MASSterList: An unfair fare increase? | Henry tweets media criticism | Baker's tougher new reality

 

Friday, January 8, 2016

By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Keith Regan

Mark your calendars: Walsh's State of the City address is scheduled for Jan. 19 at Symphony Hall. Baker's State of the Commonwealth address will be Jan. 21. Baker, year 2: A different reality sets in Gov. Charlie Baker took the oath of office a year ago today, and the consensus is he's hit the cover off the ball. Year two, however, will present a different set of challenges, as the Globe's David Scharfenberg writes in an incisive analysis. One is being on the hook for government services, such as public transportation, that are really hard to fix. The other, less-discussed challenge, is the emergence of strong ideological differences with Democrats on controversial issues, including charter schools and criminal justice reform. The Globe's Frank Phillips takes a look at the Big Three, assessing their individual challenges as the 2016 political season begins. http://bit.ly/1RdqrP7 Let the digital health revolution begin -- efficiently It's not every day that the Governor, the Speaker of the House, the Mayor of Boston, the former CEO of Raytheon, and the president of Boston Children's Hospital are in a room together. But yesterday marked the emergence of a public-private partnership designed to put Massachusetts in the forefront of the digital health industry. Usually economic initiatives have lofty price tags. But this one, originated and driven by the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, a business group, would is a highly economical effort to win the lion's share of what is predicted to be a $32 billion market. The commitment is $250,000, according to a story by the Boston Business Journal's Jessica Bartlett. She breaks down the initiative here:http://bit.ly/22NHZ8y Does Bernie have a fighting chance in Mass.? Bernie Sanders will open his Massachusetts campaign office Saturday in Charlestown, and he has the endorsement of Sen. Jamie Eldridge. The question is, how strongly is Massachusetts feeling the Bern? WGBH's Mike Deehan looks at Sanders' chances in a state that last had Hillary Clinton comfortably leading by about 25 points in a fall poll. But what about the passion for Sanders in the state, where 30,000 people would assemble to hear him speak? "The challenge for the Sanders camp is to capitalize on that raw enthusiasm and channel it into an effective grassroots campaign," Deehan writes.http://bit.ly/1n7w5Gb NBC plans to dump WHDH In a move that is sure to shake up the local TV industry, NBC announced yesterday it plans to sever its longtime affiliate relationship with WHDH and will build out its own station in Boston. Comcast, the owner of NBC, already owns NECN and Telemundo Boston in the local market. WHDH owner Ed Ansin told the Globe's Shirley Leung he will fight the move through the FCC on several grounds. "I have a feeling a year from now we will still be the NBC affiliate. That's how serious we think the violations are," Ansin said. He said he met yesterday with Sen. Ed Markey about the matter. http://bit.ly/1kPJnoL Henry's critical tweet John Henry, who has 450,000 followers on Twitter, took to the social media platform Wednesday to criticize Emily Rooney's story about his role in the ongoing delivery problems at the Globe, saying he ignored internal warnings the changeover wasn't going to work.Tweeted Henry: "WGBH now has added a fiction writer to its news lineup. Makes for great stories!" No social media response from Rooney as of yet, but expect Rooney and others to weigh in on the delivery debacle tonight, 7 pm, on "Beat the Press." And here's some criticism of Henry's open letter about the delivery crisis from a reader who just wants her paper: http://bit.ly/1Rdpnef Kennedy takes on Iran's missile testing Congressman Joe Kennedy plans to introduce a bill to expedite the procedure for imposing additional sanctions on Iran. The move comes after Iran's recent test of a ballistic missile and reflects frustration with the slow response from the Obama administration. "No response is in effect, a response... if responses are nonexistent, ineffective or delayed, those are also responses," Kennedy told the Washington Post. http://wapo.st/1VNrmoK  EMC job cuts loom The fallout from Dell's acquisition of Massachusetts' tech bellwether, EMC, has yet to be felt, although the restructuring costs that have been put aside -- $250 million -- suggest a large number of job cuts. EMC cut 2,100 jobs in 2014 at an estimated cost of $120 million."Michael Dell knows how to run a big business in a low-cost way. He knows how to compete in a commodity business, and he knows there's a lot of cost to be taken out of EMC," one observer tells the Globe's Scott Kirsner. http://bit.ly/1S87Iov Less bock for your buck?  Eggs prices "will almost certainly go up" if voters if November support a ballot initiative that would require egg-laying hens be kept in cage-free conditions, the Globe's Joshua Miller reports. Estimates for the increase range from a few cents to 80 cents per dozen, or about $12 a year for the average egg-eater. bit.ly/1PSsua5 DeLeo skeptical on T fare hikes House Speaker Bob DeLeo says he isn't yet convinced the MBTA needs to raise fare and pass prices now, the Herald reports. DeLeo says all other options for boosting revenue should be explored before prices are hiked. "The fares, I feel that that really should be our last item that we address," he said. bit.ly/1S83j4V And see Bruce Mohl analysis in CommonWealth magazine about how the intent of the Legislature -- to limit fare increases to 5 percent every two years -- was usurped by a single word change in the 2013 transportation bill. http://bit.ly/1n7GvFx T discounts eyed for low-income riders  The Globe, meanwhile, reports that in the face of planned fare increases, the T is exploring ways to offer discounts to low-income riders, something that has proven difficult to implement in other cities. Advocates say the approach would help keep public transit affordable for those who rely on it the most, but the revenue that would be lost is seen as a major hurdle.bit.ly/1PSx1JG Warren unloads on GOP, NRA Seeking to provide cover for President Obama's executive actions on access to guns, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren says Congress must now take up the fight to tighten gun controls to prevent Obama's actions form being un-done by a future president. Writing in CommonWealth Magazine, Warren singles out some Republican presidential candidates for their rhetorical responses to Obama. bit.ly/1OEef7U After deleting, Walsh now says texts are public record  Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has shifted his stance and now says texts send to and from his work phone are public records, WCVB's Mike Beaded reports. Walsh had previously deleted messages sent to his work phone, making it impossible for the city to respond to public requests for them. Walsh's new stance is also a contrast with Gov. Baker's, whose office has insisted texts are not subject to the state's public records law. bit.ly/1OfcHNV Will Pike condition keep tolls in place?  The western end of the Massachusetts Turnpike is supposed to go toll-free early next year as the agency pays off long-term bonds. But officials say the Pike's overall condition and need for repairs may mean the tolls stay in place longer, the Telegram reports. bit.ly/1Ro7Y2N REMEMBER: To send your tips to me at gdonnelly@massterlist.com. Op-eds and other commentary are invited for publication on MASSterList. Subscribe now for free!

TODAY'S TOP STORIES

National headlines  Elizabeth Warren Came Awfully Close to Endorsing Bernie Sanders It's time to act on gun violence - CommonWealth Magazine State headlines  A Beacon Hill switcheroo - CommonWealth Magazine For Baker, DeLeo, Rosenberg: a challenging year ahead - The Boston Globe For governor, turning starts into finishes will be the hard part - The Boston Globe Uber, NAACP raise concerns with fingerprinting proposal - The Boston Globe Barstool Sports sells majority stake at $10-$15M valuation - The Boston Globe MBTA eyes discounts for low-income riders in the future - The Boston Globe Mass. ballot question could raise the price of eggs - The Boston Globe Mass. police chiefs join call for mandatory fingerprinting of Uber drivers Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack Discusses Possible T Fare Hike | WGBH News Mass. Pike conditions could prevent toll-free stretch in 2017 CH. 7 vows to fight NBC station switch Mass. lawmakers urged to pass fake-gun bill Local headlines  Investigator finishes report on Hyde home visit Nantucket selectmen look to squelch July 4th bash Town fights release of draft reports on dispatch Central Mass. cities get slice of $700K opioid grant David Portnoy Sells Stake in Barstool Sports to Chernin Group Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer seeks new legal counsel for city Shrewsbury developer loses appeal over project at Spag's site City unveils warmer, easier-to-use test website - The Boston Globe Think Boston housing is expensive now? Wait five years - The Boston Globe Ansin says NBC plans to pull plug on WHDH-TV - The Boston Globe

Cape Cod Today: SHNS:Weekly roundup - The night before Christmas Baker picks portraits over selfies

Weekly roundup - The night before Christmas

Baker picks portraits over selfies

ARTICLE | POLITICS | DECEMBER 27, 2015 06:00 AM | BY MATT MURPHY, STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

- See more at: http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2015/12/27/227527-Weekly-roundup-night-Christmas#sthash.YCfhd9Nl.dpuf

Nobody likes a selfie more than Gov. Charlie Baker.

So where else could the governor have been found this week of Christmas than crouched down, arm extended, with a cell phone in his hand as a smiling passerby delighted in their good fortune to have wandered upon the governor of the Commonwealth.

"I like the informality of it, and I like the fact that it has a certain festive notion to it. And truthfully, it's a little more intimate than the portrait stuff, and people can do silly things if they want to. And believe it or not, underneath it all, I'm somebody who really appreciates silly stuff," Baker told the Boston Globe about his penchant for posing.

Baker made not one but two trips to the Salvation Army red kettle outside the Macy's in Downtown Crossing where he had a little friendly competition going on between Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and House Speaker Robert DeLeo - friendly being the key word.

In the end, it was DeLeo who hauled in the most cash for the Salvation Army's holiday drive, earning bragging rights until at least next year. But surely Baker will gladly toast the House leader's victory if DeLeo delivers the goods early next year on opioid abuse prevention and energy legislation.

In the flurry of end-of-year interviews that Baker sat for, helping to fill holiday news holes, the governor foreshadowed more of the same messaging next year from his corner of the State House that consumed debate for much of first year in office - the need to pass opioid addiction, energy and charter school legislation.

"I would like to see it happen sooner rather than later. I would like to see it happen earlier rather than later," Baker told the News Service in a joint interview with DeLeo and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, expressing just a slight a touch of impatience.

For all the good will engendered between the "Big Three" this year, even the ever-popular governor knows much remains unaccomplished.

That could not have been made clearer than by the conversations at the MBTA Fiscal and Management and Control Board meeting where the newish board adopted a fare policy that set the stage for the fare hike debate coming after the holidays.

This after T officials revealed that nearly a quarter of the MBTA's workforce earned more than $100,000 this year, bolstered by overtime and what appeared to be an unparalleled work ethic demonstrated by the leader in the clubhouse who will take home more than $315,000 in 2015. This super-elf worked 4,455 hours, including 2,600 hours of overtime. That's more than 85 hours a week.

Fare increases are never popular, but less so when coming off a winter when public transit riders had little reason to trust the T would even be able to get them to their destinations.

With officials eyeing hikes that could climb as high as 10 percent on some modes of transit, the T's ability to handle this winter - should it ever arrive - will be paramount.

Former Gov. Michael Dukakis, an avid T rider who commuted on the Green Line when 'His Excellency' was still part of his former title, urged Baker to not just talk the talk, but ride the rails himself if he's serious about fixing the T. From his home in Swampscott, Baker could try the commuter rail, or, since he seems to get along so well with Democrats, might we suggest a commute by boat out of Lynn with senator and rival Democratic Party Chairman Thomas McGee.

Then there's the little issue of building a budget for fiscal 2017 facing what the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation identified as a potential $1 billion gap between revenues and current spending projections. The administration is already eyeing mid-year corrections that could be rolled out before or when the governor's budget gets filed in late January, and any new spending initiatives are likely to be severely constrained as Finance Secretary Kristen Lepore looks to wean the state off one-time revenues while addressing rising and longstanding fixed costs in health care, pensions and debt service.

These, however, are tomorrow problems. It is Christmas after all, and by Wednesday afternoon it had become abundantly clear that visions of sugar plums had supplanted any concerns over winter resiliency or the state's energy portfolio mix.

After firing a warning shot at licensed gun dealers reminding them that she's been watching who's been naughty and who's been nice, Attorney General Maura Healey took to Twitter to dish on prosecutorial strategy for the never indicted Whoville bandit.

"Mr. Grinch should not do hard time," Healey Tweeted in response to a Globe article on how Bay State prosecutors would have approached the Grinch's case had he actually stolen Christmas.

Boston Medical Center and Tufts Medical Center gave out early Christmas gifts to their employees when they announced that starting in January all service, clerical and technical employees would take home wages of at least $15 an hour, a significant milestone for coalition in Massachusetts participating in the national push for a $15 minimum hourly wage.

Baker also lobbied President Barack Obama for a little extra to put in the pockets of fishermen, joining with the Congressional delegation to request funding for commercial fishing safety training grants, another new program being foisted on the Bay State fleet at their own expense.

At least gas prices are down to an average of $2 a gallon.

STORY OF THE WEEK: Low wages not a pervasive problem at the T where workers routinely take home six-figures.

Merry Christmas!

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/2015/12/27/227527-Weekly-roundup-night-Christmas#sthash.YCfhd9Nl.dpuf

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

MASSterList: Baker mulls cuts | The Herald: Drop it, Marty | Getting hustled by Larry Bird

 

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Keith Regan

Today: Protesting the Governor over cuts; The Partnership celebrates White Ribbon Day Campaign: Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian and Founder of HoodFit and MassHousing Director of Public Safety Thaddeus Miles have teamed up to Co-Chair the 2016 Massachusetts White Ribbon Day Campaign sponsored by Jane Doe Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. The 9th annual campaign will be launched at 1:45 pm with a press conference in Nurses' Hall in the State House. Protesting Baker: SEIU Local 509, the Massachusetts union for human service workers and educators, holds a rally to protest Gov. Charlie Baker's cutting of mental health services in the southeastern part of the state, according to Massachusetts AFL-CIO. This will be outside a conversation on substance abuse and mental health that Gov. Baker plans to attend. Roxbury Community College, Media Arts Building, 1234 Columbus Ave., Boston, 5:00 pm. The Partnership celebrates: Treasurer Deb Goldberg attends The Partnership's 28th Annual meeting and 2015 Class Culmination. Carol Fulp is president and CEO of The Partnership Inc., which seeks to develop and bring together multicultural professionals, at the Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Boulevard, Boston, 5:30 pm. Also today: Final day of deer hunt A dozen more deer were felled yesterday, bringing the total to 53. Today is day four and the final day of hunting. Gintautus Dumcius of MassLive has more: http://bit.ly/1TXyGgz Is it fare? Less for more may be coming at T While the T is exploring new ways of doing business, what remains static is a suffocating debt burden (about $9 billion) and an intimidating level of operating losses (projected at $240 million). Thus, the T is focusing on reducing the red ink all while it's blatantly obvious it requires new levels of investments to move forward. As the T board weighs 27 ideas to either raise revenue or cut costs, as detailed in Nicole Dungca's story in yesterday's Globe, it's becoming clear that in the short term riders can expect to pay more for the same, and perhaps less, service. The T seems hellbent on raising fares, and will meet today to discuss a fare increase proposal, according to a Boston Herald story. The T board has been actively considering means testing to alleviate the impact on low-income riders. In a fascinating essay just posted on the CommonWealth magazine site, Jim Aloisi argues why means testing would be a bad idea, for it essentially would compel more riders to gravitate toward private services, such as Bridj and Uber, leaving the T to those who have to take it out of necessity. "And once that happens, the T is destined to fall into a black hole it won't be able to get out of, because the people who have voices in the halls of power will be gone." http://bit.ly/1IRbIBp Baker commends Obama, condemns Trump Gov. Baker said yesterday he believed President Obama's decision to take to the airwaves Sunday was a good idea, "The fact that San Bernardino is now appearing to be a terrorist attack of a fairly significant proportion I think makes it important for the president to speak out on both the issue at hand and where we are...," Baker said yesterday. In response to Donald Trump's call to immediately stop immigration of Muslims, Baker responded, after saying he tries to stay out of presidential politics: "I think that's ridiculous and I would never support a policy like that." More from MassLive here: http://bit.ly/1XR6stB Former Baker campaign adviser joins Trump team A political adviser who helped with Charlie Baker's 2014 campaign has joined the Trump campaign as the Massachusetts state director. Dean Cavaretta told Boston.com's Nik DeCosta-Klipa the job was "a unique opportunity with a unique candidate." http://bit.ly/1NCGN1a Herald editorial: 'Drop it, Mr. Mayor' The Boston Herald today urges Mayor Marty Walsh to drop his legal efforts against Wynn Resorts, saying, "Walsh's fight should be across a conference table from Wynn - not in a courtroom where he has no case." After more than a million dollars in legal fees, the city's suit was dismissed by a Superior Court judge last week, and Walsh has since said he is weighing an appeal. http://bit.ly/1ORnksu Housing production: An object lesson Why don't things get built in Massachusetts? Globe columnist Dante Ramos points to a project in Newtonville as an object lesson. "... In Massachusetts, faulting projects for their failure to achieve perfection is a time-honored way of blocking them." Some 68 units and retail would be built on surplus property, a transit oriented development that would seem to check all the boxes, but that hasn't stopped a group from suing the city. http://bit.ly/1OfHXvA Budget cuts a comin'? Gov. Baker still hasn't made up his mind about midyear budget cuts, the State House News Service's Andy Metzger reports. But issues linger. "Secretary of Administration and Finance Kristen Lepore in October projected an expected $145 million shortfall in non-tax revenues and the administration is tracking $250 million in spending exposures to the $38.1 billion fiscal 2016 budget." http://bit.ly/1TyarEP(paywall) Former governors want T to boost expertise  Former governors William Weld and Mike Dukakis sat down with the Globe's editorial board and agreed that the MBTA needs more in-house expertise to help it complete projects such as the floundering Green Line extension. Dukakis slammed the T's reliance on outside consultants, while Weld agreed, saying, "I think it's fair to say that the expertise at the T, in terms of personnel, needs to deepen." http://bit.ly/1R77fSR  Baker defends rehiring retirees  Gov. Baker tells the Herald his administration has worked hard to reduce the number of boomeranging employees who get their jobs back after taking the early retirement buyout. Baker stopped short of defending the overall practice, but noted that while the legislation he pressed for allows up to 500 workers to be rehired, so far fewer than 150 are back on the payroll after taking the package. http://bit.ly/1TxZ9k3  Cities, towns applaud Baker's 'streamlining' bill  Gov. Baker wants to give the state's 351 cities and towns greater power to issue liquor licenses as part of a larger bill aimed at streamlining state oversight of municipalities that is already seeing some pushback, the Globe's Joshua Miller reports. Local officials applauded the proposed changes, which would lift the current population-driven cap on how many restaurant pouring licenses can be issued and do away with the requirement that legal notices of public hearings be published in local newspapers. http://bit.ly/1lLBzoT  OCPF clears Billerica Selectman  The Office of Campaign and Political Finance found no wrongdoing by Billerica Selectman Mike Rosa in connection with a campaign mailer he sent to the homes of town employees, the Lowell Sun reports. The agency noted that Rosa's fundraising was done off municipal property and did not include the use of employees' official email addresses.http://bit.ly/1N935pG  Bill would authorize seizure, sale of child porn assets  The Joint Committee on the Judiciary heard testimony Tuesday from sheriffs and others on legislation that would enable prosecutors to seize and sell assets in child pornography cases to fund victim treatment and additional law enforcement efforts. According to the Lowell Sun, the sheriffs from Middlesex and Plymouth counties were among those to testify in favor of the bill; similar legislation stalled on Beacon Hill last year. http://bit.ly/1IRsr7r  Dukakis turkey carcass yield Mike Dukakis, who among many other activities collects turkey carcasses to make soup, netted 26 this year following a story by the Globe's Matt Viser. Nicole Dungca of the Globe has the follow-up:http://bit.ly/1QrPrAm When Shaughnessy got hustled by Bird This has nothing to do with politics, but everything to do with the competitive character of the great Larry Bird. And it's a fun read. Dan Shaughnessy relays this story to the Globe's Adam Himmelsbach about an episode some 30 years back when Bird, sporting an injured hand, suckered Shaughnessy into a free throw contest for money. Guess who won. http://bit.ly/1HRII1h REMEMBER: To send your tips to me at gdonnelly@massterlist.com. Op-eds and other commentary invited for publication on Massterlist. Subscribe now for free!

TODAY'S TOP STORIES

National headlines  Government rules against Staples in $6.3 billion merger with Office Depot - The Boston Globe Donald Trump calls for 'complete and total shutdown' of Muslims entering US - The Boston Globe State headlines  Gov. Charlie Baker defends rehiring of workers taking early retirement Dukakis, Weld: MBTA needs in-house experts - The Boston Globe Angry Charlie Baker slams Donald Trump Muslim plan - The Boston Globe Charlie Baker: Donald Trump's stance 'completely inappropriate' Baker bill aims to streamline state oversight of cities, towns - The Boston Globe Region's struggling fishermen get a modest reprieve - The Boston Globe Despite GOP criticism, Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker commends President Obama for primetime speech on terrorism Baker's opioid plan faces opposition - News - The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA - Quincy, MA Healey eyes schools as game changers on violence Sheriff, rep: Bill to allow seizure of child-porn asset 'crucial' Local headlines  Billerica selectman cleared in ethics case Barnstable Town Council president faces challenge Residential tax rate in Brockton decreases, but housing assessments spike City council raises concerns about what BYOB would mean for small restaurant owners What Kind Of Housing Does Boston Need? State police barracks bill moving ahead quickly Supporters, foes speak out on Old Sturbridge Village charter school proposal Worcester's green goals progressing, but not exactly on plan Magi Bish, other advocates push for new license plate system Springfield City Council gives first-step approval for new historic district Berkshire Scenic Railways clears key federal hurdle; Christmas rides uncertain BYOB may be gaining momentum in Boston - The Boston Globe