Wednesday, June 12, 2013
The governor has said he will hold some of the Chapter 90 transportation money until lawmakers work out a financing plan.
The news that Gov. Deval Patrick has decided not to release a significant chunk of the $300 million in local road repair money in time for projects this summer has surprised and angered Braintree officials, who questioned the wisdom of holding back funding when interest rates are low. "I really don't think the town should be penalized because the governor didn't get all the taxes he wanted," Town Council President Charles Kokoros said. "Our money is being held hostage." The Patrick administration intends to hold $150 million of this year's Chapter 90 transportation money until fall or next spring while the House and Senate finalize a transportation financing plan with new tax revenue, according to the State House News Service. The …
Friday, March 15, 2013
John McDonald, Jr. maintained a sole practice in Braintree for 12 years.
- GOVERNMENT
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Friday, March 15
From the Office of Gov. Deval Patrick: Governor Deval Patrick today announced the nomination of John E. McDonald, Jr. as an Associate Justice of the Boston Municipal Court, Central Division. “I am pleased to nominate John McDonald to serve on the Boston Municipal Court,” said Governor Patrick. “He will bring to the bench many years of valuable experience as a prosecutor, a private practitioner and an assistant clerk-magistrate, as well as a strong work ethic and an excellent temperament. I thank him for his demonstrated commitment to the fair administration of justice and his willingness to serve the Commonwealth as a member of the judiciary.” McDonald serves as an Assistant Clerk-Magistrate at the Boston …
Monday, February 25, 2013
Do you wonder what the 'sequester' will mean for Massachusetts? A White House report gives examples of where federal aid would be cut.
Massachusetts would see more than $91 million in federal funds cut from a myriad of programs if Congress fails to act this week to avoid the sequester, the Obama Administration said Sunday. In a move designed to pressure Republicans into accepting new taxes on the wealthy as part of a deal to prevent the sequester from taking effect on Friday, the White House released reports that outlined how those cuts would impact individual states, The Huffington Post reported. Here are some examples of what's on the chopping block for us here in Massachusetts, according to the report: After the reports were released, congressional Republicans criticized the Obama administration for the PR move, The Huffington Post reported. “Rather than issuing last-…
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Markey is in, Lynch set to make an announcement Thursday and Brown reportedly considering throwing his hat into the race following Tuesday’s nomination of John Kerry as Secretary of State.
With Tuesday's official nomination of U.S. Senator John Kerry to the post of Secretary of State, the field is opening up with folks vying for Kerry's seat in his unexpired term in the U.S. Senate. But before that even happens an interim senator has to be named. On Wednesday, Governor Deval Patrick announced his former chief of staff William “Mo” Cowan will be the interim senator and will serve until a new senator is elected in the June 25 special election. Patch reported in December that Cowan, a Stoughton resident, would be stepping down this month and returning to the private sector. Besides being Patrick’s former chief of staff, Cowan also served as chief legal counsel to Governor Patrick, having served in the Patrick-Murray …
Friday, January 25, 2013
Emma Rutan is the third Braintree student selected in three years for the Project 351 service day.
As a member of the chorus, South Middle School eighth grader Emma Rutan helps out after school and is a mentor to younger performers. In her fifth year at her dance studio in Quincy, she is an assistant teacher. "It's a really fun way to express yourself and meet a lot of new people," Emma said of her experience with the South choir. For a similar reason, Rutan is excited about this Saturday, when she will be among 351 students from across Massachusetts selected for a service day by local educators. Chaired by Gov. Deval Patrick, Project 351 "celebrates the ethic of service, youth leadership, and the power of community to uplift and unite." "Project 351 is designed to inspire, challenge and motivate our next generation of leaders to give …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Gov. Deval Patrick says the state’s toll system will be fully automated by 2015.
Though users of the EZPass service never have to stop for a toll collector on the Mass Pike now, in just more than two years, no one will have to. Gov. Deval Patrick said today that all toll collectors will be phased out by 2015 to make way for a fully automated toll taking system on the Mass Pike, according to Boston.com. Patrick the state will provide a “dignified and soft landing” for the 410 toll workers who would be laid off, according to the news site. Do you think the state should move to the new automated system or should Massachusetts stick with the system in place now? Tell us in the comments.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Gov. Patrick has proposed a wide-ranging plan to cover a budget gap that he blamed on the upcoming "fiscal cliff" created by Congress and lower-than-expected state receipts.
The local aid reductions proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick to help close an expected $540 million state budget gap could mean a $70,000 to $100,000 hit for Braintree if approved by lawmakers. Patrick blamed the mid-year cuts on the failure by President Obama and members of Congress to avert a "fiscal cliff" of massive federal spending decreases. The reductions, scheduled to begin gradually in January, were put in place after a Congressional "super committee" failed to reach a deal on reducing the budget deficit. “The uncertainty of the fiscal cliff and the resulting slow down in growth, is the direct cause of our budget challenges," Patrick said in a statement. In the statement released on Tuesday, Patrick said that the administration revised…
Friday, September 28, 2012
Asked about toll fairness during a Patch live chat, Governor Deval Patrick asked a reader whether he'd support high-speed tolls. Are these a good way to share the transportation funding pain, or another money grab?
Are high-speed tolls along Interstate 93 and other highways a smart way to help fund transportation in the state? Governor Deval Patrick mentioned such a system during a Patch live chat on Thursday. If you've taken Interstate 95 into New Hampshire, you've seen high-speed tolling in action. The system is designed to read your EZ-Pass (new Fast Lane) transponder while you breeze by at 65 miles per hour. There's no need to slow down or squeeze though a booth, as EZ-Pass users currently do on the Mass Pike, Tobin Bridge and harbor tunnels. The chat moved on to other topics, so no details about implementation were offered. What do you think? Would tolls along I-93 be fair, a pay as you drive strategy? Or are tolls in general a bad way to fund …
Thursday, September 27, 2012
The governor will take your questions Thursday at 1:30 p.m..
- GOVERNMENT
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Thursday, September 27, 2012
Governor Deval Patrick will answer your questions during our live chat at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. To join the chat, enter your name and question in the widget above. We will try to get to as many questions as we can within the allotted 45 minutes, but can't guarantee every question will make it into the chat.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Ask Governor Deval Patrick about any topic you like during our live chat at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Governor Deval Patrick will take your questions live on Patch this Thursday. The governor will spend 45 minutes fielding your questions as they come. Head on over to our homepage from 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. on Thursday to join our chat. You'll simply have to provide your name, and you'll be able to ask your questions immediately. If you can't make the live chat, leave your questions as comments to this article, and we'll do our best to add them to the queue. We will publish the live chat transcript immediately and a recap first thing on Friday morning. Questions submitted will be subject to moderator approval. No vulgar or libelous comments will be allowed. Because we expect a high volume of questions for the chat session, we will keep …
Matt
5:00 pm on Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Well the town desperately need a playground on land off route 37 so they spent $ 1.8 million to do that. I think the town could do some roads with 1.8 million. more ›