Thursday, May 16, 2013
Ways and Means Committee plan falls short of many of Gov. Deval Patrick's recommendations.
The Massachusetts State Senate Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday released a fiscal year 2014 budget proposal that is just shy of $34 billion and which falls short of several of Gov. Deval Patrick's budget recommendations. According to the Boston Globe, the Senate $33.92 billion budget would increase spending by 4.4 percent as opposed to Patrick's budget, which hikes spending by 6.9 percent. The Senate budget is roughly in line in terms of spending with the $33.8 billion House budget proposed last month. The Globe reported that the Senate budget increases spending for elderly services and special education but does not reach Patrick's recommendations for expanding transportation and providing universal childcare access. Committee …
Friday, May 3, 2013
Business major Valter Gomes was selected for the award along with 28 other students from Massachusetts institutes of higher learning.
A Bunker Hill Community College student this week was named one of "29 Who Shine" at colleges across Massachusetts. Valter Gomes is a business major at BHCC, which has a campus in Charlestown, and was one of 29 public college and university students to be recognized for their academic achievements and civic contributions to the Commonwealth. Gomes, an honors student who is co-president of the BHCC Sustainability Club, spearheaded the “Rethink the Way You Drink" campaign, which led to the installation of a water hydration system at BHCC's Charlestown campus. "Valter arrived at Bunker Hill Community College with a strong interest in sustainability and a passion for entrepreneurship," according to his bio posted on the 29 Who Shine Awards …
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Friday, April 26, 2013
Companies with locations in a 12-block area around the Boston Marathon finish line were closed for more than a week following the April 15 bombings.
Gov. Deval Patrick appealed to a federal agency today to get relief for businesses affected by the Boston Marathon bombings. Patrick sent a letter to the U.S. Small Business Administration requesting that the agency issue an Economic Injury Declaration for Suffolk County so that long-term/low interest SBA loans may be available to the affected businesses and private nonprofit organizations, according to a press statement from the governor’s office Friday. Numerous businesses on Boylston Street and its cross streets were forced to stay closed from April 15 to April 24 or 25 because a 12-block area surrounding the bombing site was considered a crime scene by the FBI. In order to receive this federal assistance, the Commonwealth must show …
Monday, April 15, 2013
State lawmakers have proposed several 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: PLAN 1 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 …
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The new proposal would create $500 million in new revenue over the next five years.
Massachusetts House and Senate lawmakers have announced a joint transportation plan which would close an estimated five-year, $2.3 billion transportation budget gap through tax increases to cigarettes, gas and new taxes on business technologies. The plan, which would create $500 million in new revenue, focuses on long-term financing for the state’s regional transit authorities and the state department of transportation, asks the MBTA and MassDOT to continue to hit revenue and savings targets, moves employees off of the capital budget for three years and fully funds the state ice and snow budget. The plan was unveiled at a State House news conference Tuesday led by Massachusetts Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo and Senate President …
Friday, March 22, 2013
The Patrick administration announced this week that 31 state boards have adopted new procedures to enable military members to transfer their skills to the civilian world.
As a follow-up to the act passed last year calling for state agencies that oversee professional licensing to establish guidelines to assist members of the armed forces, veterans and their spouses find jobs in Massachusetts, the Patrick administration announced this week that such guidelines are in now place. "This component of the (Veterans' Access, Livelihood, Opportunity and Resources) Act was inspired by a request from First Lady Michelle Obama and the Joining Forces Initiative to ensure that those who have served in the military have a streamlined and efficient process through which to obtain appropriate licensure for jobs when they are home," administration officials said in a press release. Each of the state's 31 boards that …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
The area was closed to the public after Sept. 11, 2001, but Gov. Deval 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.” …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
At a recent hearing, State Transportation Secretary Richard Davey outlined some aspects of Gov. Deval Patrick’s 10-year transportation budget plan and included the need for new revenues.
The state transportation secretary this week answered legislators' questions regarding the Green Line Extension, the South Coast Rail project, MBTA infrastructure, maintenance issues and how an ambitious 10-year budget plan will handle all of it. Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary and CEO Richard Davey testified before the Joint Committee on Transportation Tuesday morning. He was there to formally present Gov. Deval Patrick’s 21st Century Transportation Plan, which calls for a $13 billion investment over the next decade. The hearing focused on finding new revenue that could be put toward ailing infrastructure and sought after rail projects. “People want more, not less, of our product,” Davey said. “But the current system …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The event was organized by Campaign for Our Communities, a coalition of more than 120 organizations across the commonwealth.
Hundreds of people bused in from across the state packed into a State House auditorium Tuesday morning to rally in support of Gov. Deval Patrick's tax plan, which they say is critical to make much needed improvements in education and transportation infrastructure. The rally, which was organized by Campaign for Our Communities, a coalition of more than 120 organizations across the commonwealth, ended with attendees heading off to the offices of their representatives, urging them to vote for Patrick's plan. The governor's $34.8 billion budget proposal calls for an increase in the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent and the elimination of 44 deductions coupled with a decrease in the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent and a …
Monday, March 11, 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 has rolled out an online tool that helps 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 users enter …
Boston for Markey
9:11 am on Saturday, May 4, 2013
CONGRATULATIONS Valter! more ›