Also: A brother of a woman who was killed in the Brookline Planned Parenthood shooting in 1994 writes in the Globe: "Our time to seek a new day is long overdue. Those of us who have experienced gun violence have an opportunity to tell our story and ask our leaders one question: 'What have you done today to keep guns out of the hands of those who will commit violence?'" http://bit.ly/1IFHHEp
Is the T ready? Just check out this equipment...
Here's the arsenal the T has assembled after investing $85 million to prepare for winter and thinking long and hard about what went wrong:
* 10 miles of new third rail
* Rail-mounted snow throwers
* Jet-engine powered snow melters
* Specially designed ice melting systems attached to trains
* Plow cars that were not available last year (so the traction motors don't end up plowing the snow and seizing)
* A new "snow desk" the T has established to inform riders during snow emergencies.
Gov. Baker at the T show and tell: "I believe people have done a tremendous amount of work to position us to be in a position to serve the public adequately when the snow starts to fall."
The operative word here is "adequately." Baker can't stick out his neck too far. The T meltdown and the subsequent reengineering of a broken system will take years before "adequately" can be replaced with "well." The new equipment is heartening, but the reality is Baker inherited a decrepit system and needs far more than $85 million to be ready for harsh conditions.
You want a video tour of the new equipment? Antonio Caban of the State House News Service videos T Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Gonneville displaying some of the fancy new machinery. http://bit.ly/1O5jUj3 (paywall)
It's fair to say the public's confidence is not that high, a hunch that was underscored by some legwork of Emmanuel students recently. Ernie Corrigan teaches a public relations course at Emmanuel, and he had his students survey 300 T riders in November to assess confidence levels. Here's the lede from the students' research: "The MBTA's public assurances that it will not suffer the operational breakdown of last winter are apparently not convincing T customers, according to a survey of nearly 300 riders which found that fewer than 25 percent believed that the MBTA would function normally if faced with another tough winter."
The good news for Baker: Expectations are low. Adequate service would be a home run.
Heather Campion is out at the JFK Library
After months of personnel controversy, and on the heels of a consultant's report, Heather Campion has resigned from the JFK Library Foundation. Jim O'Sullivan of the Globe has the story. http://bit.ly/1XHMyfc
Ballot-mania: 'Fair Care' measure delivers; Galvin does not
Secretary of State William Galvin has dropped his quest to put a public records referendum on the ballot, telling the State House News Service he has confidence the Legislature will deliver reform to the law. One initiative that has received relatively little attention is the Campaign for Fair Care, which is proposing to rein in higher costs at what the group terms "expensive medical centers." They handed in some 130,000 signatures yesterday, setting the stage for a battle with Boston's hospital industry, especially Partners HealthCare. For a roundup of other ballot question efforts, see Shira Schoenberg's story on the MassLive website: http://bit.ly/1YJv58r
To the defense of Donald Trump
Is Donald Trump really as out of bounds as he appears to be? Eric Fehrnstrom, while making it clear he is not a Trump fan, argues in the Globe the candidate is being held to a double standard by the media. "Trump's invective is tame compared to the poison darts used by John Adams to describe Thomas Jefferson: 'a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father.' " http://bit.ly/1IFIbdG
But if you're looking for a new way to understand Trump, perhaps Globe columnist Dante Ramos has found one: See him through the lens of a book popular in the 1980s, "Truly Tasteless Jokes." Ramos talks with the book's author, who seems very funny, but doesn't find Trump funny at all. http://bit.ly/1YK7Qer
This just in: Drug sentencing opponents say poll is on their side
This morning on the State House New Service site by Andy Metzger: "A majority of Massachusetts voters want to repeal mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses and an even larger percentage supports shifting resources from jails to drug addiction treatment programs, according to a poll commissioned by an advocacy group."http://bit.ly/1Ns51uJ (paywall)
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Please share with us: It's the MASSterList gift guide
Most of us could use some shopping assistance during the holidays, and who better to help than the astute and discerning readership of MASSterList? We're looking for your gift-giving suggestions for those shopping for fellow grownups. You know, unusual gifts, smart gifts, memorable gifts, your favorite gift. Things you would want or things other people would be pleased to receive. Send a brief description of the gift, its price range, and if we receive enough suggestions, we'll have MASSterList's first gift-giving guide, either this Friday or Monday, or both. Send your ideas to gdonnelly@massterlist.com.
Lawmaker calls for insurance do-over
A day after Attorney General Maura Healey issued a report poking holes in the arguments made by two insurers to secure sizable rate increases after last winter, Sen. Michael J. Barrett called on the Division of Insurance to reconsider its decision, the Globe reports. In a letter to regulators, Barrett, a Lexington Democrat who chairs the Senate's post audit and oversight committee, called for rarely held public hearings on the rates. http://bit.ly/1RpbYyn
Quincy race makes history
Quincy's recent election officially goes down in the books as the city's most expensive, the Patriot Ledger reports, with candidates spending just under $1 million in pursuit of the first four-year term as mayor. The finalists, incumbent and eventual winner Thomas Koch and former Mayor William Phelan combined to spend more than $850,000, while several other candidates did their part prior to the preliminary election in September. Koch was the bigger spender by far, investing $680,692 in the campaign, compared to $172,320 for Phelan. http://bit.ly/1lZdxHu
State police barracks closing slammed
The decision by Massachusetts State Police to shutter its barracks in Brookfield is a slap in the face to Central Massachusetts, a lawmaker argued Wednesday as legislators pushed for a delay in the planned closing, the Telegram reports. Sen. Anne Gobi co-sponsored a bill calling for a staffing analysis before the barracks is shut down, which is scheduled to happen later this week. Gobi said she and other lawmakers in the area were caught off guard by the move, citing a lack of communication "which has been severely lacking from this administration." http://bit.ly/1OI9d8N
Coastal towns tilt at windmills, each other
Selectmen in Bourne have authorized legal action aimed at stopping construction of four 500-foot-tall wind turbines under construction just over the town's border with Plymouth, according to the Cape Cod Times. The Plymouth Board of Health will now seek an injunction against Future Generation Wind, despite warnings about what is likely to be a drawn-out and costly legal slog. http://bit.ly/1IFHFfP
BHI's Tuerck: Suffolk squelched Obamacare study
Beacon Hill Institute Director David Tuerck told the Herald that Suffolk University put the kibosh on a number studies the institute planned to conduct during its now-ended partnership with the school, the Herald reports. Among the projects shelved was a study of how the Affordable Care Act impacts employment, Tuerck said, adding that he had been chastised for his comments to the tabloid in the past as well. "There were past attempts at censorship of us, which I fought off," he said. http://bit.ly/1HHKNNs
Noted with pleasure
"Over and over again throughout the fall, officials have rattled off the names of all the machines that will battle snow: the front-end loaders, the swingmaster with a viper jet, the ballast regulator with an augur (also known as a plow), the Snowzilla, the Vamasses, and the John Deere tractors that will work to clear off tracks, yards, roads, and runways throughout the winter."
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