Even the Boston Globe agrees that the BOTTLE BILL should be done --
Bottle bill: Fighting litter is reason enough
The best reason for Massachusetts to expand the bottle bill is that collecting a nickel deposit on containers for water and other drinks will keep them from littering roadsides, polluting waterways, and taking up space in landfills. Governor Patrick is pushing for the change partly because it would yield an extra $20 million in uncollected deposits, but the environmental payoff is reason enough.
Beer and soda containers were the original target of the three-decade old law, which has worked wonders in keeping them off roadsides. But their place has been taken by containers for water, sports drinks, fruit juices, and coffee-flavored beverages — all of which would be included in the governor’s proposal.
While Patrick would use most of the extra money to help balance the state budget, he would steer about a third of it to help communities improve their recycling rates. Even if the bottle bill expansion added nothing to state coffers, the impact on litter would still amply justify it.
Friday, February 4, 2011
3 million per day!
From Envir0nment Massachusetts:
Our ocean wildlife is seriously threatened by plastic bag pollution.
Every year, more than 1 billion marine animals worldwide are killed by plastic bags. [1] Green turtles nesting on Nantucket; right whales breeching off our coast; seabirds looking for a treat — all of these animals can suffer painful deaths because of our plastic pollution.
In Massachusetts alone, we use over 3 million plastic bags at grocery and retail stores every day, and many of these bags make their way into our ocean.[2] We use plastic bags for a few minutes, and then they last in our environment for hundreds of years.
We have a chance to win a statewide ban on plastic bags this year, but we need to act by Friday to build support on Beacon Hill. Will you e-mail your senator and representative, and ask them to support a plastic bag ban?
Communities up and down the coast — from North Carolina, to Washington, D.C., to Connecticut — are taking action to reduce and eliminate plastic bags, cutting their pollution and protecting their marine life. It’s time for Massachusetts to get on board.
Winning a ban won't be easy — big chemical companies that make all those plastic bags hate the idea of banning them, and have put lots of resources into fighting other bans across the country.
We’re up to the challenge. In the coming months, Environment Massachusetts will be working in cities and towns across the state to get communities involved so we can show our elected officials that we’re ready to ban the bag. That’s why we need you.
Tell your senator and representative that Massachusetts is ready to ban the bag.
Massachusetts has always been a leader when it comes to protecting our environment. It's time for us to protect our marine life better by getting on board with a plastic bag ban. Stand up for our coastal life by e-mailing your senator and representative today.
Sincerely,
Ben Wright
Environment Massachusetts Advocate
[1] United Nations Development Program.
[2] "2009 Annual Report," Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Jan. 2010.
Our ocean wildlife is seriously threatened by plastic bag pollution.
Every year, more than 1 billion marine animals worldwide are killed by plastic bags. [1] Green turtles nesting on Nantucket; right whales breeching off our coast; seabirds looking for a treat — all of these animals can suffer painful deaths because of our plastic pollution.
In Massachusetts alone, we use over 3 million plastic bags at grocery and retail stores every day, and many of these bags make their way into our ocean.[2] We use plastic bags for a few minutes, and then they last in our environment for hundreds of years.
We have a chance to win a statewide ban on plastic bags this year, but we need to act by Friday to build support on Beacon Hill. Will you e-mail your senator and representative, and ask them to support a plastic bag ban?
Communities up and down the coast — from North Carolina, to Washington, D.C., to Connecticut — are taking action to reduce and eliminate plastic bags, cutting their pollution and protecting their marine life. It’s time for Massachusetts to get on board.
Winning a ban won't be easy — big chemical companies that make all those plastic bags hate the idea of banning them, and have put lots of resources into fighting other bans across the country.
We’re up to the challenge. In the coming months, Environment Massachusetts will be working in cities and towns across the state to get communities involved so we can show our elected officials that we’re ready to ban the bag. That’s why we need you.
Tell your senator and representative that Massachusetts is ready to ban the bag.
Massachusetts has always been a leader when it comes to protecting our environment. It's time for us to protect our marine life better by getting on board with a plastic bag ban. Stand up for our coastal life by e-mailing your senator and representative today.
Sincerely,
Ben Wright
Environment Massachusetts Advocate
[1] United Nations Development Program.
[2] "2009 Annual Report," Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Jan. 2010.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Phase out coal and beat back fracking
Consider lending your support to these issues --
"Phase out coal and beat back fracking."
That's the message we're asking you to send your state legislators before 4:00 p.m. Friday, February 4.
Please call or email your State Senator or Representative and ask them to co-sponsor two bills: Representative Lori Ehrlich's Act to Phase Out Coal-Burning in Massachusetts and Representative Sean Garballey's Act to Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing.
About half the electricity we generate in Massachusetts comes from natural gas, and much of that natural gas gets to the surface via a process called hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) which contaminates drinking water. The Act to Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing would require power companies to certify that their natural gas meets safe drinking-water standards and force them to disclose the chemicals they used to extract the natural gas.
The Act to Phase Out Coal-Burning wold make power companies retire or repower their coal-burning plants by 2020. The bill would also set up a Community Repowering Fund to help plant-workers and surrounding communities if a company chooses to retire (i.e. close down) a facility instead of repowering it to cleaner energy.
Together these two bills would push us closer to the goal of being fossil-fuel free by 2050. Please contact your state legislators today and ask them to sign on as co-sponsors. Tell them you want Massachusetts to phase out coal and beat back fracking.
Beat Back Fracking in Massachusetts
Targeting: The MA State Senate and The MA State House
Started by: Peter Vickery
In Massachusetts, natural gas is the source of about half of our electricity. We have a responsibility to ensure that the drilling companies that extract the natural gas from underground use methods that are safe and that they publicly disclose the chemicals they use in the process.
Natural gas may be cleaner than coal, but that doesn't mean it's clean. Getting natural gas out from underground by the process called hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) can pollute the air and poison people's drinking water. Drilling companies don't even have to tell us what chemicals they're injecting into the ground to force the gas out. Dangerous unregulated fracking is a public health hazard and it has to stop.
Although dangerous unregulated fracking doesn't happen in Massachusetts, there is something we can do to stop it. We can require the power companies to certify that the natural gas they use in Massachusetts complies with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act's underground injection control program requirements.
Until Congress did the industry a huge favor by creating a loophole in 2005, those federal regulations covered fracking. Closing that loophole at the federal level is essential. But we can't afford to wait for Congress. We have to get to work at the state level.
That's why it's so important for the Massachusetts Legislature to pass the Act to Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing, which would require power companies to (a) publicly disclose all the chemicals that the drillers used in obtaining the natural gas, and (b) certify that the extraction process complied with the Safe Drinking Water Act's underground injection control program requirements, the rules that used to regulate fracking before 2005.
By signing this petition we're telling Massachusetts lawmakers to ensure that the natural gas coming into the state was extracted safely and that the public knows what chemicals the drilling companies used in the process.
For the sake of clean air and safe drinking water, let's beat back fracking in Massachusetts!
The Bay State Push to Move Away From Coal
The Mount Tom coal plant in Holyoke, Massachusetts poses an interesting ethical quandary. On the one hand, it annually pumps about 1 million tons of toxic CO2 into the increasingly fragile atmosphere. On the other hand, it generates 146 kilowatts of much-needed electricity, keeps about 50 people gainfully employed, and contributes nearly $2 million to the community in taxes.
What’s the best course of action in this case? Shut down the plant and cut electricity, jobs and tax revenue? Or keep it open and contribute to global warming?
A new bill introduced in Massachusetts says the answer should actually be neither. Rather than forcing the state to close the coal plant, its supporters want Mount Tom to switch to renewable energy sources or natural gas. Peter Vickery, one of the bill’s proponents, and the creator of a petition on Change.org, puts the mission simply: “Keep Mount Tom open, but minus the coal.”
This highly sensible tenet is one of many in the so-called Act to Phase-Out Coal Burning in Massachusetts, which also asks for the closure or conversion of all other Bay State coal-burning plants (there are currently two others alive and kicking, one of which is already scheduled for closure). For instance, the deadline it sets for change is 2020—giving plant owners a more-than-reasonable time frame to figure out logistics. And if a plant gets shuttered rather than converted over, it asks for a Community Repowering Fund to help laid-off employees and the local community get back on their feet.
In an op-ed, Vickery also tackles the inevitable question of will it work? He provides detailed examples of other plants that have successfully made the toxic-to-green leap, including four in Colorado, one in Minnesota, and one in Mount Tom’s backyard.
But what’s really reasonable about the legislation is its central motive: prevent coal from wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. Vickery notes that coal makes up roughly one-third of the U.S.’s total CO2 output. And on her official website, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Lori Ehlrich, says virtually all of the coal burned in Massachusetts is imported from other states or countries, and is often mined under dangerous conditions.
Combating this, while also keeping precious jobs in place and the fragile economy in balance, seems like an easy win-win—which is probably why more than a thousand people have already e-mailed Mount Tom’s owners, GDF Suez, asking for a conversion. It also explains why the legislation has elicited the support of groups including the Sierra Club, the clean-energy labor organization GreenWork, and Neighbor to Neighbor, a group that serves low-income communities. Even more promising? All that support has come in advance of the campaign’s official kickoff during a public meeting February 23.
Vickery, a master's degree candidate at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst's Center for Public Policy and Administration, says the goal of the act is to spur “clean-energy innovation and job creation.” It’s nice to know there’s no reason we have to choose between the two.
Support jobs and the environment by signing Vickery's petition to support the Act to Phase Out Coal Burning in Massachusetts.
"Phase out coal and beat back fracking."
That's the message we're asking you to send your state legislators before 4:00 p.m. Friday, February 4.
Please call or email your State Senator or Representative and ask them to co-sponsor two bills: Representative Lori Ehrlich's Act to Phase Out Coal-Burning in Massachusetts and Representative Sean Garballey's Act to Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing.
About half the electricity we generate in Massachusetts comes from natural gas, and much of that natural gas gets to the surface via a process called hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) which contaminates drinking water. The Act to Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing would require power companies to certify that their natural gas meets safe drinking-water standards and force them to disclose the chemicals they used to extract the natural gas.
The Act to Phase Out Coal-Burning wold make power companies retire or repower their coal-burning plants by 2020. The bill would also set up a Community Repowering Fund to help plant-workers and surrounding communities if a company chooses to retire (i.e. close down) a facility instead of repowering it to cleaner energy.
Together these two bills would push us closer to the goal of being fossil-fuel free by 2050. Please contact your state legislators today and ask them to sign on as co-sponsors. Tell them you want Massachusetts to phase out coal and beat back fracking.
Beat Back Fracking in Massachusetts
Targeting: The MA State Senate and The MA State House
Started by: Peter Vickery
In Massachusetts, natural gas is the source of about half of our electricity. We have a responsibility to ensure that the drilling companies that extract the natural gas from underground use methods that are safe and that they publicly disclose the chemicals they use in the process.
Natural gas may be cleaner than coal, but that doesn't mean it's clean. Getting natural gas out from underground by the process called hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) can pollute the air and poison people's drinking water. Drilling companies don't even have to tell us what chemicals they're injecting into the ground to force the gas out. Dangerous unregulated fracking is a public health hazard and it has to stop.
Although dangerous unregulated fracking doesn't happen in Massachusetts, there is something we can do to stop it. We can require the power companies to certify that the natural gas they use in Massachusetts complies with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act's underground injection control program requirements.
Until Congress did the industry a huge favor by creating a loophole in 2005, those federal regulations covered fracking. Closing that loophole at the federal level is essential. But we can't afford to wait for Congress. We have to get to work at the state level.
That's why it's so important for the Massachusetts Legislature to pass the Act to Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing, which would require power companies to (a) publicly disclose all the chemicals that the drillers used in obtaining the natural gas, and (b) certify that the extraction process complied with the Safe Drinking Water Act's underground injection control program requirements, the rules that used to regulate fracking before 2005.
By signing this petition we're telling Massachusetts lawmakers to ensure that the natural gas coming into the state was extracted safely and that the public knows what chemicals the drilling companies used in the process.
For the sake of clean air and safe drinking water, let's beat back fracking in Massachusetts!
The Bay State Push to Move Away From Coal
The Mount Tom coal plant in Holyoke, Massachusetts poses an interesting ethical quandary. On the one hand, it annually pumps about 1 million tons of toxic CO2 into the increasingly fragile atmosphere. On the other hand, it generates 146 kilowatts of much-needed electricity, keeps about 50 people gainfully employed, and contributes nearly $2 million to the community in taxes.
What’s the best course of action in this case? Shut down the plant and cut electricity, jobs and tax revenue? Or keep it open and contribute to global warming?
A new bill introduced in Massachusetts says the answer should actually be neither. Rather than forcing the state to close the coal plant, its supporters want Mount Tom to switch to renewable energy sources or natural gas. Peter Vickery, one of the bill’s proponents, and the creator of a petition on Change.org, puts the mission simply: “Keep Mount Tom open, but minus the coal.”
This highly sensible tenet is one of many in the so-called Act to Phase-Out Coal Burning in Massachusetts, which also asks for the closure or conversion of all other Bay State coal-burning plants (there are currently two others alive and kicking, one of which is already scheduled for closure). For instance, the deadline it sets for change is 2020—giving plant owners a more-than-reasonable time frame to figure out logistics. And if a plant gets shuttered rather than converted over, it asks for a Community Repowering Fund to help laid-off employees and the local community get back on their feet.
In an op-ed, Vickery also tackles the inevitable question of will it work? He provides detailed examples of other plants that have successfully made the toxic-to-green leap, including four in Colorado, one in Minnesota, and one in Mount Tom’s backyard.
But what’s really reasonable about the legislation is its central motive: prevent coal from wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. Vickery notes that coal makes up roughly one-third of the U.S.’s total CO2 output. And on her official website, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Lori Ehlrich, says virtually all of the coal burned in Massachusetts is imported from other states or countries, and is often mined under dangerous conditions.
Combating this, while also keeping precious jobs in place and the fragile economy in balance, seems like an easy win-win—which is probably why more than a thousand people have already e-mailed Mount Tom’s owners, GDF Suez, asking for a conversion. It also explains why the legislation has elicited the support of groups including the Sierra Club, the clean-energy labor organization GreenWork, and Neighbor to Neighbor, a group that serves low-income communities. Even more promising? All that support has come in advance of the campaign’s official kickoff during a public meeting February 23.
Vickery, a master's degree candidate at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst's Center for Public Policy and Administration, says the goal of the act is to spur “clean-energy innovation and job creation.” It’s nice to know there’s no reason we have to choose between the two.
Support jobs and the environment by signing Vickery's petition to support the Act to Phase Out Coal Burning in Massachusetts.
BOTTLE BILL: Dammit! It's time!
Maybe it's simply an oversight if your Senator and Representative has yet to co-sponsor this legislation.
Dammit! This is time to reduce every expense of municipalities - EVERY EXPENSE!
That includes reducing the costs of TRASH and reducing roadside trash.
Let's get this done! Please remind them to co-sponsor this.
This from:
MASSPIRG
The Updated Bottle Bill will increase recycling, reduce litter, and save cities and towns money in disposal costs.
Please take a minute to call your state representative and senator and ask them to sign on as a cosponsor by Feb. 4.
Talking points:
I hope you will add your name as a cosponsor to the Updated Bottle Bill.
The Updated Bottle Bill would add bottled water, sports drinks and other beverages to the current bottle deposit system so these containers would get recycled instead of littered or trashed.
Please contact the offices of Rep. Alice Wolf or Sen. Cynthia Creem, the bill sponsors, to add your name to the list.
If your state senator or state representative has already signed on as a cosponsor, please call and thank them for their support.
The following legislators have already signed on as cosponsors: Sen. Chang-Diaz, Sen. Creem, Sen. Clark, Sen. DiDomenico, Sen. Donnelly, Sen. Eldridge, Sen. Fargo, Sen. Jehlen, Sen. Kennedy, Sen. Petruccelli, Sen. Ross, Sen. Rush, Sen. Timilty, Sen. Wolf, Rep. Andrews, Rep. Atkins, Rep. Balser, Rep. Basile, Rep. Benson, Rep. Brodeur, Rep. Brownsberger, Rep. Calter, Rep. Canavan, Rep. Coakley-Rivera, Rep. Conroy, Rep. Coppinger, Rep. Creedon, Rep. Dykema, Re.p Ehrlich, Rep. Fox, Rep. Garballey, Rep. Hecht, Rep. Hogan, Rep. Kaufman, Rep. Khan, Rep. Kocot, Rep. Koczera, Rep. Kulik, Rep. Lewis, Rep. Linsky, Rep. Madden, Rep. Malia, Rep. Mark, Rep. Nyman , Rep. O'Connell, Rep. Peake, Rep. Peisch, Rep. Pignatelli, Rep. Provost, Rep. Ross, Rep. Rushing, Rep. Sanchez, Rep. Sannicandro, Rep. Scibak, Rep. Sciortino, Rep. Smizik, Rep. Speliotis, Rep. Speranzo, Rep. Straus, Rep. Hariett Stanley, Rep. Thomas Stanley, Rep. Toomey, Rep. Turner, Rep. Vallee, Rep. Walz, Rep. Winslow, and Rep. Wolf.
Dammit! This is time to reduce every expense of municipalities - EVERY EXPENSE!
That includes reducing the costs of TRASH and reducing roadside trash.
Let's get this done! Please remind them to co-sponsor this.
This from:
MASSPIRG
The Updated Bottle Bill will increase recycling, reduce litter, and save cities and towns money in disposal costs.
Please take a minute to call your state representative and senator and ask them to sign on as a cosponsor by Feb. 4.
Talking points:
I hope you will add your name as a cosponsor to the Updated Bottle Bill.
The Updated Bottle Bill would add bottled water, sports drinks and other beverages to the current bottle deposit system so these containers would get recycled instead of littered or trashed.
Please contact the offices of Rep. Alice Wolf or Sen. Cynthia Creem, the bill sponsors, to add your name to the list.
If your state senator or state representative has already signed on as a cosponsor, please call and thank them for their support.
The following legislators have already signed on as cosponsors: Sen. Chang-Diaz, Sen. Creem, Sen. Clark, Sen. DiDomenico, Sen. Donnelly, Sen. Eldridge, Sen. Fargo, Sen. Jehlen, Sen. Kennedy, Sen. Petruccelli, Sen. Ross, Sen. Rush, Sen. Timilty, Sen. Wolf, Rep. Andrews, Rep. Atkins, Rep. Balser, Rep. Basile, Rep. Benson, Rep. Brodeur, Rep. Brownsberger, Rep. Calter, Rep. Canavan, Rep. Coakley-Rivera, Rep. Conroy, Rep. Coppinger, Rep. Creedon, Rep. Dykema, Re.p Ehrlich, Rep. Fox, Rep. Garballey, Rep. Hecht, Rep. Hogan, Rep. Kaufman, Rep. Khan, Rep. Kocot, Rep. Koczera, Rep. Kulik, Rep. Lewis, Rep. Linsky, Rep. Madden, Rep. Malia, Rep. Mark, Rep. Nyman , Rep. O'Connell, Rep. Peake, Rep. Peisch, Rep. Pignatelli, Rep. Provost, Rep. Ross, Rep. Rushing, Rep. Sanchez, Rep. Sannicandro, Rep. Scibak, Rep. Sciortino, Rep. Smizik, Rep. Speliotis, Rep. Speranzo, Rep. Straus, Rep. Hariett Stanley, Rep. Thomas Stanley, Rep. Toomey, Rep. Turner, Rep. Vallee, Rep. Walz, Rep. Winslow, and Rep. Wolf.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
What would you do for $10,000 or $15,000 per year?
DeLeo, facing fire, tightens grip on power
2 potential rivals in House sidelined
By Michael Levenson
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, under fire for a patronage scandal at the state Probation Department and facing two ambitious deputies jostling for their own power, tightened his grip on the House yesterday, sidelining would-be successors and promoting loyalists who had helped advance his gambling agenda.
The most dramatic change was the demotion of James E. Vallee, the House majority leader, who had been quietly building a political base within the House in hopes of one day becoming speaker, when DeLeo retires. The speaker handed him a new assignment with less clout, as chairman of the Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs.
DeLeo also removed Charles A. Murphy, another potential candidate for speaker and a political rival of Vallee, from his position as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which helps write the state budget. DeLeo gave him a new job as the assistant majority leader, a position that has a lower profile but keeps him within the speaker’s inner circle.
Murphy and Vallee will both take a pay cut. Vallee, a Franklin Democrat, will lose $15,000 in salary. Murphy, a Burlington Democrat, will lose $10,000.
DeLeo’s shake-up adds to a palpable sense of unease in the corridors of the State House. Governor Deval Patrick has pushed out state Parole Board members, and the heads of some agencies, showing a stronger hand as he embarks on his second term. House members said privately that DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat who was first elected speaker two years ago and reelected to the post this month, was sending a message that he intends to remain in power and will not tolerate back-room jockeying for his seat.
But DeLeo, emerging from a closed-door caucus where he announced his leadership changes, denied that he was marginalizing Murphy or Vallee.
“This wasn’t a question of that,’’ he said. “It was just a question of where I could fit people in, to move our agenda forward.’’
Murphy insisted he was not upset that DeLeo had given him a lower-profile job with less pay, saying, “I see it as a promotion.’’
“The speaker’s the speaker,’’ Murphy said. “I serve at the pleasure of the speaker. And I’m OK with that.’’
DeLeo tapped Ronald Mariano, a Quincy Democrat and close confidant, to succeed Vallee as majority leader, the second-ranking position in the House. DeLeo asserted that he was not punishing Vallee, an Army lawyer. “With Jim being a military guy with a long military record, I thought in veterans’ services we could use his talents there,’’ DeLeo said.
Vallee did not return calls for comment.
The speaker named Brian S. Dempsey to succeed Murphy as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, a post that served as a steppingstone to the speaker’s chair for DeLeo and a prior speaker, Thomas M. Finneran. Dempsey, a Haverhill Democrat who entered the House with DeLeo in 1991, was the speaker’s top deputy on gambling in the last session, helping him drive legislation through the House that would have legalized casinos and slot machines at the racetracks. “I look forward to the challenge,’’ Dempsey said. “We all know it’s a difficult budget.’’
Republicans immediately criticized the promotion of Dempsey, who pleaded guilty to drunken driving charges in 2003, was placed on probation, and lost his license for 45 days. The GOP said it reflected the misguided values on Beacon Hill, which has been implicated in the patronage scandal at the Probation Department.
“Speaker DeLeo is doing nothing to restore the public’s faith in the House of Representatives by appointing Representative Dempsey to such a powerful position,’’ Nathan Little, executive director of the state GOP, said in a statement.
Dempsey said yesterday: “This was a terrible mistake, which I will always deeply, deeply regret, and I apologize to the community and family and constituents and have used it as a major life lesson and have moved on with my work here in the Legislature.’’
DeLeo, who has been trying to fend off questions about his role in recommending associates and supporters for jobs in the Probation Department, sought with several of his changes to send a message that he is serious about fixing the agency.
He had demoted Thomas M. Petrolati — a Ludlow Democrat accused of packing the Probation Department with supporters — from his position as speaker pro tempore, the number three leadership position in the House, which cost Petrolati $15,000 a year. Yesterday, DeLeo gave Petrolati no prominent post, making him a rank-and-file member of three committees.
To succeed Petrolati, DeLeo chose Patricia A. Haddad, a Somerset Democrat. She has been one of the speaker’s negotiators, working with the Patrick administration and the state Senate on legislation to professionalize the Probation Department.
Several other lawmakers took on new assignments. Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat, was named chairman of the Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee, which will put him at the center of any future debate over expanded gambling. DeLeo also elevated Kathi-Anne Reinstein of Revere, a strong proponent of legalizing casinos and slot machines at the racetracks, to a leadership position.
William M. Straus, a Mattapoisett Democrat, was chosen to succeed Wagner as chairman of the Transportation Committee.
2 potential rivals in House sidelined
By Michael Levenson
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, under fire for a patronage scandal at the state Probation Department and facing two ambitious deputies jostling for their own power, tightened his grip on the House yesterday, sidelining would-be successors and promoting loyalists who had helped advance his gambling agenda.
The most dramatic change was the demotion of James E. Vallee, the House majority leader, who had been quietly building a political base within the House in hopes of one day becoming speaker, when DeLeo retires. The speaker handed him a new assignment with less clout, as chairman of the Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs.
DeLeo also removed Charles A. Murphy, another potential candidate for speaker and a political rival of Vallee, from his position as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which helps write the state budget. DeLeo gave him a new job as the assistant majority leader, a position that has a lower profile but keeps him within the speaker’s inner circle.
Murphy and Vallee will both take a pay cut. Vallee, a Franklin Democrat, will lose $15,000 in salary. Murphy, a Burlington Democrat, will lose $10,000.
DeLeo’s shake-up adds to a palpable sense of unease in the corridors of the State House. Governor Deval Patrick has pushed out state Parole Board members, and the heads of some agencies, showing a stronger hand as he embarks on his second term. House members said privately that DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat who was first elected speaker two years ago and reelected to the post this month, was sending a message that he intends to remain in power and will not tolerate back-room jockeying for his seat.
But DeLeo, emerging from a closed-door caucus where he announced his leadership changes, denied that he was marginalizing Murphy or Vallee.
“This wasn’t a question of that,’’ he said. “It was just a question of where I could fit people in, to move our agenda forward.’’
Murphy insisted he was not upset that DeLeo had given him a lower-profile job with less pay, saying, “I see it as a promotion.’’
“The speaker’s the speaker,’’ Murphy said. “I serve at the pleasure of the speaker. And I’m OK with that.’’
DeLeo tapped Ronald Mariano, a Quincy Democrat and close confidant, to succeed Vallee as majority leader, the second-ranking position in the House. DeLeo asserted that he was not punishing Vallee, an Army lawyer. “With Jim being a military guy with a long military record, I thought in veterans’ services we could use his talents there,’’ DeLeo said.
Vallee did not return calls for comment.
The speaker named Brian S. Dempsey to succeed Murphy as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, a post that served as a steppingstone to the speaker’s chair for DeLeo and a prior speaker, Thomas M. Finneran. Dempsey, a Haverhill Democrat who entered the House with DeLeo in 1991, was the speaker’s top deputy on gambling in the last session, helping him drive legislation through the House that would have legalized casinos and slot machines at the racetracks. “I look forward to the challenge,’’ Dempsey said. “We all know it’s a difficult budget.’’
Republicans immediately criticized the promotion of Dempsey, who pleaded guilty to drunken driving charges in 2003, was placed on probation, and lost his license for 45 days. The GOP said it reflected the misguided values on Beacon Hill, which has been implicated in the patronage scandal at the Probation Department.
“Speaker DeLeo is doing nothing to restore the public’s faith in the House of Representatives by appointing Representative Dempsey to such a powerful position,’’ Nathan Little, executive director of the state GOP, said in a statement.
Dempsey said yesterday: “This was a terrible mistake, which I will always deeply, deeply regret, and I apologize to the community and family and constituents and have used it as a major life lesson and have moved on with my work here in the Legislature.’’
DeLeo, who has been trying to fend off questions about his role in recommending associates and supporters for jobs in the Probation Department, sought with several of his changes to send a message that he is serious about fixing the agency.
He had demoted Thomas M. Petrolati — a Ludlow Democrat accused of packing the Probation Department with supporters — from his position as speaker pro tempore, the number three leadership position in the House, which cost Petrolati $15,000 a year. Yesterday, DeLeo gave Petrolati no prominent post, making him a rank-and-file member of three committees.
To succeed Petrolati, DeLeo chose Patricia A. Haddad, a Somerset Democrat. She has been one of the speaker’s negotiators, working with the Patrick administration and the state Senate on legislation to professionalize the Probation Department.
Several other lawmakers took on new assignments. Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat, was named chairman of the Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee, which will put him at the center of any future debate over expanded gambling. DeLeo also elevated Kathi-Anne Reinstein of Revere, a strong proponent of legalizing casinos and slot machines at the racetracks, to a leadership position.
William M. Straus, a Mattapoisett Democrat, was chosen to succeed Wagner as chairman of the Transportation Committee.
Hot Coffee!
If you've heard the stories about Stella Liebeck, maybe you haven't heard the facts.
The information presented below provides insight and information about "Tort Reform" and the misuse of the case to absolve corporations of liability.
Worth reading and listening to in their entirety.
Do You Know the Full Story Behind the Infamous McDonald’s Coffee Case and How Corporations Used it to Promote Tort Reform?
Stella Liebeck made national headlines in 1992 when she sued McDonald’s after spilling a scalding cup of hot coffee on her lap. The lawsuit had the whole country talking. But what most people do not know is that Liebeck suffered third-degree burns over 16 percent of her body and never fully recovered. And most people do not know that corporations have spent millions of dollars distorting her story to promote tort reform. Liebeck’s case is featured in the documentary Hot Coffee, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Monday.
"Hot Coffee" Film Explores How Corporations Are Spending Millions and Spinning the Story to Alter Our Nation’s Civil Justice System
Hot Coffee, a new documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, looks at the stories of four people whose lives were devastated when they were denied access to the courtroom after being injured. The film documents how corporations have spent millions to promote the case for tort reform.
"Hot Coffee" Exposes How Hard Caps on Malpractice Awards Shift Burden to Taxpayers
In our final segment featuring the explosive new documentary Hot Coffee, we speak with a family featured in the film. Lisa and Mike Gourley are the parents of twin sons Colin and Connor. Colin was born with cerebral palsy because of medical malpractice during childbirth. A Nebraska jury awarded Colin $5.6 million to cover his medical expenses. But a state-mandated cap reduced his award by 80 percent, to $1.2 million. We speak with the family about how taxpayers are now responsible for paying for Colin’s expensive healthcare costs and how mandated caps in malpractice lawsuits relieve the wrongdoer of responsibility for the damage they cause.
The information presented below provides insight and information about "Tort Reform" and the misuse of the case to absolve corporations of liability.
Worth reading and listening to in their entirety.
Do You Know the Full Story Behind the Infamous McDonald’s Coffee Case and How Corporations Used it to Promote Tort Reform?
Stella Liebeck made national headlines in 1992 when she sued McDonald’s after spilling a scalding cup of hot coffee on her lap. The lawsuit had the whole country talking. But what most people do not know is that Liebeck suffered third-degree burns over 16 percent of her body and never fully recovered. And most people do not know that corporations have spent millions of dollars distorting her story to promote tort reform. Liebeck’s case is featured in the documentary Hot Coffee, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Monday.
"Hot Coffee" Film Explores How Corporations Are Spending Millions and Spinning the Story to Alter Our Nation’s Civil Justice System
Hot Coffee, a new documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, looks at the stories of four people whose lives were devastated when they were denied access to the courtroom after being injured. The film documents how corporations have spent millions to promote the case for tort reform.
"Hot Coffee" Exposes How Hard Caps on Malpractice Awards Shift Burden to Taxpayers
In our final segment featuring the explosive new documentary Hot Coffee, we speak with a family featured in the film. Lisa and Mike Gourley are the parents of twin sons Colin and Connor. Colin was born with cerebral palsy because of medical malpractice during childbirth. A Nebraska jury awarded Colin $5.6 million to cover his medical expenses. But a state-mandated cap reduced his award by 80 percent, to $1.2 million. We speak with the family about how taxpayers are now responsible for paying for Colin’s expensive healthcare costs and how mandated caps in malpractice lawsuits relieve the wrongdoer of responsibility for the damage they cause.
DeLeo, The Buffoon!
When you become so enamored of your reflection in the mirror, you simply don't hear.
When Representatives prostitute themselves for Chairmanships, bigger offices and larger staffs, where are you? Selling your conscience for a few gold coins?
House Speaker "Racino" DeLeo is so blinded by his own arrogance, he has ceased listening. The echoes he hears are not the voice of the people, but simply his own voice within an empty head.
I have met NO ONE, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, who doesn't fully support the EXPANDED BOTTLE BILL.
Here's what DeLeo said on WBUR:
DeLeo also remains cool to the governor’s proposal... to expand the bottle bill, which would add a 5-cent deposit to tea, juice and water bottles.
“The budget that will come out will not have any new taxes, no additional fees, or any other gimmicks in terms of raising additional revenue,” DeLeo said.
Patrick introduced these proposals in his budget plan in an effort raise revenue. The ... additional bottle deposit would help fund recycling programs.
Mr. Speaker:
Instead of opposing the expanded BOTTLE BILL that has languished for far too long because of vested interests, this represents solid waste disposal savings for municipalities and fund raising for groups that pick up the trash from the roadside, as a start.
When Representatives prostitute themselves for Chairmanships, bigger offices and larger staffs, where are you? Selling your conscience for a few gold coins?
House Speaker "Racino" DeLeo is so blinded by his own arrogance, he has ceased listening. The echoes he hears are not the voice of the people, but simply his own voice within an empty head.
I have met NO ONE, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, who doesn't fully support the EXPANDED BOTTLE BILL.
Here's what DeLeo said on WBUR:
DeLeo also remains cool to the governor’s proposal... to expand the bottle bill, which would add a 5-cent deposit to tea, juice and water bottles.
“The budget that will come out will not have any new taxes, no additional fees, or any other gimmicks in terms of raising additional revenue,” DeLeo said.
Patrick introduced these proposals in his budget plan in an effort raise revenue. The ... additional bottle deposit would help fund recycling programs.
Mr. Speaker:
Instead of opposing the expanded BOTTLE BILL that has languished for far too long because of vested interests, this represents solid waste disposal savings for municipalities and fund raising for groups that pick up the trash from the roadside, as a start.
The EXPANDED BOTTLE BILL is a sensible and reasonable solution.
In addition, the funds have the potential of replacing the Unclaimed Bottle Deposit Funds that now go into the General Fund and are spent for other things, like maybe the Probation Dept. ?
Those funds, in the past, went to DEP and were used for the plastic recycling bins and compost bins.
Please consider contacting your Senator and your Representative to support this long overdue legislation:
http://www.malegislature.gov/People/House
http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Senate
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
