Friday, April 26, 2013
State fish and game officials kicked off spring by tossing 1,250 trout into Jamaica Pond Thursday. Where do you go fishing in the Parkway area?
Gov. Deval Patrick alongside state wildlife officials and JFK Elementary School students helped stock Jamaica Pond from the banks of Jamaica Pond Thursday morning. The students took buckets of fish to the shore and helped 1,250 rainbow, brook, brown and tiger trout swim away. Here is some additional information on the annual Jamaica Plain event from the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs: This stocking event is part of an annual program that distributes various species of trout to 500 bodies of water throughout the Commonwealth. This year, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) will release more than 510,000 trout produced at state-operated hatcheries in Belchertown and Sandwich. The 60-…
Sunday, April 14, 2013
The House proposal cuts out increased funding for early education, one of the centerpieces of Patrick's plan.
House leaders on Wednesday proposed a budget that was a billion dollars less than the one Gov. Deval Patrick put forth in January. The $33.8 billion House budget includes increased funding for higher education and local aid but not more money for early education, one of the centerpieces of Patrick's budget that emphasizes prekindergarten funding and investment in transportation. Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said the House budget would not increase these funds over concerns that the Department of Early Education and Care is inefficient and wasteful, the Boston Globe reported. Altogether, the House proposal would raise taxes by $500 million, compared to Patrick's proposed $1.9 billion tax hike. The House plan would result in a 3.9 percent …
Friday, April 12, 2013
State lawmakers have proposed four ways to fund transportation going forward.
Officials, legislators and members of the public have debated four plans unveiled during the course of the past two months all with one goal: Paying for transportation in Massachusetts for the foreseeable future. Writers of these plans are trying to find ways to pump as much money as possible into the system, while trying to avoid dramatic fare increases, tax hikes and fees. These are the plans in chronological order based on the time of their announcements: Writer: Gov. Deval Patrick, Mass. Department of Transportation Money: $1 billion Date of Announcement: Jan. 14, 2013 Gov. Deval Patrick unleashed “The Way Forward: A 21st Century Transportation Plan” in Januray. The plan is an ambitious, multi-billion dollar budgetary proposal for …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The grounds were closed after Sept. 11, 2001, but Patrick has said he wants to make the State House's iconic statue of JFK available once more.
More than three years after Gov. Deval Patrick said he'd make the State House grounds open to the public, the gates remain shut. The grounds were closed after Sept. 11, 2001, and Patrick has said he wants to make the State House's iconic statue of JFK, in particular, available once more. However, Boston Herald reporters were recently turned away from the plaza and told that it is open during the summer during official tours of the State House, the Herald reported. The governor seemed unaware that the grounds were never reopened. “Well, the JFK statue is accessible now, which is great,” he told Herald reporters Friday. “The rangers can take you out. You just have to ask them. It doesn’t have to be a tour, and that’s a great thing.” …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
There are 124 service-disabled veteran-owned businesses certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs located in Massachusetts.
State Sen. Mike Rush recently joined Governor Deval Patrick during the signing of an executive order to help small businesses owned by disabled veterans increase access to contracts for public projects in the areas of construction, design and goods and services. On March 8, Patrick and Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray were joined by Secretary of Veterans’ Services Coleman Nee, Secretary of Administration and Finance Glen Shor, Secretary of Education Matthew Malone, members of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, the Veterans Business Council and other veteran service organizations for the signing, according to a press release. “Massachusetts leads the nation in veterans’ benefits and services,” said Patrick via press release. “…
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The program also allows users to develop their own plan and see its effects on their tax bill.
In an effort to further promote his proposed $34.8 billlion budget, Gov. Deval Patrick this week rolled out an online tool that would help families see the effect his plan would have on their bottom line. The tool was released less than a week after Patrick unveiled 400 online maps showing what each district would receive in transportation and education benefits under his tax plan. "We are proposing meaningful investments in education and transportation, and people want to know what that means for them," Patrick said. "Last week, with the maps, we showed what long-postponed projects would get done in each community. Now, with this tool, we show just what the costs or savings will be for individual households." The program not only lets …
Saturday, March 2, 2013
The governor's optimistic but state legislators don't sound so sure. What do you think?
Governor Deval Patrick's still bullish about his budget proposal, which will raise $1.9 billion in new revenue through an increase in the income tax, decrease in the sales tax, and various other changes to taxes, fees and deductions. But the men and women who have to pass the bill don't sound as eager to support a package many see as a politically-damaging measure. The Boston Herald quotes several Beacon Hill legislators who sounded notes of caution to outright opposition to the budget. Those quoted cited the 1990 election losses in the wake of an income tax increase, pressure on small businesses and the higher price of gas as reasons they were skeptical. And the governor's new web tools touting proposed transportation and education …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
While specific deductions would end, personal exemptions would double under the Patrick budget.
A recent analysis of Gov. Deval Patrick's proposed budget finds that it eliminates 44 tax breaks that benefit a large slice of Massachusetts taxpayers. Patrick's $34.8 billion FY2014 budget includes not only a 1 percentage point hike in the income tax – from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent – but the end of such deductions such as the capital gains from the sale of a person's primary home, college tuition, and contributions to a health savings account. The analysis, by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, found that the eliminations would raise an additional $1 billion for the commonwealth. But Patrick's assistant secretary for fiscal policy, Gregory R. Mennis, told The Republican that that amount would be offset by the doubling of …
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Do you agree with the governor's decision or was it too drastic?
All non-emergency drivers were ordered off the roads on Friday when Gov. Deval Patrick issued an executive order banning travel during the blizzard. (Editor's note: The ban is lifted statewide as of 4 p.m. Saturday.) Patrick's executive order is being praised by some and bashed by others, reported The Boston Globe. While former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, who was in charge of the commonwealth during the Blizzard of ’78, praised the governor’s move, others called the order “tyrannical” and say the strict ban and hefty fines were too much, according to The Globe. Those caught violating the ban would face up to a year in jail and a $500 fine. What do you think? Do you agree with the governor’s decision or do you think the travel ban …
Saturday, January 26, 2013
The governor's budget proposal for fiscal 2014 would raise $1.9 billion in new revenues through a combination of tax increases and eliminating some tax breaks. Is the state's economy ready for this?
After years of treading water in the state budget, Gov. Deval Patrick has put forth an ambitious $34.8 billion proposal for the coming fiscal year that would make significant investments in education and transportation by raising $1.9 billion in revenue, through a combination of tax increases and eliminating some tax breaks. The question: Is the state's economy ready for this? To raise that funding, Patrick's proposal would increase the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent, while doubling personal exemptions. It'd also lower the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent. Several tax breaks for both personal income and businesses would be eliminated. The gas tax would be indexed to inflation, ensuring gradual increases in what …
shirley kressel
10:50 am on Thursday, March 21, 2013
Yes, our money is being given away to those who don't deserve it -- but it's not those bad poor people and "aliens." It's fabulously rich corporations. The government -- federal, state, and city -- is giving away hundreds of billions of dollars a year to these parasites, in tax breaks, cash grants, land deals, tax-exempt loans, etc., stealing our services and further enriching the rich. Posters … more ›