Though Gov. Deval Patrick has said weathering the fiscal storm must involve shared sacrifice, local aid to cities and towns and school funding were untouched by the $1 billion in budget cuts he announced on Wednesday. The cuts hit all sorts of direct service programs to youth, the elderly, and the poor, and today came the second-day stories on the human toll of the budget crisis. The Globe has a version, as does the Lowell Sun. Here’s the view on the Cape. 

State leaders are loathe to slash local aid or school funding, but many think there is more cutting to come, and cities and towns may not be able to dodge the bullet next time. “There was a sense that local aid was sacrosant in the first cuts,” says Bill Walczak, director of the Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester and president of the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network. “There is also a sense that there will be a second round, and that’s where local aid may be cut.” 

Look for state leaders to hold off until after the Nov. 4 election, however, before delivering such bad news.