STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CALLING IT “ONE of the greatest health care tragedies in my memory,” the Patrick administration’s top health official told lawmakers Wednesday that she is committed to finding out how fungal meningitis tied to tainted steroids from a Framingham company killed 32 people and infected 438 more to date. “I know you […]
Matt Murphy
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Sen.-elect Warren is monosyllabic
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CANDIDATE ELIZABETH WARREN was known for giving lengthy answers to the even the simplest of questions, often joking that she had not yet mastered the political skill of speaking in digestible bites. Senator-elect Warren on Thursday had no such problem, explaining to reporters that she felt she had to be more […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
State tax revenues lag, mid-year cuts likely
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IN LIGHT OF a new dim revenue report for October that shows tax collections now trailing estimates for the year by over $250 million, the Patrick administration said it is increasingly likely that mid-year budget cuts could be required to deal with slow economic growth. Responding to a report showing October […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, State House News Service
Coakley recuses herself in drug lab probe
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FOLLOWING CALLS for Attorney General Martha Coakley to recuse herself from a broader probe into the functioning of the state drug lab at the center of an evidence tampering investigation, Coakley on Wednesday wrote to Gov. Deval Patrick supporting the appointment of an independent investigator. “It is critical that all parties […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Democrats target Republican freshmen
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FRESHMEN HOUSE REPUBLICANS are in the crosshairs this election cycle with the majority of incumbents from both parties facing no opposition and a Democratic majority all but assured before voters cast a single ballot. Nearly two-thirds of the 147 incumbents running for re-election in the 160-member House of Representatives face no […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
State board strips pension from Finneran
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MORE THAN FIVE YEARS after former House Speaker Thomas Finneran pled guilty to obstruction of justice, the State Retirement Board on Thursday voted to strip the Mattapan Democrat of his pension and repay him the amount he contributed to his own retirement. Finneran, in January 2007, pled guilty to one […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Boston ranks 9th in clean tech
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Buoyed by its academic research centers, Boston ranks among the top 10 metro regions in the country for its use and development of clean technology, though it still trails western innovation hubs in California, Oregon, and Colorado, according to a new report. The first annual US Metro Clean Tech Index, released […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Former prosecutor to head drug lab case review
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Former Suffolk County prosecutor David Meier will lead a new central office set up to review the thousands of criminal cases potentially tainted by a state drug lab chemist. Meier was introduced by Gov. Deval Patrick Thursday and said he would begin meeting Friday morning with prosecutors, defense attorneys and others […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care, State House News Service
Department of Public Health Commissioner resigns
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Tendering his resignation, Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach on Monday accepted responsibility for the failed oversight of a state crime lab chemist accused of mishandling evidence at a Jamaica Plain lab, claiming “the buck stops with me.” Gov. Deval Patrick on Monday accepted Auerbach’s resignation, which was offered over the weekend, […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Transportation
Glynn to be tapped for Massport head
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE The lengthy search for a new chief executive of the Massachusetts Port Authority has narrowed in on former health care executive and MBTA chief Thomas Glynn, according to multiple sources. Glynn, who spent 14 years working as the chief operating officer of Partners HealthCare, will be presented to the Massport Board […]