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When is enough enough with the MBTA? Now they are refusing to release documentation of their pensions. Why? This is a taxpayer bailout agency. The MBTA has also done just about everything conceivable to reduce rider ship. The fare increases are a yearly event. The parking rates continue to rise exponentially. The handouts from the taxpayers continue. The reduced service. The elimination of special fares like the family pass.
Tesla now has the highest ranking of any vehicle ever tested by Consumer Reports. The company also showed a small first time profit.
The United States Senate has clearly demonstrated that lives mean nothing. The vote to continue the madness on firearms shows that quite clearly. Forty-six cowards.
Mike gets rewarded for hard work and being an upper tier watchdog. Strange town this Middelboro.
The recent votes to reject the use of social security numbers to check on a candidate for public housings income and for EBT reform were clearly along party lines with the Democrats once again supporting a status quo that has been a dismal failure.
The latest bills to be rejected along party lines were one that one for supplied an additional 20M in targeted funds for education - specifically textbooks, lab equipment and a sundry list of other items. The second House bill - also rejected - would have made available 3M in tuition and fee benefits for students who were adopted via the state adoption program. Republicans supported both measures and out “education” Democrats rejected.
And why do the Republicans - or a sizable segment of them - continue to wish to use the government as a tool for a moral agenda.
Gomez does not stand a chance. None. Zip. 42% of the vote would be astounding. So we will end up with another lock step far left liberal parrot in D.C.
The administration clearly lied on Benghazi. They can’t even get their lies straight so what does that say about their abilities?
The IRS also targeted conservatives. Amazing overreach by a government that has clearly lost its moral values.
I was in Peru for an extended period of time and they have an interesting social safety net - you lose your job it is tough cookies! Everywhere I went workers busted it. Poverty is incredible. Wealthy class, small middle class, a very large segment of subsistence workers and several millions in shanty towns looking for daily work or just stealing. Teachers and police have a salary of $4,500 to $6,500 yearly and no detail pay.
Gronkowski is on surgery #4. IMO his career will be one of injury upon injury. A great talent but very fragile.
Why airlines can drive you nuts. I book an award flight for my wife - The Lovely Cynthia - and it is 25,000 miles. I then book for myself and it is 32,500 miles for the same flights. Amazing how it managed to change in ten minutes, This is Delta and their program is now just awful. They and United are two airlines that will charge you the same number of miles if it is a one way or round trip.
Special interest at its finest! Time to bury this antiquated joke and pronto. Ms. Braceras did manage to leave out Middleboro.
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/opinion/op_ed/2013/04/braceras_town_meeting_s_great_as_history
It’s April. Around here that means rain, daffodils, and that inefficient relic of our Puritan past: Town Meeting.
Ah, yes, Town Meeting. That uniquely New England institution where any registered voter can gather a few signatures (some towns require as few as 10) for any half-baked idea and — presto! — it’s on the town warrant.
Want to ban the use of leaf blowers (Arlington and Marblehead)? Put it on the warrant!
Think your town should require leashes for cats (Concord)? Put it on the warrant!
Want your town to go on record as pro-Second Amendment? Draft a law requiring a gun in every home (Byron, Maine). And put it on the warrant!
Yes, across New England this spring, minute fractions of the electorate — unelected and often uninformed — will congregate to approve budgets, pass bylaws, and debate issues of importance (and many of no importance).
Mostly, they will gather to hear themselves talk — to pontificate, bloviate, and hold court before captive audiences of voters desperate to cast their ballots on that one significant agenda item and go home.
In Concord, for the third consecutive year, residents spent an evening of their lives debating the sale of single-serving water bottles. Just over a thousand Concordians (of the town’s approximately 11,000 registered voters) attended Wednesday’s Town Meeting. The rest had lives to lead that prevented them from sitting in a crowded auditorium for hours on end listening to environmentalists and consumer advocates go at it.
And so by only 66 votes, with only 12 percent of the town’s electorate present, Town Meeting defeated an effort to lift the controversial water ban (approved by an equally narrow margin last year). Not exactly democracy in action.
In small 17th- and 18th-century agrarian communities, where only men voted and women-folk were home to mind the children, this form of participatory governance may have made sense.
After all, what else was there for Colonial farmers to do in the evenings? They weren’t rushing out after a long day in the fields to drive their kids to hockey practice, pick up the dry-cleaning, or play a round of golf. Back then, town meeting was not just a form of government, it was the social event of the season.
But in 2013, when many people commute to work, travel on business, or work the night shift, the idea of hiring a sitter in order to spend hours debating politics deters many citizens from taking part in local decision-making at all.
Put simply, Town Meeting has a discriminatory impact on working voters and voters with young children. It leaves governance to an unrepresentative minority of voters — usually single, childless, or elderly, who have time to spend long hours debating items that could be easily resolved in moments. For instance — call me crazy — at the ballot box.
The Minutemen who sacrificed their lives at the North Bridge would no doubt be appalled to see how Town Meeting has become a tyranny of the minority.
In an era of early voting, electronic voting, and other innovations intended to expand access to the ballot, it is ironic that many New England towns cling to this arcane and anti-democratic form of government. Try to move the location of a polling place or check a voter’s identification, and the ACLU screams voter suppression and disfranchisement. But allow a tiny, unelected minority of voters to make decisions for an entire town, and it is hailed it as civic engagement. Puh-leez.
Can’t we just admit that it’s time to abolish Town Meeting?
My truck is quite capable of traversing three feet of water and doing it easily. Unfortunately if there is two feet of mud under the water the end result is a muddy escape and a tow. Thankfully, Bumpkin was not in the truck otherwise we would have sunk through the earth’s crust.
What will come first? Resolution of Edgeway or the local Big Dog at the rotary? Maybe my great-great- grandchildren will see the final result.
Shooters no longer accepts credit cards. In the restaurant business that is the fiscal death knell and closure is near. IMO the place had or it this case has a significant image problem when it appears to be a biker bar. I went in once to meet some family members and saw a sign saying “no gang colors.” Real homey atmosphere.
Joe Fitzgerald in The Boston Herald touched on a topic that occasionally surfaces regarding office holders running for another office. If you do so resign from your current position. I also find it strange that some run a two fer - such as Paul Ryan. On the ballot for Congress and for VP.
The morning after pill has been approved for girls under 17. I’ve always felt they should have a morning after pill to make you forget who you were with last night.
Was some talk about Scott Brown running for the Senate in New Hampshire. Dems went into the expected “Carpetbagger” frenzy. What a hoot! That is the domain of the Kennedy’s. Want to run for office? Move into the district and pull papers a week later.
1.9B or 500M? That is the new taxes to feed the machine. Of course exactly what stringent budgetary measures have taken place within our governmental structure to cut waste?
Per diem is another gift that the legislature bequeaths upon itself. Most take full advantage since it is done on the honor system. At last count sixty-two members passed on taking the perk and all Republicans were in that category.
The EBT Card battle continues with just some minor tweaking being done to the system rather than a massive overhaul. Still no photo ID’s. Anyways - according to our illustrious state auditor the fraud is “about 1%.” That is administrative speak for “anecdotal.”
Patrick Jenevein is the CEO of a wind energy company and he ripped into government subsidies for the industry in a WSJ article. Claims the handouts have stifled inventiveness in the industry and have actually driven up costs.
And on the Global Warming front The Economist had a substantial article that the figures regarding temperature increases are not accurate and need to be adjusted downward.
The Cape Flyer is going to make runs from Boston to Hyannis this summer. At a recent kick off celebration the usually suspects in our political arena were touting this new - really old - service. A spokesman said they “hope to break even.” Wonderful.
Looks like Adam Bond is more “open” for business than before.
The tribulations of the Tribal casino still manages to grab some headlines. Yawn.
The epic history channel presentation of “The Bible” was outdrawn on Easter night by “The Walking Dead” a series about Zombie’s. I always thought those Zombie’s were the ardent supporters of Obama. Wrong again.
Since there was a Resurrection maybe Jesus was a Zombie? I imagine a creative movie producer could make a movie like that since one was made on Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Slayer.
Jordan’s Furniture has a baseball promotion each year and in 2013 you get free furniture if a Red Sox pitcher tosses a perfect game. The last one by a Sox pitcher was Cy Young in 1904. In fact in 1904 they were not even the Red Sox but The Americans. The Boston Americans - Red Sox have played over 17,000 games! Great promotion (insert sarcasm).
Chopped paint and deteriorating shingles are now a health hazard in Middleboro? Seems to be an issue with the Board of Health.
I was amazed at our local BOS demonstrating a total lack of historical reference regarding the potential bribe by the state to support a tax increase. Signing on a support letter for taxes may mean the rotary will be fixed. Note the term may. Do any members of the BOS remember John Volpe and a “temporary” 3% sales tax? Sure - guys - believe the boys and girls on The Hill. Steve McKinnon has the fiscal sense of knowing you can’t continue to feed the beast in return for promises that are broken. The state is the proverbial “I’ll respect you in the morning.”
And on The Hill a Boston Herald reporter was tossed from a legislative only meeting on (drum roll please) transparency!
Another proposal for further taxes is use of a transponder to “tax” each and all for highway use. Keep on feeding the beast. Daily stories appear - like below - about corruption, political appointees of questionable ethics and qualifications, pension bloated by “playing the system” and mismanagement throughout government yet the cure-all is always the same - more revenue!
Sherri Killins becomes another poster child for ineptness in the flawed Patrick Administration. This one - no surprise - was outed by The Boston Herald for her out of state residency and being enrolled in a n education program while still on the books for 200K a year. Her flacks and those of the administration circled the wagons with tepid responses or no responses from inquiring minds that wanted to know. She finally came to her senses - or was pressured to do so - and resigned. Another chapter in what happens when a one party monolith runs the state. Sorta makes me miss Dukakis.
Jim Braga and his family recently became victims of an unnecessary death. I didn’t know Jim that well except for basketball years ago. When I first met him he was bear like in appearance and my first reaction was purely based on the visual. The guy was a pussy cat and as clean and gentleman a player as I ever met. I had two kids who had him as a teacher and they both spoke highly of him - fair guy, good sense of humor and you actually were engaged in the classroom.
In Boston the School Committee and Mayor are attempting to develop a school choice plan. Forty years after busing destroyed the system they figured it out.
The Massachusetts House rejected a bill that would have allowed law makers at least six hours to read and review a bill before it is brought to a vote. Does this make any sense? Naturally it was the Republicans who voted in favor.
Boston Phoenix is no more. Anyone who went to school or worked in the Boston vicinity would grab a copy of the free paper. Declining ad revenues so it is goodbye.
Patriots are a mystery to me. Why let a proven commodity go to get one for more money that has not come close to the product let go? Goodbye, Welker!
Slowly or is that fastly the new or is it renovated police station will be located on the current site. The Winthrop Atkins area has been rejected for reasons that from what I can determine have no cost analysis to show if it is a real savings. Sometimes one gets the impression that a done deal was in the works from day one. Just get the impression that those involved and thinking of ways of saying no to other options rather than yes.
With an old building especially one that old any historical renovations will have a questionable price tag. IMO it will far exceed any projected costs. Also IMO the FinCom was on the right track of at least bringing up a less expensive alternative.
Chief Bruce Gates got dope slapped in an Enterprise editorial about his inconsistency regarding release of information. Maybe he can work out pent up ire when his new magnificent station has a gym installed.
The casino issue continues to surface and considering the ethnic background of some tribal members maybe the LIT should be in the Azores?
A new police station for half the price. Seems reasonable. The renovation figures for the current hulking wreck come in at 13M and I am sure that does not include wooden windows. Now they have also discovered a potential environmental hazard on the current property that could drive up that 13M considerably higher but that does not seem to have much of an impact on our chief who appears now to want no other site considered. So much for budget constraints.
Our local Historical Commission also would love to see the building restored since they see two things: (1) It is old and (2) on the Historic Register. What they do not see is the cost even without a police station. No doubt this will eventually siphon away as much CPA dollars as possible. Is there anyone that can tell these people no? Maybe at Town Meeting? Naw….they’ll load the hall with supporters for this disaster in the making. This will be the Fung Wah of Middleboro when the final bill is in.
The committee that is in charge (supposedly) of the new police station project should do everything possible to look at significant cost saving alternatives and that may actually mean paying more than lip service to the potential at Starr Mill. A debt exclusion of 6M is certainly more palatable than a debt exclusion of 13M.
I’m from the state so trust me. That is it in a nut shell of the arm twisting to get Middleboro to sign off on support of increase taxes and in return that magnificent rotary will once again be put on the high priority list. Quid pro quo.
The town decides to change election schedule with a primary factor being cost savings but it seems cost savings only applies to certain areas yet when cost savings is in the potential millions it is bypassed?
On a recent visit to the dump (AKA - Landfill) I was informed that tree parts exceeding six inches in diameter were not allowed. Amazing! But there is an exception - the Town of Middleboro. Yep….they can do as they please but the rest of us? Once again I must mentioned Ray Flynn the former Mayor of Boston who realized you could lose millions and the voters will yawn but if the garbage is not picked up or the streets not plowed the tar and feathers come out.
Certain surrounding towns have decided to set aside days that will have the wood chipper pay a visit. Pile up your storm remains and they will chop it up. Naturally Middleboro is not one of them.
Deval Patrick wants money for a 2B+ rail line to the South Coast. The rail to Middleboro is now $10 each way to Boston and is starting to price folks out of the public transportation market.
"The Big Inch" is a pipeline that was created out of military necessity of having a minor scuffle designated as WW II. Keystone should be considered also in security terms just like "The Big Inch" or the national highway system. Much has already been completed and if and when it is finished it will represent only a tiny fraction of pipelines in this country that carry oil and that pipeline total is 200,000 miles.
Canada has product. They are willing to sell it to us. Energy independence is an important diplomatic tool so that we will have some degree of security from overseas nonsense. The United States is also developing extraction methods that will eventually make us the largest oil and natural gas producer in the world and that is not even discussing the off shore potential of the eastern seaboard.
We need green energy. That is a given. Tidal, solar, wind and other options that may surface. Right now they are expensive and the technology needs to catch up to make it fiscally responsible and it most certainly will. But until that happens this country needs to improve our deliver systems and to construct new processing facilities. Not to do so is myopic nonsense.
What a dismal example of leadership was displayed as Obama took to the bully pulpit just before noon on sequester doomsday. This sounded like campaign talking points and was an embarrassing void in leadership that seems to exemplify what happens in crises situations both domestic and foreign with Obama. When I compare Obama even to his predecessor or to Clinton or Reagan he comes up far short. I'll say it again - my biggest problem with Obama is his lack of leadership - it is a void.
Obama has managed to or attempted to put the budget issue framed in such a way he can say “I told you so” no matter what. Unemployment goes down just think about what it would have been with that 85B tossed into the fiscal kitty. Ditto the stock market. If the reverse happens it will be “I told you so.” What a disingenuous hack.
Marissa Mayer is the new CEO of fast fading web portal Yahoo. Ms. Mayer has a contract that pays over 100M and is proof that some can bust through the famed glass ceiling. Ms. Mayer has also clearly demonstrated she is like many male counter parts and that is being clueless regarding employees by banning telecommuting. My assumption is that Mayer assumes this will result in some massive turn around for Yahoo.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is in charge of the state parks but it appears they also have another duty that recently surfaced with the “Storm of the century” - they also are in charge of clearing the snow from the State House. The DCR doesn’t do it but contracts the work out with the requirement it must be removed - yes, removed - within 12 hours. A spokesperson was not able to tag a dollar figure but my assumption is this is not exactly a low end deal.
I go to state parks quite frequently since I am a trail runner. Franklin is a great one but it has been deserted for years - funding. Massasoit is bare bones. Ames Nowell is essentially closed. Borderland is maintained rather well as is Myles Standish but both still have minimal services. But the snow gets plowed for the State House - no - gets REMOVED! So the politicians get a spiffy reserved and clean space while the Hoi Polloi get a stripped down state park.
My wife - The Lovely Cynthia - and I travel quite frequently. Local day trips, a few night getaways and longer trips of extended stays but we have never been on a cruise. Every time we think about it something in the news convinces us to stay away and Carnival has managed to do just that. Probably the only thing we’d try is an elegant river cruise in Europe. Elegant means too expensive
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The first day of spring training and two Red Sox players already have a slight physical problem and another (Felix Doubront) shows up looking like a blimp.
According to The Herald the number of state employees receiving a six figure salary has gone up 12% in one year….and Patrick wants 1.9B in new taxes?
As Howie Carr calls it “The Boring Broadsheet” is now for sale at about 10% of what the NY Times bought it for. The Globe use to be the paper of record but it is now a shell of its former self - a larger version of The Brockton Enterprise.
Tesla Motors may finally be turning the fiscal corner on profitability. Their electric is amazing - especially the price. The roadster can easily (and quietly) go 0-60 in under four seconds but the price tag is north of $100,000.
When I start up trail running after the defrosting takes place I’ll probably need a chain saw. A real mess in the woods.
My daughter just returned from a trip to the Azores and loved it.
The Chinese are hacking into our computer systems but the bust to do is to spam them to death.
The authorities closed down a “massage parlor” in West Bridgewater since it was a front for prostitution. There were local and state police, Homeland Security and ICE involved in this operation. Amazing use of resources.
Returning home Monday AM there was multiple wrecks on I-495. The State Police were siphoning off traffic onto R105 to connect to the rotary for a bypass but didn’t have anyone at the lights directing traffic. Not sure whose responsibility it was but the smart thing would be having someone at the junction of R28 and R105 to get that push on since virtually all were taking a left hand turn. Fortunately I was going to the right and had a clear lane. Just another example of the simple things not being done.
Middleboro seems to be at the focal point of “Middle Earth” all too often. The latest is a machete wielding significant other of an arson suspect.
In Brockton - the garden spot of Southeastern Massachusetts - a pig has been sent to a gulag in Halifax thanks to its propensity to escape and wander the streets. On its last venture it was propositioned three times before animal control captured it.
Now that Xmas trees no longer represent a significant collection issue maybe Mr. Bagas can sent the trucks over to Auburn Street for a clean up? I would suggest several very, very large trucks.
The Republicans continue to froth over Obamacare and rightfully so. The program is growing exponentially and will create several new battalions of lawyers to deal with this soon to me most layered of bureaucracies. However I would say look in a mirror boys and girls of the GOP since this hydra is the end result of your own decades of stonewalling. That so many Americans have limited or no insurance access has long been a blight.
Some dissipation of that junk yard (AKA - Storage) depot n the corner of Jackson and Lincoln streets has taken place. Is it a sudden desire on the part of the owners to beautify or the high price of scrap?
Is the economy improving? I’d say “yes” but what exactly does improving mean? Like seeing your blood pressure at 148/88 and it goes down to 140/82.
Gas prices have taken another surge and some of the blame is not on supply but the ability to refine product. The United States needs updated refineries or new ones and just maybe “The Big Zero” can issue some Executive Orders to make it happen.
Unemployment benefits are taxable but welfare is not. Another reason it may pay not to work.
Once again the rotary - not the ones holding an auction - has reared up with the state doing a song and dance that would make the staff at Burt Wood jealous. I could see this being a problem for a few years but it has been one for decades. I guess that round and round means little but a multi-billon dollar train to the southern hinterlands does.
About that train. The cost estimate is around 2B but in state dollars that will soon expand to 4B and maybe 6B? Why not just provide chauffer service?
The locals McDonald’s has finished making their drive thru resemble the rotary and the next project is a rebuilt of the store. IMO they should make a land purchase on Clark Street and have three lanes so that one lane could be dedicated to a right turn only. Nightmare pulling out into traffic.
Streets seem to be plowed rather well around town.
