The US Commerce Department declared the New England groundfishery a disaster, a designation that could lead to $100 million in federal aid for fishermen and more reductions in catch limits. A salmon fishery in Alaska and oyster and blue crab fisheries in Mississippi were also declared disasters. Sen. John Kerry said he has received assurances […]
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Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, The Download
The (rich) kids are alright
To paraphrase Mark Twain’s weather observation, everyone talks about the middle class but no one seems to be able to do anything about them. The U.S. Census Bureau released a report yesterday on income inequality and health insurance, both intrinsically entwined in household budgets. It shows that the top 20 percent earners made gains last […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Board stiff at MassDOT
Gov. Deval Patrick has decided to shake up transportation sector oversight with one, new seven-member state transportation board to replace the joint MassDOT/MBTA boards. But the real surprise of the eagerly anticipated shake-up is that there really wasn’t one. The only person all shook up by reconfiguration was Elizabeth Levin, a passionate advocate for pedestrian […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, The Download
Labor pain for Democrats
Chris Christie stormed into the New Jersey governor’s office by tossing verbal bombs at the state’s teachers’ union. Scott Walker caused a national sensation when he went after the collective bargaining rights of Wisconsin teachers and other public sector unions. Now Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has brought union antagonism to a bipartisan place. Chicago’s 26,000 […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, The Download
Health care reform: Not as unpopular as everyone thought
Obamacare was a big winner at the Democratic convention last week, where the law was praised and its most popular provisions highlighted. On Sunday, it received another (sort of) plug, when Mitt Romney seemed to step back from his pledge to dismantle health care reform from top to bottom if elected. Romney, who throughout the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Primary rundown
Overall, the Massachusetts primary was an incumbent’s paradise, but it had a few surprises at the local level and it set the stage for some interesting fall matchups, particularly the race between Democrat Joseph Kennedy III and Republican Sean Bielat in the redrawn Fourth Congressional District. Bielat, who made a name for himself in a […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Elizabeth Warren dances in the shadows
Did you hear Elizabeth Warren’s passionate, pointed, and populist speech to the party faithful at the Democratic convention last night? And if you did, do you remember what she said? Warren had the good fortune to be slotted in prime TV time last night, a chance to offer her vision and rationale for running for […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Patrick unleashed
Expect some “very frontal attacks against Mitt Romney” from Gov. Deval Patrick, CNN’s Anderson Cooper told the network’s primetime Democratic National Convention audience shortly before Patrick took the stage in Charlotte. Patrick did not disappoint. He went straight for the jugular. He took out the “American Dream” banner, hoisted it high above his head, and […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Airing the dirty laundry: Walsh blunder shows Warren camp angst
Convention week was supposed to be Elizabeth Warren’s moment in the sun, a chance to fire up the base and deliver her populist economic pitch on a national stage. Instead, the Warren campaign is recovering from a round of friendly fire that underscores how steep a climb it has ahead of it. Yesterday, state Democratic […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Brown’s tightrope walk
US Sen. Scott Brown, trying to keep his distance from the Republican Party, walked a tightrope this week as the GOP met in Tampa to nominate Mitt Romney for president. At times, the senator’s contortions up on the political high wire were almost comical to watch. Brown stayed away from the convention until Thursday, declining […]