Granby01033

For not the first time, Gov. Deval Patrick took the state legislature to task. The house had  refused to extend its formal session to complete Patrick's pet education bill. 
Patrick reminds me a little of a substitute teacher, trying to assert an authority he's really doesn't have. And the state legislature, like an unruly class, tends to ignore him until he gets strident. Then they start to laugh at him.
I haven't been [...] Read more »

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The H1N1 Influenza, formerly, and not very usefully known as the swine flu, is here. I've had at least one student and one colleague out due to the virus.
The Center for Disease Control reports that the flu is spread the old-fashioned way:

Germs can be spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and [...] Read more »

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One of the most difficult problems with making budgets during this economic recession: revenues keep dropping. To make a budget, you have to have a pretty good idea of how much money is coming in. The Commonwealth's budgeters, however, find that their already low expectations are consistently undercut by the economy.
In spite of a sales [...] Read more »

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Out here in the West, the transportation isn't a big deal. We may take the Pike, but we don't have to worry about tunnels and bridges and the T. We may be footing part of the bill for the Big Dig, but we don't worry about the trains running on time or rising ticket prices.  [...] Read more »

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Massachusetts citizens are permitted and encouraged to take an active role in the lawmaking process of the state legislature.
--Lawmaking in Massachusetts
A bill goes through a pretty extensive process before it becomes law. First, it is filed. Then it is sent to a committee, such as the transportation committee, for study and review. There are 22 such [...] Read more »

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Deval's winning coalition is: 2006 primary voters + one-fifth of the entire remaining electorate.
--Sabutai
I know not everyone is as hardcore as I am about politics, but as steamed as I have been about Gov. Deval Patrick, I'm pretty sure he's going to win. If Christy Mihos and Tim Cahill enter the race, they help split the [...] Read more »

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State Senator Stan Rosenberg is one of the most powerful and effective people in the state legislature.
He has represented Granby in the past and may very well do so again after redistricting in 2010. I know he has the support of some prominent Granby Republicans. Stan's sexual orientation has been an open secret, I think, for years. [...] Read more »

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“June is the final exclamation point on this unbelievably bad year. This is the worst year-to-year tax drop . . . in more than 50 years. Maybe ever.’’
--Michael Widmer
The deepest effects of the our current economic depression have yet to be felt, but they're about to be. As individuals, we have felt the depression in unemployment, underemployment, and [...] Read more »

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State Treasurer Tim Cahill will leave the Democratic Party apparently to run for governor as an independent, according to the State House News Service. He joins the ranks of Gov. Deval Patrick (D), former gubernatorial candidate Christy Mihos  (R), and HMO President Charlie Baker (R).
Cahill's candidacy opens up the possibility of a three-way race and [...] Read more »

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When it comes to Gov. Deval Patrick, I've had to hold my nose a lot.
Politically speaking, Patrick's a walking disaster. From his curtains and Cadillac to leaving casino supporters in the lurch while he signed a book deal. 
In spite of his frequent missteps and occasional self-centeredness, I've always thought he was generally well-meaning and trying to deal [...] Read more »

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Governor Deval Patrick wielded his red pen to veto a host of line items in the state budget, lopping $364 million from the budget the legislature sent him. The State House News Service reports:

The budget’s $27.046 billion bottom line is 3 percent lower than the one Patrick signed last year, spending that was reduced during this fiscal [...] Read more »

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State Treasurer Tim Cahill seems to have chosen a very indirect route to the private sector. Yeah, he's going through all the (wrong) motions to become governor from making unrealistic claims for legalizing slot machines to being investigated for ethics violations to (now) forgetting to tell lawmakers that the state's request to join the multi-state [...] Read more »

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A lot of people like the idea of smaller government, but when they realize it means closing schools and libraries and eliminating public safety services, many think twice. And recently in Massachusetts, voters are voting themselves property tax increases to save aspects of their town that they want.
The Globe reports:
In a baffling trend playing out [...] Read more »

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In spite of vocal opposition, the state legislature is poised to increase the sales tax from 5% to 6.25%, according to the Boston Globe.

Some Massachusetts business advocates and Republican lawmakers say they are resigned to the inevitability of a state sales tax increase, leaving just two constituencies to battle over smaller tax proposals - package [...] Read more »

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The ways of the technologically ignorant will never cease to amaze me. As kids find out all the time on Facebook and  MySpace, the private isn’t truly private when it leaves traces of itself on computers its used. Email leave traces of themselves on the machines used to send and receive them. On a network, [...] Read more »

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The Globe has a sloppy story on the Patrick Administration’s handling of House Speaker Sal DiMasi’s (allegedly) corrupt steamrolling of a computer software contract through state government.  When you refer to the Governor’s “critics” and the only people you can quote are the leadership of the tiny Republican minority, you’re stretching. The story also skimps [...] Read more »

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This is how they do it:  Cognos, an IBM subsidiary, wants to sell its information technology to the state of Massachusetts. The contract is lucrative, and the guy in charge of selling the software is lacking in scruples and buys the influence of  f0rmer House Speaker Sal DiMasi.
DiMasi uses his clout to strong arm the various Massachusetts departments involved into [...] Read more »

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The prima facie case was clear. It's no surprise that former House Speaker Sal DiMasi has been indicted for influence-peddling and corruption. Like former Senate Presidents (now convicted felon) Tom Finneran and blarney-blessed scumbag Billy Bulger, DiMasi is a poster child for much of what's wrong with Beacon Hill.  I hope he does jail time.
The Globe reports:
DiMasi [...] Read more »

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David Bernstein writes for the Boston Phoenix. He has a cynical, but deadly accurate No Politician Left Behind piece, which is worth reading. Hat Tip: BMG.

First up for a zinger, surely, must be Senate President Therese Murray. Her mantra, "reform before revenue," has already gone up in smoke. Perhaps a more realistic timetable would be "reform [...] Read more »

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"I think this is probably the more fair way to go if we have to raise revenue and, unfortunately, we have to raise revenue."
--Senate President Therese Murray 
If there were actually leaders, or even effective managers, on Beacon Hill, they wouldn't be complaining about a lack of options about our current budget situation. They would have [...] Read more »

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