The great tax battle on Beacon Hill seems to be turning into a numbers game.

After threatening to veto the $500 million transportation tax plan passed by the House on Monday, Gov. Deval Patrick on Thursday softened his tone and praised Senate leaders for sweetening the pot with an extra $120 million. “It’s definitely moving in the right direction,” said Patrick. “It’s a very, very hopeful movement in the right direction.”

The governor had been seeking a total of $1.9 billion in new tax revenue — $1 billion for transportation and $900 million for education. The tax money for education is not on the table anymore and the gulf on transportation taxes between the Legislature and the governor seemed enormous until the Senate began doing some creative accounting.

The Globe says the Senate bill will impose the same menu of gas tax, cigarette, and software taxes as the House bill but tack on an additional $120 million in transportation money by grabbing $80 million from an underground storage tank cleanup fund and a new $40 million assessment on utilities (I wonder who will ultimately pay that?). The $620 million Senate package will apparently grow to $805 million when fully phased in, which brings the total significantly closer to the governor’s original $1 billion number.

CommonWealth’s Gabrielle Gurley digs a bit deeper into the numbers and finds the Senate plan will provide about $200 million less than Patrick’s plan each year over the next four years. It also requires the state transportation system to cover far more of its own costs.

The tax debate still has a ways to go. The Senate is scheduled to vote on its plan on Saturday and then the House and Senate will have to iron out their differences.

–BRUCE MOHL

BEACON HILL

Mashpee Wampanoag chairman Cedric Cromwell lashed out at the state’s gaming commission, saying the panel is violating legislative intent by considering a commercial casino license in southeastern Massachusetts that would compete with the tribe’s proposed casino. Meanwhile, the developer of a proposed New Bedford casino says he will go forward with his lawsuit challenging the legality of the tribal set-aside regardless of the gaming commission’s decision.

State officials vow welfare fraud crackdown, the Telegram & Gazette reports.

Tim Cahill hosts a “time” in Quincy to raise funds to pay down his $100,000 ethics fine.

A Pioneer Institute report by former state inspector general Greg Sullivan blasts wages and benefits at the MBTA and commuter rail.

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

Saugus High School principal Joseph Diorio received nearly $17,000 in questionable stipend payments from a student activity account over seven years, the Item reports.

Somerville alderman Sean O’Donovan — best known for suing his own constituents while moonlighting as a real estate developer — resigns.

Fitchburg will demolish a home owned by the Worcester Northern register of deeds, after the owner ignored calls to clean up the dilapidated property.

A report documenting poor record-keeping at the Provincetown harbormaster’s office has contributed to the controversy, sparked by a long-ago decision to move public moorings to a private owner, over whether the office should be reorganized under the police department. CommonWealth examined the murky business of allocating moorings in 2011.

NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON

The Food and Drug Administration finds safety problems at 28 of 29 compounding pharmacies it inspected, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott signs into law a bill giving law enforcement more powers to shut down Internet cafes masquerading as gambling dens, Governing reports.

The Senate advances gun control legislation.

The American Spectator says Democrats have a shallow bench for national races for 2016 and says the farm system is pretty thin as well.

Senate Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren, blame a short-circuited review of banks’ foreclosure practices on what they call a cozy relationship between banks and regulators.

ELECTIONS

Republican Senate candidate Michael Sullivan attacks rival Gabriel Gomez in a TV spot, while Gomez runs his own ad labeling the other Republican and Democratic candidates in the race “career politicians,” the Associated Press reports (via WBUR).

The Globe looks at the generous public pension perks being enjoyed by Sullivan, who has trumpeted his opposition to excessive government spending and who is receiving backing from tea party types.

State Rep. Marcos Devers says he may jump into the race for mayor of Lawrence if the crowd at a rally next week is enthusiastic, the Eagle-Tribune reports.

Secretary of State William Galvin is launching an investigation into the Fairhaven town election where the loser of one race was sworn in before all ballots were counted and the number of ballots did not match the number of voters checked in at each precinct.

Add City Councilor Mike Ross to the mayoral mix in Boston. Peter Gelzinis likens the scramble to line up support for a mayoral run to a shootout in a lifeboat.

The Globe says mayoral hopeful Bill Walczak a will be forced to discuss in more detail his abrupt departure last spring after serving as president of Carney Hospital in Dorchester for just 14 months, a sudden split that both Walczak and the Steward Health Care, the hospital’s for-profit owner, have been reluctant to disclose details about.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Bristol-Myers Squibb plans to invest $250 million into its manufacturing facility in Devens and double its workforce there.

Haverhill officials host a developers conference where commercial property owners and businesses looking for new homes could come together, the Eagle-Tribune reports.

EDUCATION

’Tis the season of college commencement protests.

HEALTH CARE

Nurses at UMass Memorial Medical Center are considering a one-day strike to protest staffing levels, NECN reports. Nurses at the for-profit Quincy Medical Center completed their 24-hour strike early this morning.

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy is stirring controversy by pushing legislation that would treat electricity from large-scale hydro projects in Canada as renewable, CommonWealth reports.

Falmouth residents decide the fate of two controversial wind turbines next month.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Federal officials are already beginning to lay out plans to accommodate the crush of attendees expected at the Whitey Bulger trial, scheduled to begin in June.

The attorney general’s office has charged the owner of a Brockton laundromat with tampering with his business’s meters to steal more than $200,000 in natural gas.