STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Republican Charlie Baker, a former state budget chief and health care executive, officially jumped into the wide open 2014 governor’s race Wednesday with a more upbeat campaign theme than 2010 when he ran and lost to incumbent Gov. Deval Patrick. Baker on Wednesday morning posted a 90-second announcement video on his […]
Matt Murphy
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Tech tax repeal push clears first hurdle
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A push to repeal the new sales tax on computer and software design services through a ballot initiative cleared it first hurdle on Wednesday as a summit between Beacon Hill officials and tech industry leaders broke apart with no agreement from lawmakers to readdress the controversial tax. The much-anticipated meeting between […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Ethics Commission urged to clarify Wolf ruling
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A LEADING BUSINESS ADVOCATE on Monday worried that the recent State Ethics Commission ruling that derailed Sen. Daniel Wolf’s political career could have a “chilling effect” on participation in elected politics by small business owners. Despite being at odds politically with the Senate Democrat from Harwich, National Federation of Independent Business […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, Transportation
Cabral: Administration using ‘scare tactics’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENIOR TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS on Tuesday cautioned that major expansion projects prioritized by the Patrick administration could be in jeopardy if tolls on the western portion of the Massachusetts Turnpike come down in four years, but one House lawmaker called the warning “scare tactics.” Rep. Antonio Cabral, a New Bedford Democrat and […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Transportation
Patrick threatens veto of transportation bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. DEVAL PATRICK for the first time on Thursday promised to veto the Legislature’s transportation financing plan if it is not amended to replace toll revenues that could disappear in four years. Patrick, who appeared on WGBH radio for his monthly call-in show with Jim Braude and Margery Eagan, offered sharp […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, State House News Service
Patrick asks lawmakers for gas tax backup
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. DEVAL PATRICK PLANS to return the Legislature’s transportation financing plan on Tuesday with an amendment that would trigger an automatic increase in the gas tax in 2017 if Massachusetts Turnpike tolls come down as currently scheduled. The Legislature last week approved a five-year transportation financing plan that would raise $500 […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Coakley suit seeks halt to fishing reductions
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CALLING DEEP REDUCTIONS in allowable fish catch limits a “death penalty” to the Massachusetts fishing industry, Attorney General Martha Coakley on Thursday filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking a temporary halt to the reductions and a more workable rule to protect the livelihoods of fishermen while still allowing fish populations […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
Slain teen’s parents call for relationship ed
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE PARENTS OF SLAIN WAYLAND TEENAGER Lauren Astley made a heartfelt plea to lawmakers on Tuesday to implement comprehensive teen relationship and violence education in public schools, hoping to prevent other families from enduring a similar tragedy. Choking back tears, Astley’s mother Mary Dunne said her 18-year-old daughter did not follow […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
Investigators charge 3 Tsarnaev friends
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THREE CURRENT OR FORMER UMASS-DARTMOUTH CLASSMATES of surviving marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have been charged by federal prosecutors with conspiring to obstruct justice and destroy evidence. The three allegedly lied to investigators and threw away a laptop computer and a backpack containing emptied fireworks that belonged to Tsarnaev. The three […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
DeLeo calls tax plan ‘fantasy land’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO called the governor’s request for $1.9 billion in new tax revenue “fantasy land” during a private political caucus with Democrats on Wednesday, expressing concern about voter backlash in next year’s election cycle, according to multiple sources who attended the meeting. DeLeo addressed a sizeable number of House […]