**A correction has been made to the Reinstein item in the Beacon Hill section.

Daniel Rivera took over as mayor of Lawrence in a private swearing-in ceremony at City Hall Thursday night and quickly began firing city employees hired by his predecessor, William Lantigua. The Eagle-Tribune reports that Rivera accelerated his transition into office with a major storm bearing down on the city and Lantigua missing from City Hall for the last two weeks. A formal swearing-in is scheduled for Saturday.

Rivera demoted Deputy Police Chief Melix Bonilla to sergeantand suspended his pay until extortion, embezzlement, and fraud charges against him are resolved. Bonilla, Lantigua’s former campaign manager, had been on paid leave since his indictment in September 2010.

Rivera fired Justo Garcia, a parking attendant indicted for skimming garage receipts, and Richard Berke, who helped manage city real estate. Rivera also said he planned to fire Lorenza Ortega, Lantigua’s wife, who works as a secretary in the personnel department, and several other city employees with ties to the former mayor.

The only employee Rivera has officially hired is Lisa Torrisi, who will serve as his chief of staff. Torrisi, a director of Lawrence CommunityWorks, a nonprofit community development agency, is the sister of former state Rep. David Torrisi. The Eagle-Tribune reports that Rivera has been in close contact on snow removal issues with the acting public works director, John Isensee, who said he had not spoken to Lantigua in 10 days.

While the Eagle-Tribune focused in its report on Rivera’s takeover and his hirings and firings, the Boston Globe runs a lengthy profile of Rivera that chronicles his life from his humble beginnings as the son of a single mother living in Lawrence public housing to his surprise victory over Lantigua by just 81 votes.

Rivera will formally be sworn in as mayor on Saturday by US Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who along with US Rep. Niki Tsongas were the only two major Massachusetts politicians to endorse the new mayor in his challenge against the Democratic incumbent.

— BRUCE MOHL     

BEACON HILL

Salem News columnist Nelson Benton says Massachusetts may have the most soft-on-crime judiciary in the country, thanks to appointments made by Gov. Deval Patrick.

Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein takes a job as the Boston Beer Company‘s top lobbyist. Revere residents are caught off guard by Reinstein’s announcement, but already several people say they are looking at running for her seat, the Item reports. State records indicate Boston Beer’s current lobbyists are Northwind Strategies and Michelle Sullivan.

A state lawmaker says his bill to revamp the Public Records Law, including a study of whether the Legislature itself should be subject to the law, is on a fast track, CommonWealth reports.

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

The American Civil Liberties Union says it is considering a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a Lowell ordinance banning panhandling in the city’s historic district, the Sun reports.

WBUR’s David Scharfenberg reviews Boston Mayor Tom Menino’s legacy.

CASINOS

Federal officials did not issue a decision by yesterday’s deadline on the compact signed in November between the state and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe for a casino in Taunton. A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Indian Affairs told the New Bedford Standard Times that a compact that is not acted upon within 45 days is “deemed approved.”

Caesars Entertainment amended its lawsuit against the state’s gambling commission chief, now alleging that Steve Crosby improperly urged Caesars rival Steve Wynn to stay in the competition for a Massachusetts license.

NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON

New York Times columnist David Brooks worries about the moral implications of legalizing marijuana. Pot shops in Colorado bring in an estimated $1 million in their first day of operation. A Wall Street Journal editorial casts the state as a test case for legalization efforts nationally, but notes that because 3 percent of state residents already had medical marijuana cards, the drug was easier to obtain than cigarettes, even before legalization.

ELECTIONS

Warren Tolman raises $368,000 in December for his run for attorney general, far outpacing the other candidates in the race, the Associated Press reports.

Scot Lehigh voices hope that incoming Boston mayor Marty Walsh will bring with him an openness to freewheeling civic debate — and bids good riddance to the Menino years, which he says were characterized by increasing degrees of thin-skinned intolerance for dissent and open exchange of ideas in the one-time Athens of America. A Globe editorial says Menino should attend Walsh’s swearing in on Monday.

David Bernstein profiles Sen. Kelly Ayotte.

Boston magazine profiles Joyce Linehan, the Dorchester activist and arts promoter who played a key role in the elections of Elizabeth Warren and Marty Walsh. CommonWealth‘s summer issue cast Linehan as one of the faces of the grassroots resurgence in Boston.

Former Romney administration official John Chapman says he will challenge US Rep. William Keating this fall.

Say it ain’t so: Toronto’s crack-smoking mayor Rob Ford files for reelection.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

The landmark Beachcomber bar on Wollaston Beach in Quincy, whose stage has hosted the likes of Louis Armstrong, Linda Rondstadt, and the Dropkick Murphys through its 55-year history, is up for sale.

Big ticket charitable donations of $100 million or more rebounded last year, totaling $3.4 billion, according to a tally by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, led by a nearly $1 billion gift from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Patricia Chan.

The Atlantic looks into Netflix‘s reverse-engineering of Hollywood movie categories.

EDUCATION

State officials are doing away with the GED and introducing a new high school equivalency test, the Associated Press reports.

Slate spotlights Southern New Hampshire University‘s rapid rise.

Aaron Swartz ‘s father talks to Boston magazine about MIT‘s role in his son’s suicide.

HEALTH CARE

Funding for medical research in the United States dropped by more than 6 percent last year, driven mostly by reductions in private investment while public spending remained relatively flat.

A new study links Medicaid expansion to higher rates of expensive emergency room usage.

TRANSPORTATION

Texas ‘s high-profile, high-speed private highway runs into financial difficulties.

MEDIA

Add Keller@Large to the list of people calling for accountability for online comments on news sites, either through real names or verified registration, after unfounded Internet speculation forced Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to declare he is a heterosexual.

NEW YEAR’S PROPOSALS

Ayla Brown, daughter of former senator Scott Brown, says yes when her boyfriend pops the question during her performance at a New Year’s Eve concert, the Telegram & Gazette reports.