administration, the Boston Business Journal reports. Freedman-Gurspan is widely known in political circles for her work that included time as legislative director for Rep. Carl Sciortino and as legislative staffer for the Massachusetts Transgendered Political Coalition, the BBJ says.  http://bit.ly/1WEbUwP   Not in his backyard  Rep. Garrett Bradley is facing heat for filing a bill that would authorize the construction of a natural gas pipeline through conservation land in Western Mass -- far from his home district of Hingham, the Patriot Ledger reports. Bradley tells the paper he filed the bill last month at the behest of Kinder Morgan representatives and said the need for more gas pipeline capacity is a statewide concern.  http://bit.ly/1WEbypW   Hurry up and wait  Some special education staffers in the Boston schools tell the Globe they are spending two weeks of their summer watching movies and reading books as they fulfill a requirement that they work beyond the school year. With no students around, the staffers say they are confined to a school cafeteria and are forced to pass the time on their own. The district, however, says the assistants are supposed to be working and preparing for the upcoming school year, but acknowledges the need to find better facilities for the workers to complete their contract-mandated summer work.  http://bit.ly/1K5xqFR More headlines from the State House News Service: Baker Says Police Logs Deserve Consideration As DCF Check Northeastern Settles Case Involving Gov't Research Funds Mid-August Mass. Gas Prices Lowest In A Decade Pew Study Looks At Ways To License Unauthorized Immigrants Baker Defers To Local Leaders In Veto Threat Over Immigration Bills How to reach me and MASSterList Nothing makes me happier than comments, tips, suggestions. Also, opinion articles also will be considered. Please don't hesitate to weigh in on what we're missing and where we should look. Reach me atgdonnelly@massterlist.com or on Twitter @geodonnelly. TODAY'S TOP STORIES National headlines White House's first openly transgender official hails from Massachusetts - Boston Business Journal Donald Trump has insulted almost every top pol from Massachusetts (and Ben Affleck) - The Boston Globe State headlines SJC allows prosecutors to access cell phone records in murder case - The Boston Globe Baker says state should review 911 calls for foster applicants - The Boston Globe Dukakis, Weld agree on need for rail link - The Boston Globe Lawmaker Who Led Last DCF Investigation Says Agency Needs More Money UMass awarded a record number of patents this year - Boston Business Journal Two decades later, Baker again grappling with DCF woes - The Boston Globe Consultant's tie to DCF leader draws scrutiny DCF boss focuses on Central Mass. offices Worcester DA Early: Second child injured at Auburn foster home in 'dire' condition Boston 2024 Charlie Baker's report backs Boston's Olympic opt out Backers of now-defunct Boston 2024 Olympics bid fire back at consultant's report 5 Takeaways From The Brattle Group's Report On Boston 2024 Did Boston 2024 Forget About the Paralympics? Boston Olympics report 'real risks' of bid, officials say - The Boston Globe Local headlines Is the Massachusetts economy slanted against blacks, hispanics? - The Boston Globe Hingham rep faces criticism over Western Mass. pipeline bill Quincy mayoral candidates discuss diversity at forum No Lang bid means Mitchell, Giesta top contenders in mayor's race Falmouth selectmen oppose Main Street hotel plan Brockton residents to discuss $88 million Aquaria buy Rockland school chief Retchless says he will step down Medway: Exelon, conservation group battle in legal filings Full field of candidates for Marlborough election Boston schools staff supporting special needs students report to work with little to do - The Boston Globe Worcester candidate: Councilor Phil Palmieri sees economic future riding the rails Plaintiffs in lawsuit against Sheriff's Department: Alcohol treatment center relocation illegal Boston officials, civic leaders weigh solutions to gun violence - The Boston Globe