This year's revenue from the state lottery is projected to fall 4 percent below last year's record take, State House News Service (subscription required) is reporting today. The $200 million decline is going to make it much more difficult for the Legislature to continue current levels of state aid to cities and towns. If it's any consolation, […]
State House News Service
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Raising the gas tax is the tip of the iceberg
Rep. David Linsky’s (D-Natick) proposal to raise the gas tax by 6 cents looked like a profile in courage right up until Yvonne Abraham demolished it in a spirited column in today’s Boston Globe. Abraham makes excellent points — including many of the same ones made last year by members of the Transportation Finance Commission […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Same old transportation story
Though there were some fresh faces on hand at Wednesday evening’s Our Transportation Future/MOVE Massachusetts forum, like Mayor Kim Driscoll of Salem, the most striking feature of any statewide transportation finance convocation these days is that the story lines just don’t change. Asked about his decision to confront problems at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority before […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Patrick still not going anywhere, neither is Treasurer Tim
Gov. Deval Patrick continues to insist that he’s not D.C.-bound. During a press availability outside his office on Wednesday, Patrick commented that he was “enormously moved, excited, and proud” of President-elect Barack Obama’s historic achievement. But the governor, clearly tired of the question, said that he has never been asked about any position in the […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Getting a jump on voting in Arlington
Tuesday, November 4, 2008 In Arlington at 6:45 am, there were 33 people in the Precinct 14 line at the Brackett Elementary School. By the time the doors opened at 7:00 am, more than 50 voters had queued up and the school’s PTO bake sale was in full swing. (Five stars for the pumpkin chocolate […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service, The Download
The national media weighs in on Question 1
Saturday, November 1, 2008 If you’re still undecided about Question 1, the elite of the media elite could help you out. Both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal editorial boards have weighed in, with predictable advice, on the ballot measure that would abolish the state income tax. The Times urged caution last […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Patrick catches Galvin’s Hail Mary pass on voter registration
As reported in the Fall issue of CommonWealth, after the failure of Election Day registration, Secretary of State William Galvin supported legislation that would allow certain people to vote in Tuesday’s election without resorting to casting a provisional ballot. With the general election right around the corner, such a move was the election administration equivalent […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service, The Download
How bad will the fuel crisis get?
It could be a "frozen Katrina." The upcoming winter has all the hallmarks of a major crisis, according to social service providers who attended a Boston Foundation forum Monday on helping Boston residents survive the coming season of housing woes and higher fuel and food costs. Although it’s too early to tell what the weather […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
A survey of possible voting glitches, coast to coast
"What if we had an election and everyone came?” is the question posed by the Pew Center on the States/Electionline.org’s gargantuan Election 2008 Preview updating election administration issues — voting technologies, provisional ballot verification rules, and the like — for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Massachusetts comes off pretty well […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Voting made easy
INTRO TEXT The young man in a tattered baseball cap walked up to Sharon Adair’s table at the Ward 5 polling place near City Hall in Concord, New Hampshire. Daniel Taylor wasn’t on the list of registered voters for the September primary, but that didn’t stop him. Adair confirmed that Taylor’s driver’s license had a […]