Veterans deserve our gratitude and all the benefits to which they are entitled. They do not deserve duplicative, unaccountable bureaucracies that dole our services with no oversight.
But that appears to be how things operate in the city of Boston’s Veterans’ Services Department. Today’s Globe reports on the findings in a draft report from a three-month review of the department that has been conducted by an outside auditing firm. The report found the department approving payments for home services provided by veterans’ family members, an arrangement that would not pass muster with the US Veterans Administration. The audit found there was little if any verification of eligibility for various services. The Globe said the report found the department to be “rife with the potential for waste and fraud.”
The audit was commissioned by the city in the wake of a criminal investigation begun last fall by Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley’s office into allegations of impropriety by one department employee who handles veterans’ eligibility for services. But bigger questions should be asked about the overall functions of – and need for – a city veterans’ services department at all. Between the federal VA system and the state veterans’ services office, can’t the needs of veterans be adequately serviced? What’s more, the findings that the Boston office seems to operate not that differently than it might have in the days after World War II, with records all in paper files and on handwritten note cards, underscore all the questions about whether this is a system that meaningfully contributes to the legitimate needs of the city’s vets.
–MICHAEL JONAS
BEACON HILL
The Patrick administration won’t sack the consultant it paid $4.5 million to inspect Big Dig tunnels, even after the firm failed to catch hundreds of corroded light fixtures.
Former Patrick aide Doug Rubin lines up behind embattled Transportation Secretary Jeff Mullan, offering a stronger defense of the transportation czar than the governor has.
WASHINGTON
The government shutdown clock is at two weeks.
ELECTION 2012
The gloves are already off in the slugfest between our current governor, who plans to play a big role stumping for President Obama in the 2012 campaign, and his immediate predecessor in the Corner Office, who has his sights set on Obama’s job.
Barney Frank, who bested a Republican challenger by 11 points in November, is already raising cash for next November’s tilt.
The Herald‘s Republican spinmeister floats the names of Sen. Bob Hedlund and former US Attorney Michael Sullivan as potential challengers to freshman US Rep. Bill Keating.
Herman Cain does not trust the Muslims and will not have any of them anywhere close to his hypothetical White House.
Tea Party activists are targeting Richard Lugar, one of the Senate’s longest-serving GOP members.
PUBLIC RECORDS
The Globe is suing 10 state agencies that have redacted public records before releasing them to remove the names of state employees who have received significant severance and settlement payments.
GREENWAY
The Globe editorial page says the Rose Kenney Greenway is still an ideal spot for a Boston Museum, notwithstanding the troubles the project has had getting off the ground.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
The New York Times examines the measurement and terror of radiation exposure – just in time for the news that radioactive particles, likely from Japan, are falling into the Quabbin. Here is WBUR’s report and the Springfield Republican account.
Officials say tap water remains safe, NECN reports.
Despite the frigid temperatures this winter, neither of the two new LNG terminals in Massachusetts Bay received a shipment of liquefied natural gas all season.
Freetown is facing daily fines of $16,000 unless it complies with an EPA order to increase spending to eliminate storm water pollutants.
National Grid and NStar come up with two different wind power deals that illustrate the cost differences between offshore and land-based wind projects.
The Cape Cod Times weighs in on the prospects of eco-tours of Cape Wind.
National Seashore officials consider what to do about crows that are preying on piping plovers.
PUBLIC WORKERS
Ubiquitous freshman state Rep. Dan Winslow sits down with Keller@Large to discuss the hot button issue of public workers benefits.
HEALTH CARE
Retired people on the Cape worry about maintaining the quality of their health care coverage as town officials debate switching retirees over to Medicare.
In the Weekly Standard, Fred Barnes says it’s time for Republican congressmen to get a little courage and publicly support what they privately talk about: vouchers for seniors to purchase their own health insurance as a cost savings.
CHARITIES
Sen. Charles Schumer of New York is again introducing legislation to create a flat tax rate on nonprofit foundation investment net earnings. Charities are technically exempt from federal taxes but foundations pay 1 or 2 percent on the earnings based on their annual giving.
MUNICIPAL
How far will privatization go? PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has offered to provide new carpeting at Haverhill City Hall as long as the carpeting includes a provocative “Go Vegan” ad from the group. The Eagle-Tribune has the story.
Leominster mayor Dean Mazzarella pushes for bigger City Hall salaries.
Lawrence’s director of economic development, Patrick Blanchette, is hit with a second federal tax lien, the Eagle-Tribune reports.
The North Adams Transcript supports a hike in the meals tax for the town of Adams and says selectmen should just put the issue to a vote if they can’t make up their minds.
EDUCATION
The Peabody School Committee raised bus fees from $100 to $300, and ridership fell 42 percent, according to a story in The Salem News.
WBUR’s Here & Now talks with Florida officials about their efforts to revamp teacher pay and tenure.
Methuen expels 81 of its 7,000 students because they were not residents of the city, the Eagle-Tribune reports.
The sharp run-up in food prices – a box of lettuce has gone from $30 to $60 in just three weeks – is forcing Danvers to raise the price of school lunches, the Salem News reports.
TRANSPORTATION
A legislative committee has scheduled oversight hearings on the problems at the MBTA’s commuter rail system, the Gloucester Times reports.
MEDIA
The New York Times pay wall goes live.
REDISTRICTING
In testimony before the state redistricting committee, US Rep. Richard Neal and other officials from western Massachusetts make the case that the region should keep its two congressional seats.
BEACON HILL
The Berkshire Eagle agrees with a proposal that would require more signatures to get ballot referenda before voters.
CRIME
Howie Carr lambastes the 100-plus former federal agents running to the defense of disgraced Boston FBI agent John Connolly.
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