Middleboro rail route is close to 100 percent design

By Susan Sudborough
Posted Mar 2, 2019

BOSTON — Everything seems to be falling into place for construction of the South Coast Rail, state officials say, although some locals remain concerned about launching the project in phases.

Preparations for Phase 1, which will connect commuter rail service to New Bedford and Fall River through Middleboro and is set to be completed by 2022, is well underway, according to MassDOT spokeswoman Jacquelyn Goddard. She wrote in an email that design is at 90 to 100 percent completion.

Goddard noted nearly every necessary construction permit has been issued and an $18 million contract was approved for the cleaning, replacement, and removal of culverts in areas planned for the project. In addition, she said, MassDOT has started purchasing infrastructure materials that cannot be quickly manufactured, such as special track work and turnouts. Lastly, real estate acquisitions necessary for station areas and easements are being pursued.

Goddard wrote that other expected developments in the near future will include bids for the repair or replacement of the last four bridges on the New Bedford Main Line, likely by the end of March, along with the issuance of final permits including a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit. Construction is expected to begin soon on early-action culverts and bridges.

Perhaps most notably, Goddard said a management team is being created to ensure the crucial transition from MassDOT to the MBTA, which will operate the railway system.

Another major step forward is likely to be seen in the next month or two, said Rep. William Straus, D–Mattapoisett, House Chair of the Legislature’s Committee on Transportation. The full billion dollar budget for the project is expected to be released in March and will be made part of the Capital Investment Plan, enabling constituents to see where the money for the project is coming from.

According to Straus, $100 million of the $1 billion meant for the project was already spent this fiscal year on permits and construction, something he deems a worthwhile investment.

“If you’re going to build the South Coast Rail, you have to build this [Phase 1], no matter what track options you think are better or worse,” said Straus.

Some other local legislators are not as confident.

Sen. Marc Pacheco, D–Taunton, said he is opposed to implementing the project in phases, believing all parts should be built at once. He fears construction will never reach Phase 2, which would leave Taunton without service.

“Phase 1 does not include a train station in downtown Taunton so residents would have to drive to the closest station in Middleboro. There is skepticism that Phase 2 will never be built because it is estimated to cost several billion dollars.”

“They [officials] can’t answer how Phase 2 will be funded or when it will happen, and in my world that means it’s not funded and it won’t get funded unless people demand it,” said Pacheco.

Phase 2 includes the “Stoughton Route,” which would bridge service between Stoughton and Taunton. Phase 1, which would connect the South Coast to Boston through Middleboro, is also called the “Middleboro Route.”

Pacheco said he thinks completion of just the Middleboro Route will not allow for the most trips to and from Boston and will not allow as many South Coast residents to access public transit.

“With the Middleboro Route there will be some service, but it won’t be the best or complete version for the citizens of Southeastern Massachusetts,” said Pacheco. “We need to do it the right way to bring the most economic benefit.”

Allin Frawley, a Middleboro selectman, is also concerned about completing the South Coast Rail in phases. In addition to sharing Pacheco’s skepticism about whether Phase 2 will be completed, Frawley opposes the plan to abandon the current Middleboro station and build a new one close by. He said that the new station will provide 300 less parking spaces, reducing Middleboro residents’ access to public transit, and will be built next to one of the worst intersections in the state.

Frawley also said he feels that MassDOT is not responsive enough to his and others’ concerns and said that the proposed plan has not changed since it was enough.

“MassDOT hasn’t worked with Middleboro to make a plan that works for us,” said Frawley. “We’re not being included in this process.”

All officials agree that South Coast Rail should bring significant economic gains to the region, as well as make transportation to Boston and within the region more convenient.

“It’s a basic notion of equity in how people have access to Boston for work,” said Straus. “We’ve been cut out of that equation for decades.”

According to the South Coast Rail website, Taunton, Fall River and New Bedford are the only major cities within 50 miles of Boston that do not currently have commuter rail access to Boston.

“The automobile trip time to Boston has doubled over the last two decades and made the lack of access to the Boston economy unacceptable,” said Straus.

In addition to allowing more area residents to seek job opportunities in Boston, Pacheco said, the South Coast Rail would enable reverse commuting from the Boston area to economic opportunities within the South Coast. Currently, he said, it is difficult in travel between cities within the South Coast, something the rail project is designed to fix.

The region would also benefit economically from opportunities to increase daytime tourism, said Pacheco.

“People want to study the history of the state, they want to visit Battleship Cove and historic downtown Taunton,” said Pacheco.

This, lawmakers believe, is why South Coast Rail is widely supported by their constituents.

“I’ve seen few projects get as high level of support as this from residents and local officials,” said Straus.

Straus said that some concerns have come up when talking with residents, such as how parking lots might be configured, whether there will be enough trips made, where railroad crossings will go, but that he sees this as a positive.

“These are the kinds of concerns you want to hear about a project,” said Straus.

Goddard wrote that at the implementation level, engineering and design teams have worked closely with local municipalities and other key stakeholders.

Straus said that as chair of the Transportation Committee, he is committed to being an advocate for the project and ensuring it remains a priority for the state. Both Goddard and Straus agreed that Phase 1 is on track to be completed by 2022.

“Communities in this area are eagerly awaiting completion of this project and the many benefits it will provide,” Goddard wrote.

https://www.southcoasttoday.com/news/20190302/middleboro-rail-route-is-close-to-100-percent-design

State Sen. Marc Pacheco accurately calls it SILLY SEASON!

Typical uninformed candidate Sandra Wright {R] raises the issue of PENSION and has no comprehension  of the issue? 

Wouldn't it make greater sense to INFORM yourself before raising the issue?

Do Republicans ever THINK? 

Rather than spraying MUD AT A WALL, how 'bout let's stick to issues? 

The Taunton Daily Gazette is to be faulted as well for such mindless drivel. 

Republican rival slams State Sen. Marc Pacheco for  applying for Bridgewtater State post

Tuesday

Posted Sep 6, 2016

By Rebecca Hyman
rhyman@tauntongazette.com 

TAUNTON - A Republican rival is questioning State Sen. Marc Pacheco’s commitment to his job in light of the fact he was in the running for a high-level post at Bridgewater State University earlier this year.

“I think he’s been in office too long and his heart’s not in it anymore,” said Sandra Wright, who is running in the GOP primary Sept. 8 for the state senate seat held by Pacheco.

But the Taunton Democrat said that is far from the case.

He said he’s gotten a lot done in his 24 years in the Senate and that wouldn’t have been possible without passion and dedication.

“I fight every day for the citizens of the First Plymouth and Bristol district, for jobs and improvement in the economy and education,” Pacheco said.

Neither Pacheco nor Wright has a primary opponent.

Pacheco was one of four finalists this spring for the position of vice president of external affairs at BSU. The vacancy was created when the incumbent Fred Clark was named president of the university last year.

The finalists were on campus for interviews in early spring. Later in the spring, they were notified the hiring process was “put on hold as a result of budgetary constraints, as have several other open positions at the university,” BSU spokesperson Eva Gaffney said.

“That remains the status and there is no deadline to fill this position,” Gaffney said.

Pacheco said he applied for the post last October before the May 3 deadline to file nomination papers to run for re-election because he thought the BSU position was at least “worth exploring.”

But then BSU placed it on hold, also before the May 3 deadline, so it became a moot point, and he made the decision to run for re-election, he said.

“A very unique opportunity came available at Bridgewater which I applied for because I thought my skill set could be a significant help to the university and I could continue to serve Southeastern Massachusetts,” Pacheco said.

Pacheco said the vice president of external affairs has a lot of interactions with state and federal regulatory agencies and needs to be familiar with the legislative process and public policy issues.

The other three finalists were Thomas Calter, a state representative from Kingston; Thomas Sannicandro, a state representative from Ashland; and Mark Sylvia of Fairhaven, the managing director of BlueWave Capital, LLC, according to Gaffney.

The salary for the position would have been comparable to other vice presidents at BSU, in the $150,000 to $160,000 range, Gaffney said.

Pacheco currently earns in the $80,000 to $90,000 range, including stipends for committee assignments, he said.

“For the last 10 years he’s been looking for another position,” Wright said.

In a press release last week, Wright questioned whether Pacheco was looking “for a pension bump via another state job” when he applied for the BSU post.

To be eligible for a state pension, a person must have a minimum of 10 years service. The pension is then based on the three highest salary years, Pacheco said.

He said anyone who ultimately fills the BSU post would be eligible for those same benefits.

And, he said, Wright would also be in line for a big pension increase if she were to become state senator and retain the job for long enough.

Wright, who has been a Plymouth County Commissioner since 2010, earns $14,000 a year for that post and those years count toward the 10 years of service, she acknowledged in a telephone interview last week.

She is also a Bridgewater town councilor, an unpaid part-time position, and was a Bridgewater Board of Health member for several years, also an unpaid, part-time post, but she said she does not believe those positions would count toward the 10 years service.

A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Retirement Board did not immediately respond in time for the Taunton Daily Gazette’s deadline Monday as to how the years of service are calculated.

Wright said the two situations are not comparable because Pacheco would be getting a pension increase going to what she considers a less demanding job, whereas she would be taking on a full-time position.

Wright previously worked as a medical assistant and is currently a self-employed energy broker.

Pacheco said opponents have been using the “talking point” that he’s planning to take another position for years.

“But I’m still here working for the people of Southeastern Massachusetts,” he said.

Wright asked what happens next if the BSU job opens up again.

“Will he commit to serve the entire term and promise not to take another state job?” she asked.

But Pacheco said he makes a point of not responding to hypothetical scenarios without knowing how the job would be posted, when or even if it will be.

“It’s around Labor Day, so we’re now entering what I like to call the silly season where people will say almost anything to get some attention and put the focus on their campaigns,” he said.

Clark’s Chief of Staff Deniz Zeynep Leuenberger, who had been serving in an acting role as vice president for external affairs for the past year, was appointed interim vice president within the past few weeks.

In both capacities, she has performed those duties without additional compensation, Gaffney said.

http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/20160906/republican-rival-slams-state-sen-marc-pacheco-for-applying-for-bridgewtater-state-post

The Massachusetts Pipeline SCAM and Tea Bagger Baker! Don't get SNOOKERED!

At the bottom of the page is an article about the Massachusetts Pipeline SCAM. 

Below are some posts about this SCAM. 

Senator Pacheco got it right: 

Pacheco said he does not want to see any more incentives for fossil fuel infrastructure in Massachusetts, and wants not only to “double down” on efficiency and renewables, but to “quadruple down.”


Energy experts tell us 50% of our energy consumption is wasted. 

Your investment in reducing your HOUSEHOLD ENERGY CONSUMPTION is permanent and will continue to fill your wallet. 

Doesn't that make greater sense than whining about energy costs? 

Simple things like increased attic insulation will pay you for years to come.....allowing you to invest in other energy saving items. Additional energy saving information is widely available on the internet.

It's just so simple! 

When an appliance finally breaths its last breath and is beyond repair, replace it with the most energy efficient model available. New appliances are much more efficient than your old dinosaur, you can do your own calculations using the information on the label. 

Just don't get SNOOKERED!

The horrifying Environmental Catastrophe of FRACKING! Don't forget Kinder Morgan in Massachusetts!

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

Pipelines and Propaganda: Kinder Morgan's Massachusetts pipeline

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

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_politics/2014/11/several_pipeline_execs_maxed_out_charlie_baker_donations

Several pipeline execs maxed out Charlie Baker donations

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

Tea Bagger Baker approved this? Behind Closed Doors? Bought & Paid for by Kinder Morgan!

Kinder Morgan pumps up lobbying 

Kinder Morgan, which is proposing a controversial natural gas pipeline expansion, is revving up its lobbying and public relations efforts, the Salem News' Christian Wade reports. Kinder Morgan has spent $300,000 on Beacon Hill lobbyists and is backing efforts by the Coalition to Lower Energy Costs to blitz the airwaves with positive television commercials that some critics say are misleading. http://bit.ly/1itVZBB 

Baker administration pushes natural gas at Statehouse climate hearing

May 4, 2016

By Mary Serreze

A Senate climate committee heard four hours of testimony Tuesday on issues related to natural gas pipelines and Massachusetts’ clean energy future, with a Baker administration official the lone voice in favor of increasing access to the fossil fuel.

The question of whether lawmakers should support the growth of pipelines was thoroughly examined at the oversight hearing hosted by the Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change, chaired by Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton.

Pacheco said he does not want to see any more incentives for fossil fuel infrastructure in Massachusetts, and wants not only to “double down” on efficiency and renewables, but to “quadruple down.”

The hearing was held two weeks after the energy giant Kinder Morgan suspended its federal effort to advance Northeast Energy Direct, a 420-mile pipeline project that would cross parts of Massachusetts. Many in the audience had arrived on a chartered bus from the western part of the state, where opposition to the pipeline has been fierce.

Testimony was by invitation only, and the list included Energy and Environmental Affairs secretary Matthew Beaton, Vincent DeVito, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy who now advises the environmental group Northeast Energy Solutions; Caitlyn Peale Sloan, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation; Rebecca Tepper, energy division chief with the office of Attorney General Maura Healey, and John Rogers of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Beaton said the administration of Gov. Charlie Baker supports increasing natural gas pipeline capacity, even if lawmakers approve importing large amounts of hydropower to feed the energy grid.

An upcoming energy bill is expected to support what Baker calls a “combo platter” of hydropower, offshore wind, solar, transmission upgrades, efficiency measures, and grid innovations. Beaton said Tuesday that increased natural gas pipeline capacity “will play a part.”

“That baseload generation has to come from somewhere,” he said. Beaton raised the spectre of “rolling blackouts and brownouts” and said “we won’t be able to flip a switch on renewables.”

Even though Northeast Energy Direct is suspended, various pipeline proposals remain. Three proposals in the eastern part of the state are Spectra Algonquin Incremental Market; Spectra Atlantic Bridge; and Access Northeast, proposed by Spectra, National Grid, and Eversource. In Berkshire County, Kinder Morgan’s Connecticut Expansion would cut through an area including the Otis State Forest.

Beaton said Massachusetts faces high electricity costs, the retirement of baseload power plants, and aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals. He said Baker’s “holy trinity” of energy concerns are “cost, carbon, and reliability,” and that the three must be balanced.

“Incremental gas capacity, plus hydro, would yield the greatest savings in cost and greenhouse gases,” said Beaton. “There is overwhelming majority opinion that we are in desperate need of more natural gas capacity to address our baseline needs.”

Sen. Ben Downing, D-Pittsfield, said not all reports have reached that conclusion, and queried Beaton. “Why should we give greater weight to any one or other? We can be attracted to the reports where we like the policy outcomes.”

Pacheco at one point interrupted Beaton to say while Massachusetts has high per-unit energy costs, consumer energy bills are in keeping with the rest of the country because of the state’s energy efficiency measures. Beaton said Massachusetts “is the first in the nation” in energy efficiency, but that commercial and industrial users still pay too much.

Beaton was alone in his support for pipelines.

Tepper described a study commissioned by the Attorney General’s office which found no new pipeline capacity is needed to ensure grid reliability. She said adding pipelines would prevent the state from meeting its greenhouse gas reduction goals. Energy efficiency coupled with demand response would be the best bet for consumers and the environment, she said.

“We modeled a pipeline at (.5 billion cubic feet per day) and found it was the dirtiest option,” Tepper said.

Sloan, a lead lawyer for the Conservation Law Foundation in its fight against pipelines, said the state is “at a crossroads” when it comes to meeting greenhouse gas reduction targets mandated under the Global Warming Solutions Act.

“Our legal requirement to reduce emissions cannot be fulfilled or met if we build new pipelines,” she said, adding that the foundation disagrees with Baker’s push to add gas to his “combo platter.”

“Electricity needs to be de-carbonized fast,” she said.

DeVito’s remarks focused on the state’s Department of Public Utilities. He said the DPU, which approves so-called precedent agreements between pipeline companies and their customers — and also grants survey permission for interstate pipeline projects — needs reform, and should allow qualified parties a seat at the table in its decision-making.

DeVito noted that Berkshire Gas, a local distribution company, is also an investor in the pipeline through its parent company. Berkshire Gas has imposed a moratorium on new service in its Eastern Division until the NED pipeline is built.

“Why not disclose that conflict in advance?” asked DeVito, in arguing for greater transparency and more robust evaluation policies at the department. He said he unearthed the information about Berkshire’s investment through a formal comment-filing process.

DeVito’s group in January filed a formal protest with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission saying that Kinder Morgan’s application for its NED pipeline was incomplete and riddled with inaccuracies. The protest called for an evidentiary hearing. DeVito is a law partner with Bowditch & Dewey.

Sloan also took aim at the DPU. “The DPU never met a contract for gas they didn’t like,” she said. The agency has “an option to exercise scrutiny” to protect the public interest, and “the Legislature could help them do that.”

The DPU denied full intervenor status to DeVito’s group, and to MassPLAN — a coalition that includes landowners, local officials, and state lawmakers — in its consideration of gas contracts on the NED pipeline. Those DPU denials are now being appealed before the state’s Supreme Judicial Court.

Sloan criticized Access Northeast, which would serve the power sector. Eversource and National Grid, investors in the pipeline, seek long-term contracts for natural gas capacity on the line. “This is not a contract made on need — it’s Eversource making a contract with Eversource to fleece its customers,” she said.

She said the arrangement, where the utilities would enter into 20-year contracts for pipeline capacity and pass the costs on to their ratepayers, would violate the state’s 1997 utility restructuring law, which forbade electric companies from owning power generation assets. Oral arguments in the matter will be heard by the Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday.

Rogers presented a recent report from the Union of Concerned Scientists which found that increasing renewables, including hydropower imports and offshore wind, could reduce New England’s over-reliance on natural gas for power production.

He said it would be a mistake to tie ratepayers to natural gas, with its price volatility. He said Baker’s “combo platter” should “hold the gas.”

“Massachusetts’ policy could dramatically change New England’s electricity mix,” he said. “Massachusetts has always been a leader.”

Notably absent from Tuesday’s hearing was a representatives from Kinder Morgan. Pacheco said Kinder Morgan was invited, but “refused to attend and refused to answer questions from this committee.”

The company did not attend because it “has been focused on a contractually required period of confidential discussions with local natural gas companies in Massachusetts and New Hampshire that had committed to purchase gas from the project,” a Kinder Morgan spokesman told The Republican in an email.

Pacheco said the purpose of the oversight hearing was to “check in on where administration is, and where we think they should be” in terms of energy policy. 

“If we don’t meet our emissions targets, we have some serious issues ahead of us.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/mass_roundup/2016/05/baker-administration-pushes-natural-gas-at.html

Guv. Charlie Baler's Amateur Hour RoboCalls - New Partners not registered?

Who paid for CHARLIE BAKER'S ROBOCALL
instructing people to call Senator Pacheco?


It goes without saying that if the calls were
paid for by taxpayers, they're illegal!

The firm does NOT disclose who is sponsoring
the call!

New Partners does NOT disclose its name.

New Partners
617 544-8445


New Partners is NOT a registered lobbyist!


Check it for yourself at the Secretary of State's web site.





Full Disclosure: I didn't vote for or support Charlie Baker because of his extremist views that are coming home to roost.

Senate widens tax break for low-income families

Senate widens tax break for low-income families
Posted: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 9:55 pm

Senate widens tax break for low-income families

By Christian M. Wade Statehouse ReporterSalem News

 

BOSTON — Efforts to expand a popular tax credit found new life on Beacon Hill on Tuesday, even as lawmakers rejected an attempt to reduce the personal income tax rate.

 

A proposal by Sen. Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport, increases the reach of the state’s earned income tax credit, which allows households earning less than $52,427 to claim 15 percent of what they received on federal returns on their state taxes.

Rodrigues’ plan freezes the income tax rate at 5.15 percent to cover the estimated $145 million cost.

 

Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican who took office in January, had proposed doubling the tax credit that benefits nearly 400,000 filers by scrapping a film production tax credit. But lawmakers rejected that idea.

 

The plan approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate on Tuesday increases the earned income tax credit by 50 percent to 22.5 percent of the federal earned income tax break over the next three years.

 

“We’re investing in our workers,” said Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton. “This will help the working class, the people who get up every day and fight to make a living, many whom work two jobs just to make end meet.”

 

The Senate’s 29 to 11 vote went largely along party lines, with Democrats — including Sens. Joan Lovely, D-Salem, Kathleen O’Connor-Ives, D-Newburyport and Barbara L’Italien, D-Andover, supporting the measure.

 

Meanwhile the Senate rejected a Republican proposal championed by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr to roll back the personal income tax rate to 5 percent by 2017.

 

Tarr’s plan reduced the tax rate to a level approved by voters 15 years ago. His was one of nearly 1,000 proposed amendments to the Senate’s $38 billion spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1. The budget debate got underway in the Senate on Tuesday.

 

Tarr, whose proposal was backed by other Republicans, said Democrats have repeatedly failed to honor a voter referendum, which passed overwhelmingly in 2000, by declining to lower the personal income tax.

 

“We need to honor the will of the voters,” he said. “They’ve waited long enough.”

 

Two years after the vote, legislators froze the rollback at 5.3 percent and added a mechanism allowing the rate to fall only if growth in annual revenues met certain benchmarks. The income tax has since trickled to the current 5.15 percent.

 

Rollback supporters have blasted lawmakers for defying voters.

 

Dropping further to 5 percent would mean a $500 million hit to the state, according to the Department of Revenue. The most recent drop in the income tax, from 5.2 to 5.15 percent, reduces collections in the next fiscal year by $145 million.

 

Some suggested the Senate’s move leaves the state open to legal challenges.

 

“If their agenda is to tax some citizens more in order to tax other citizens less, this makes it clear that legislators are using the personal exemption to effectively graduate the income tax, which is unconstitutional,” said Barbara Anderson, president of Citizens for Limited Taxation, a Marblehead-based group that advocated the 2000 ballot initiative.

 

Baker has said he’s willing to consider other ways to expand the earned income tax credit, but it wasn’t clear Tuesday if he supported freezing the income tax rate as a means of doing it.

 

“The governor favors reducing the tax burden on all Massachusetts families and believes the best way to pay for his plan to boost support for low-income workers is by phasing out subsidies for Hollywood movie producers,” Baker spokeswoman Elizabeth Guyton said in a statement.

 

The measure still needs approval from the House of Representatives, which didn’t propose any expansion of the earned income credit.

 

Lawmakers who supported freezing the income tax rate to pay for expanding the earned income credit pointed out that changes to personal exemptions, also included in the amendment, means the average taxpayers won’t pay more.

 

“This isn’t a welfare supplement, these are hard-working people,” said Sen. Rodrigues said ahead of Tuesday’s vote. “Every taxpayer will pay less, even if they don’t qualify for the earned income tax credit.”

 

Christian Wade covers the Statehouse for CNHI’s Massachusetts newspapers. Reach him at cwade@cnhi.com.

 

 

 

http://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/senate-widens-tax-break-for-low-income-families/article_4216ff38-2df5-545c-9a85-1e0b05a0f373.html