The light sentences handed down on Thursday in the Probation Department patronage scandal sent a clear signal to Beacon Hill that federal prosecutors proved only half their case.

Federal judge William Young sentenced former Probation commissioner John O’Brien to 18 months in jail, top aide Elizabeth Tavares to three months, and William Burke III to a year’s probation. The jail time was nowhere near what prosecutors wanted and way below the minimum prison terms suggested by sentencing guidelines. Young’s sentences were his way of saying the defendants had engaged in wrongdoing but shouldn’t be scapegoated for a Beacon Hill patronage system run amok.

“The fact that we tolerate this political patronage for so long is a form of sophistry and hypocrisy,” Young said after he handed out the sentences. “What we have here in this court is fundamentally decent people utterly without a moral compass on a sea awash in political patronage. John O’Brien didn’t invent patronage hiring in Probation.”

US Attorney Carmen Ortiz, who has been attacked for prosecuting the three officials, lamented the light sentences but grasped their significance. “The court imposed lower sentences on these three defendants because corruption in the state’s hiring system was so pervasive,” she told reporters. “In other words, the lies and the fraud which these three perpetrated, they were the illegal acts of those performing in a system which is thoroughly corrupted.”

Beacon Hill and court officials will say the patronage problem has already been addressed. with reform legislation. Lawmakers will say they had no idea their recommendations carried so much weight at the Probation Department. They will say they committed no crimes. But the light sentences say otherwise. The sentences suggest the lawmakers are just as guilty as those going to prison.

“No one is more remorseful than I,” a weeping Tavares told Judge Young. “I appear before you today to say I wish I had had the courage to try to change it.”

–BRUCE MOHL

BEACON HILL

Federal judge William Young hands out very light sentences in the Probation Department corruption scandal, giving former commissioner John O’Brien 18 months, former deputy Elizabeth Tavares three months, and former deputy William Burke III probation. A tearful Tavares essentially admits a rigged hiring system existed and says she wished she had the courage to change it. The Boston Herald, in an editorial, is doubtful the convictions and sentences will put an end to patronage. On Jim Braude’s Broadside show, Democrat George Bachrach said he would have liked O’Brien to receive a longer sentence while Republican Kirsten Hughes says the outgrowth of one-party rule on Beacon Hill is to blame.

Gov.-elect Charlie Baker puts together a diverse, bipartisan transition team.

More praise for incoming housing and economic development secretary Jay Ash.

Enough with all the electioneering and never-ending string of campaigns. Time for some policy and governance on Beacon Hill, writes Jim O’Sullivan.

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

A Superior Court judge has ruled that the December 16 recall election of Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan will not be a preliminary and that Flanagan’s name will appear atop the slate of 10 candidates as the incumbent.

The New Bedford City Council voted to place restrictions on roadside shrines to honor the dead, limiting the memorials to 14 days and banning the placement of votive candles and liquor bottles or cans.

Boston has a political war brewing over whether to name the South Boston convention center over Ray Flynn or Tom Menino.

GAMBLING

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver calls for the legalization and regulation of sports betting.

NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON

President Obama’s immigration plan could allow millions of immigrants to stay in the United States, the New York Times reports.

House Democrats look for answers to their losses. Some wonder whether House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s politically correct messages are the problem. “We’re losing white men. Why the hell are we not talking about that,” said Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. of New York.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is given a special messaging post in the Democratic Senate leadership team, WBUR reports.

ELECTIONS

The man behind the Republican Governors Association, which poured money into lots of races, including in Massachusetts, is homegrown Hingham native Phil Cox, reports the Globe. A column-writing Brian McGrory would undoubtedly have had something to say about all this.

And so the 2018 governor’s race talk begins. Maura Healey? A mayor? An outsider? Many names bandied about, no real clue as to what things will look like in a couple of years.

Former Boston Business Journal executive editor George Donnelly argues that Massachusetts Republicans must ditch social conservatism and focus on fiscal matters if they want to grow their numbers.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Assets for small and mid-size foundations have made a health rebound since the recession, with average growth of 48 percent since 2008, due mainly to a booming stock market, according to a new study.

EDUCATION

Harvard may not be the only redoubt of grade inflation. New statewide educator evaluation results show nearly 95 percent of all Massachusetts teachers and principals are rated proficient or better, CommonWealth reports. In Boston, not a single principal is rated as in need of improvement or unsatisfactory, despite a host of schools with faltering achievement, including two that were taken over by the state last year.

A new report finds the average student loan debt for the class of 2013 neared $30,000, with 70 percent of graduates carrying an average debt burden of $28,400.

The Middleboro School Committee is not renewing the school superintendent’s contract because of a rift over expectations in MCAS performance, with board members saying the administrator is content with second-best.

HEALTH CARE

The Holbrook Board of Health voted to raise the age for tobacco purchases from 18 to 19 and banned the sale of synthetic marijuana in town.

The state is threatening to fine Steward Health Care for refusing to turn over financial documents.

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

After blocking a Patrick administration energy bill last session, Rep. Patricia Haddad is busy crafting her own legislation. She won’t get into details, but says she is open to bringing more natural gas and Canadian hydropower into the region. One provision she is insisting on, however, is some sort of set-aside for offshore wind despite its high cost, CommonWealth reports.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

A Level 3 sex offender from Lynn says he is being unfairly blamed for the disappearance of a Swampscott woman. Jason Fleury says the woman helped him purchase heroin and that’s the last he saw of her before going home to get “fried,” the Item reports.

MEDIA

The Globe announces major changes to its Business pages, returning it to a standalone section and hiring Boston Business Journal managing editor Jon Chesto as a reporter as well as bringing back Pulitzer Prize winner Sacha Pfeiffer.

Typewriters (thanks to Edward Snowden) and other retro technologies like records are enjoying a quiet renaissance.