State House News Service Weekly Roundup: Three’s Company
Like pieces of a puzzle that don’t quite fit together yet, the Big Three may have been separated at birth, but with each incremental step their destinies seem to grow more intertwined. No, we’re not talking about those Big Three – Gov. Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray and Speaker Robert DeLeo – though they play major character roles in this thickening plot. Instead, three bills have come to define the early months of the 2013 legislative agenda and resolutions on tax hikes, local road funding and the annual state budget continue to be elusive and dependent on one another. Patrick spent the early part of his week welcoming British Prime Minister David Cameron to Boston for a few quick meetings and a visit to the Copley memorial for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings before hopping a plane to Ireland for a rendezvous with Murray, already several days into her cross-Atlantic trade mission. If legislative leaders detect a slight accent creeping in when Patrick returns to work at the State House next week they shouldn’t be alarmed or confused. Then again, they haven’t exactly been speaking the same language lately anyway. Click here to subscribe to MASSterlist, a free morning newsletter by State House News Service that highlights political news from a wide array of newspapers and journals in Massachusetts and New England The Senate Ways and Means Committee this week released its version of the fiscal 2014 state budget, a $ 33.9 billion spending plan that bore a striking resemblance to the House blueprint that roundly rebuffed Patrick’s calls for massive new investments in transportation and early education. Unlike the House, the Senate leadership’s budget provides $ 15 million to expand access to pre-school, a step toward the governor’s preferences. The budget proposal, however, backtracked from the House and governor’s commitment to boost higher education funding to avoid tuition hikes next year at UMass and other public universities. All of that is to say, Senate leaders created ample room to maneuver for eventual conference committee negotiations with the House. Of course, the divergence from Patrick was not unexpected given how House and Senate leaders already recycled the governor’s expansive tax package that he proposed to finance the new investments, instead moving forward with a more limited, but still quite large $ 500 million tax increase on gas, tobacco and business. “I find it interesting to put it mildly that the budget includes tax revenue apparently from a bill that hasn’t passed yet. And not only hasn’t it passed, my understanding is there’s only been one conference committee meeting,” Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr lamented. Democratic leaders don’t seem to care much that $ […]
State House News Service Weekly Roundup: Three’s Company
Like pieces of a puzzle that don’t quite fit together yet, the Big Three may have been separated at birth, but with each incremental step their destinies seem to grow more intertwined. No, we’re not talking about those Big Three – Gov. Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray and Speaker Robert DeLeo – though they play major character roles in this thickening plot. Instead, three bills have come to define the early months of the 2013 legislative agenda and resolutions on tax hikes, local road funding and the annual state budget continue to be elusive and dependent on one another. Patrick spent the early part of his week welcoming British Prime Minister David Cameron to Boston for a few quick meetings and a visit to the Copley memorial for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings before hopping a plane to Ireland for a rendezvous with Murray, already several days into her cross-Atlantic trade mission. If legislative leaders detect a slight accent creeping in when Patrick returns to work at the State House next week they shouldn’t be alarmed or confused. Then again, they haven’t exactly been speaking the same language lately anyway. Click here to subscribe to MASSterlist, a free morning newsletter by State House News Service that highlights political news from a wide array of newspapers and journals in Massachusetts and New England The Senate Ways and Means Committee this week released its version of the fiscal 2014 state budget, a $ 33.9 billion spending plan that bore a striking resemblance to the House blueprint that roundly rebuffed Patrick’s calls for massive new investments in transportation and early education. Unlike the House, the Senate leadership’s budget provides $ 15 million to expand access to pre-school, a step toward the governor’s preferences. The budget proposal, however, backtracked from the House and governor’s commitment to boost higher education funding to avoid tuition hikes next year at UMass and other public universities. All of that is to say, Senate leaders created ample room to maneuver for eventual conference committee negotiations with the House. Of course, the divergence from Patrick was not unexpected given how House and Senate leaders already recycled the governor’s expansive tax package that he proposed to finance the new investments, instead moving forward with a more limited, but still quite large $ 500 million tax increase on gas, tobacco and business. “I find it interesting to put it mildly that the budget includes tax revenue apparently from a bill that hasn’t passed yet. And not only hasn’t it passed, my understanding is there’s only been one conference committee meeting,” Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr lamented. Democratic leaders don’t seem to care much that $ […]
When You Need to Paint the House (Sponsored)
It’s that time of year again and you’re outside, enjoying your yard. Then you start nosing around—maybe you’re inspecting your plants, or reviewing the condition of your lawn or setting up your sprinklers—and before you know it, reality hits. You need to paint the house. A daunting task. An expensive task. A necessary task—because it’s not just about how your house looks, it’s about your home’s value. Neglect is not an option. Take heart, however. Information and resources have never been more easily available to help you through this project. Know Your OptionsYour options are to either hire a contractor or paint it yourself. Hiring a contractor is an expensive option, but if it’s in your budget and you do the necessary research to find a quality contractor, you won’t regret it. The best method to find a professional painter is word-of-mouth. Ask a neighbor who’s recently repainted, or go to a local paint store and ask for recommendations. You could also use a service such as the popular Angie’s List. Once you’ve contacted the painter, ask for references before you even bother getting a quote. Most professional contractors will give you a free estimate. They know what they’re looking for and can point out important issues you may have missed such as carpentry work on deteriorated siding. If your house is extremely tall or has dangerous gables, professionals have the equipment and insurance to handle this type of treacherous job. And many contractors guarantee their work for a year, so if something chips or peels, you’re covered. Your DIY Checklist If your budget—or your house—is smaller, and you enjoy a good do-it-yourself project, you can paint your house yourself. It’s a multi-step process, and you’ll want to spend some time preparing for it. Here’s a brief game plan: 1. Decide when to paint. Spring and fall are the best times of year to paint. When outside temperatures are in the mid-50s and higher, the caulk, primer and paint cure properly. 2. Decide where to start your prep work. Do you need to scrape peeling areas? Do you have any rotten wood that needs to be replaced? Be sure to check the base of your columns and areas around and under gutters. Also check all window sills, especially windows that are in damp, shady areas. Replacing wood might require a handyman, and getting someone who knows what they are doing is worth every penny. Do you have metal railings or awnings that need painting? This requires a whole different set of supplies and techniques. 3. Once all the scraping and potential rot problems are addressed, the next job is to […]
State House News Service Weekly Roundup: A Hoop-De-Doo
Massachusetts’ problem is now Virginia’s. After a macabre, around-the-clock stakeout of a Worcester funeral home this week by frenzied reporters and furious protestors, the remains of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev were secreted out of central Massachusetts and buried in a small Muslim cemetery in rural Virginia. No cemetery in Massachusetts, or public official for that matter, wanted Tsarnaev’s body. And Gov. Deval Patrick just seemed relieved the tense standoff was over. “No. I have enough to do,” Patrick said, when asked if he wished he had gotten involved to end the theatrics sooner. The April 15 attacks on the finish line of the Boston Marathon threw Beacon Hill policymakers off stride, quieting the raging debate over transportation financing and overshadowing annual budget talks. Still, the people’s business continues, and picked up in intensity this week as committees heard testimony on a raft of legislation, the Department of Public Health finalized medical marijuana regulations, and Rep. Joseph Wagner finally scheduled a hearing on the Mashpee Wampanoag gaming casino agreement with the Patrick administration. Click here to subscribe to MASSterlist, a free morning newsletter by State House News Service that highlights political news from a wide array of newspapers and journals in Massachusetts and New England Boston Mayor Thomas Menino made the short trek from City Hall to the State House to ask the Education Committee to green light legislation that would increase the number of “in-district” charter schools and give the mayor and school superintendents more control to intervene in mediocre schools on the cusp of failing. Knowing full-well his time in office is short, Menino wants the ed reform bill as a parting gift from the Legislature, but said he’d be back to make his case next year as a private citizen if need be: “It’s my thing,” the mayor said, referring to education. Depending on what poll you read, Congressman Ed Markey is either in the fight of his life against upstart Republican Gabriel Gomez or comfortably on his way into the U.S. Senate. Suffolk University pollster David Paleologos had Markey up 17 points, while a WBUR poll put the race more in line with previous surveys showing a six- to eight-point spread. Markey, at least publicly, seemed to prefer the latter narrative, latching on to the idea that Gomez is nipping at his heels with fundraising appeals claiming he needs support – and money – now more than ever. As for Gomez, he had his most difficult week yet since he left the safe protective nest of his private equity firm to enter the public spotlight and run for public office. A front-page Globe story detailing how Gomez had taken advantage of tax loophole […]
State House News Service Weekly Roundup: Enter Gomez
In case voters weren’t paying attention, and turnout suggested many weren’t, his name is Gabriel Gomez. And now only Ed Markey stands between him and the United States Senate. “My name is Gabriel Gomez, and I’m a proud Republican,” Gomez said, reciting his full name for the second time during a five-minute chat with reporters outside the new go-to, post-election Broadway T stop in South Boston Wednesday morning. The reporters already knew who he was, but part of Gomez’s strategy now is to make sure everybody else does too. The newly minted face of the Republican Party captured the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday by defeating two better known names in Massachusetts Republican politics. Former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan was supposed to be the favorite, and Rep. Daniel Winslow has been active since his days with the Romney administration. But it was Gomez who easily prevailed by a margin of more than 28,000 votes over runner-up Sullivan. He also considerably outspent both his primary opponents, tapping into his own bank account for $ 600,000 to get to the general election. Now, with a seat up for grabs in the U.S. Senate, the national money should start to flow. Click here to subscribe to MASSterlist, a free morning newsletter by State House News Service that highlights political news from a wide array of newspapers and journals in Massachusetts and New England On the Democratic side, Markey rolled fairly easily to the nomination over delegation-mate U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch. After 36 years in the House and a few flirtations with trying move up, Markey stands on the cusp of filling John Kerry’s (and Mo Cowan’s) shoes. If Markey is something old and blue, Gomez is new and borrowing some pages from the Scott Brown playbook, with a twist. Both are young and photogenic with military backgrounds – Brown’s a colonel in the JAG Corps of the Army National Guard, Gomez was a Navy SEAL. Brown had political experience from his days in the state Legislature when he ran against Attorney General Martha Coakley in 2010. Gomez lost a bid for selectman in Cohasset, but has more business experience and personal wealth than Brown. And just as Brown tapped into the national Tea Party angst at the time to open a spigot of financial resources, Gomez is positioned well to take advantage of his Colombian heritage and the GOP’s post-2012 realization that the growing Hispanic voting bloc, concerned about middle class issues as well as immigration, can no longer be ignored. Massachusetts Democrats say they cleaned up last election cycle among ethnic minorities and will likely have a rebuttal to Gomez’s appeal to Hispanic voters. Public Policy Polling released […]
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State House News Service Weekly Roundup: Lounging
Emotionally drained by last week’s marathon bombings, House lawmakers raced through budget week, shortening it to a three-day affair that averaged out to about a billion dollars in spending for every hour in session. The only thing left to do by Friday was figure out where that money was going. It was an impressive display of efficiency and trust or acquiescence, depending on your vantage point. House lawmakers sprinted through deliberations over how to best allocate $ 33.8 billion, agreeing to bump up the bottom line closer to $ 34 billion between Monday and Wednesday night. After 37 hours in session – many spent in idle chatter awaiting a thumb’s up or down on legislators’ preferred earmarks, policy goals and spending priorities from lawmakers debating in an adjoining lounge – Democrats uniformly supported the budget put before them by Ways and Means Chairman Brian Dempsey. The Haverhill Democrat defended the bill as “fiscally responsible,” making investments in local aid and higher education to avoid UMass tuition and fee hikes, while holding the line on other spending for programs such as pre-kindergarten until proper oversight can be demonstrated. Click here to subscribe to MASSterlist, a free morning newsletter by State House News Service that highlights political news from a wide array of newspapers and journals in Massachusetts and New England House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Dempsey have turned budgeting efficiency into an art in recent years, transforming what used to be a four- or five-day process into a three-day exercise at best. Even a late start Wednesday so that members could attend a memorial for slain M.I.T. police office Sean Collier in Cambridge couldn’t slow down the feverish pace of decision-making in the lounge. So intent on finishing by Wednesday night, DeLeo even appealed to an authority higher than any lawmaker’s professed devotion to education, social justice or public safety. “I am not providing dinner tomorrow night,” DeLeo said around 8 p.m. on Wednesday, a light-hearted caution against stalling delivered, incidentally, not long after lawmakers put the kibosh on Munchy Ways and Buddafingers. Lawmakers had almost nothing to say about the issue in the years leading up to last November’s voter approval of a medical marijuana law, but the House this week slammed the door on edible, candy-like med marijuana products. That’s not to say lawmakers weren’t included in the process, following the now traditional pilgrimage to Room 348 – the lounge – to pitch their amendments out of listening range for the general public. Large, bundled revisions arrived on the floor for approval, some adding tens of millions in spending to the final document. Republicans voted in a bloc against […]
State House New Service Weekly Roundup: Exit Strategy
Clouded by sharp rhetoric, fragile egos and fluid whip counts, an endgame to the showdown between Gov. Deval Patrick and legislative leaders over tax increases and transportation began to emerge in which everyone could come out a winner, or at least save face. On this Democrats seem to agree: It’s in everyone interest to find a solution, and quickly, before unresolved questions of new revenue for the MBTA and MassDOT force action on fare hikes and muddy a budget process now fully underway and reliant upon said tax hikes. The Senate’s plan to go slightly higher on new revenue than the House—$ 600 million versus $ 500 million—and direct as much as $ 800 million to transportation spending five years from now triggered a thawing in Gov. Deval Patrick’s adamant opposition to the direction of the debate. “Very hopeful,” Patrick said when asked his thoughts on the Senate plan – a far cry from “pretend fix,” “fiscal shell game” and “meaningless” used to describe the House version. Click here to subscribe to MASSterlist, a free morning newsletter by State House News Service that highlights political news from a wide array of newspapers and journals in Massachusetts and New England When Patrick said he thought it not “likely” that the transportation debate would end without additional revenue, it’s possible he did so because he knew his veto threat was just that—a threat he never really believed he would have to follow through with. Advocates remained skeptical heading into the weekend. Transportation for Massachusetts claimed Senate Ways and Means overstated its revenue plan, particularly with regard to leasing property to utilities, putting the risk of higher fees, fares and tolls on motorists and transit riders. Regardless, the shift from Senate President Therese Murray and Ways and Means Chairman Stephen Brewer appeared to hit its mark leading into the Senate’s rare Saturday debate, leaving previously disenchanted liberal Democrats like Sen. Dan Wolf teetering on the fence. The revised plan came after two “very good, long caucuses,” as described by Murray, where Senate members “talked out” and progressives “got to be very passionate about what they feel should happen going down the road.” So the House claims the mantle of true pocketbook protectors, the Senate plays peacemaker and Patrick cuts his losses, signs the bill and says they moved in my direction? A looming possibility. They may not be talking to the governor, but Murray and Speaker Robert DeLeo are talking to each other. The House on Monday engaged in its first real debate of the year on the tax and transportation bill, carrying on late into the evening hours before approving tax hikes […]
VIDEO: Arrests at State House Protest Over Proposed MBTA Cuts
Police arrested several people who were blocking Beacon Street in front of the State House as part of a protest against cuts to the MBTA’s service for disabled and elderly passengers. The protest began peacefully around noon but moved into the street 20 minutes later. After seven in folding chairs or wheelchairs stopped traffic for another 20 minutes, police moved in arrested “four to five” of them, according to an officer on the scene. The rally, organized by MassUniting and the Massachusetts Senior Action Coaltion, was called to protest the large fare hikes to the MBTA’s paratransit service The RIDE. According to MassUniting, while fares for regular MBTA service went up 23 percent, the cost of The Ride has ballooned up to 150 percent over the past year. The most recent transportation proposal calls for an addition $ 6.5 million cut to The Ride. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
State House News Service Weekly Roundup: Games People Play
There have been rifts over the gas tax and collective bargaining rights, skirmishes over sentencing reforms and more serious disagreements about casinos – not once but twice. But not since the great staring contest of 2010 between Speaker Robert DeLeo and Gov. Deval Patrick over slot parlors have hostilities between the executive and legislative branches been so open and raw. Patrick this week didn’t just threaten to veto the Democratic leadership’s proposal to raise $ 500 million for transportation with tax hikes on gas, tobacco and businesses. He eviscerated it, challenging not just the policy points, but the sincerity of the leaders who crafted it. “To come up with this plan is just not serious and to say it’s a plan, to say it’s a solution is just not serious and I’m not going to play that game. I’m still here. I’m still engaged. I’m still willing to talk about compromise,” Patrick said, calling it “too small” and too short-sighted after years of neglected infrastructure investments. DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray finally fully responded this week to Patrick’s proposal to generate $ 1.9 billion in new revenue through tax reform for long-term transportation and education investments with a more immediate, and scaled down proposal focused on a 3-cent gas tax hike, a $ 1 per-pack cigarette tax increase and business taxes on software and out-of-state corporations. “We’re trying to protect the middle class. That is I think one of the major differences of the two plans,” DeLeo said Thursday after Patrick’s veto threat. DeLeo called the leadership plan one that is “more responsive to the needs of the middle class,” a clever way of packaging a $ 500 million tax increase. Murray said the plan would not “bankrupt” the current generation. “Doable,” she called it. Click here to subscribe to MASSterlist, a free morning newsletter by State House News Service that highlights political news from a wide array of newspapers and journals in Massachusetts and New England For three leaders of the same party who profess to have great respect and personal admiration for one another, Patrick, DeLeo and Murray seem to be having considerable difficulty playing nice. The governor did not see a summary of the legislative leadership’s plan until minutes before they rolled it out for the press, and they had not spoken about it before Patrick stood before the cameras to call it “a pretend fix.” Hatched largely in private among a select few lawmakers, even members of DeLeo’s leadership team were uncertain early Tuesday morning where the speaker had landed on a plan that’s already up for a vote on Monday. Two major differences between this battle over taxes and the gambling impasse […]