State Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan is leaving his job later this year because Gov. Deval Patrick refused to give him a raise. The Globe broke the story, reporting that Mullan asked for a raise in May and Patrick turned him down. Mullan, who has two children in college and a third at a private high […]
State House News Service
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service, The Download
Patrick’s health care dilemma
It’s been a week now, and as of this morning Gov. Deval Patrick still hadn’t decided whether he’s going to go along with a provision in the Legislature’s budget that would strip municipal unions of some of their health care collective bargaining rights. His indecision is intriguing, since the Legislature’s proposal does just about everything […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Environment, State House News Service
Nuclear disaster funding increases in Plymouth
the owner of Pilgrim Station is opening up its wallet to fund local emergency training, an indication that the nuclear accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is having an impact on plant operators in the United States. In June, Plymouth and Entergy Nuclear agreed on a deal that will allow town officials to […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, Transportation
Delays in service
late into a May evening in New Bedford, commuters told three stone-faced federal officials about their daily 90-minute plus treks up Route 24 to Interstate 93 toward Boston, a stressful gumbo of traffic bottlenecks, distracted drivers, and too many fatal accidents. State lawmakers and local officials chimed in with appeals to economic justice and opportunity. […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Split Governor’s Council confirms picks
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE With Gov. Deval Patrick on hand to ensure a tiebreaking vote, Rep. Christopher Speranzo won a lifetime appointment today as clerk magistrate of the Pittsfield District Court, filling a two-year vacancy and overcoming objections from four members of the Governor’s Council who questioned his qualifications. The 5-4 vote came after Patrick […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Coyne’s connections focus of hearing
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Peter Coyne, a 10-year assistant clerk magistrate in the Suffolk County Juvenile Court, as well as the brother of a prominent Beacon Hill lobbyist, rejected assertions by members of the Governor’s Council on Wednesday that his nomination to a juvenile court judgeship was based on his connections and his brother’s frequent […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Uncategorized
Legislating through the budget
The Legislature likes working like a harried college freshman, with the bulk of its work coming in late-night bursts just before a looming deadline. The body is famous for the frenzied pace that precedes the end of its two-year legislative session, when reams of bills that have been bottled up in committee are rushed to […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
MBTA considering a ban on alcohol advertising
MBTA General Manager Richard Davey says he is “strongly looking at” a future systemwide ban on alcohol advertising. Davey made the comment last week at newly-renovated Ashmont Station in Dorchester, the latest stop on his “Join the GM” tour in which he spends time at T stations answering questions and getting feedback from passengers. Davey […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
DiMasi, McDonough guilty but not Vitale
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE After a six-week trial, a jury needed only hours before finding former House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi guilty on seven of nine counts in his public corruption case, including conspiracy, two counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and extortion. The verdict made DiMasi the third consecutive House speaker convicted […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, State House News Service, The Download
Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter
He went by Chris Gerhart, Christopher Chichester, Christopher Crowe, CCC Mountbatten, and ultimately Clark Rockefeller, but his real name was Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, one of the strangest and most successful con men in the annals of history. Mark Seal’s book on Gerharsreiter, The Man in the Rockefeller Suit, hits shelves this week and excerpts are […]