Political change sometimes happens quickly, in dramatic fashion, but usually it occurs more gradually, like a game of dominoes in slow motion. The news that the Massachusetts Teachers Association is trying to broker a Beacon Hill legislative deal on seniority rights to avoid a ballot question fight is another in a long line of dominoes that have fallen as the clout of public sector unions has diminished.
The Globe reports the MTA and the advocacy group Stand for Children are working with lawmakers to pass legislation that would alter the seniority rights of teachers. Details are sketchy, but the compromise legislation seems to have the support of the key players on Beacon Hill. If the measure passes, which is not guaranteed, Stand for Children has pledged to drop its push for a more sweeping ballot question. The Globe also has a good story on Stand for Children, which some view as a tool of business interests and others see as a group trying to shake up the educational status quo.
The MTA apparently decided to compromise rather than fight an expensive ballot campaign because polling data indicated its chances of winning that fight weren’t very good. The tide has been turning against public sector unions in Massachusetts for some time, but it was quantified with the Legislature’s passage last year of municipal health care reform legislation.
The Massachusetts law was a milder reflection of resentment of public sector unions sweeping states such as Wisconsin and Indiana. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s victory this week in a union-fueled recall election put an exclamation point on the trend. Kimberly Strassel, in a Wall Street Journal column, says Walker’s victory shows how structural government reform can supply more dollars for educating kids. Not surprisingly, a recall effort targeting the Republican governor of Michigan was dropped after Walker’s victory.
–BRUCE MOHL
BEACON HILL
Scot Lehigh says it’s time for Lt. Gov. Tim Murray to come clean. Howie Carr reports the LG filed an ethics disclosure about an upcoming judicial appointment.
The Patrick administration says proposals to tweak qualifications for Gateway City status would increase their number by a third, CommonWealth reports.
CASINOS
Backers of tomorrow’s referendum in Taunton on the proposed casino have spent nearly $300,000, all of it from the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, compared to about $1,500 by opponents.
Leominster is nearing a milestone number for its rainy day fund, an event that indicates rebounding financial footing for a municipality whose credit rating was near junk-bond status in the early 90s, the Fitchburg Sentinel and Enterprise reports.
NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON
The Wall Street Journal hails a bipartisan House vote eliminating a medical devices tax. Democratic US House members on board include the Bay State’s Niki Tsongas and Bill Keating.
ELECTION 2012
The debate over debates in the US Senate race continues, with Scott Brown preferring low-audience radio sessions to an additional prime-time television showdown proposed by Elizabeth Warren. Dan Payne, on WBUR, picks apart Brown’s “Mr. Bipartisan” candidacy. The Wall Street Journal reports on Brown’s lobbying efforts on Dodd-Frank rules.
The National Review says money should play a role in politics under an editorial confusingly headlined “Free Speech Wins in Wisconsin.”
Mitt Romney suddenly remembers that he was governor of a state called Massachusetts.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
The proposed $95 million makeover of Roxbury’s Dudley Square that will include a hotel, retail space, and housing is being met with some skepticism by local residents.
Put a fork in Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios, as the firm files for bankruptcy as part of a move to liquidate its assets. Meanwhile, state and federal investigators say they are looking into several aspects of the company’s operation. Here’s NECN’s report.
EDUCATION
New state student surveys show that bullying is decreasing.
More personnel changes at the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School, the Gloucester Times reports.
HEALTH CARE
WBUR explores whether job losses in the health care sector might not be such a bad thing.
TRANSPORTATION
Jim Aloisi, the former secretary of transportation, says in a CommonWealth column that a transportation user fee is needed at Suffolk Downs if a casino is built there.
A near collision was avoided at Logan, NECN reports.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
The growing number of eco-friendly cars are draining states’ road repairs budgets because better gas mileage means less gas tax revenue, giving fuel to the idea to tax drivers for the miles they drive.
Wondering whether that smallmouth bass you caught in the local pond or river is safe enough for tonight’s dinner? You’re going to have to keep guessing because the state’s consumption advisory data is way past its freshness date.
The developer of the Fairhaven Wind project, under court order, is considering cutting back operation hours and paying to insulate and air condition nearby homes to mitigate noise issues.
Mayors across the country question EPA consent decrees related to stormwater runoff, Governing reports.
Algae blooms under polar ice, the Vancouver Sun reports.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Notorious former Somerville crime boss Howie Winter is back behind bars; the 83-year-old was arrested yesterday on extortion charges.
The Massachusetts House has passed a bill that contains an amendment banning the sale of “bath salts,” the name given to the synthetic designer drug that causes bizarre behavior and hallucinations such as the case of the Miami man killed when he was found gnawing on an unconscious man’s face.
The controversial former police chief in Salisbury is acquitted of six theft charges, the Eagle-Tribune reports.
A judge postponed further proceedings in a murder trial in Suffolk Superior Court yesterday because two potential witnesses were among the four people stabbed in a wild scene that unfolded at a busy downtown Boston intersection on Wednesday.
MEDIA
The Track gals at the Herald spotlight what appears to be a May-September romance for Bob Kraft at the Celtics-Heat game. The Globe’s Names folks make no mention of Kraft at all, although they mention 15 other Patriots coaches and players who were at the game.
Bruce Mohl compares the Globe and Herald circulation numbers in this week’s Back Story.
The Herald, in an editorial, questions why state authorities are giving money to MassINC, the publisher of CommonWealth. The editorial also gives a plug for CW’s reporting, although its suggestion that the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority received favorable coverage is false. For a couple examples, see here and here.
Forty years after Watergate, investigative reporting is at risk, the former executive editor of the Washington Post says.
ESPN does a little walk down memory lane with Mayor Thomas Menino’s struggles with sports names.