Boston 2024’s initial plan for transforming the area around UMass Boston into an Olympic Athlete’s Village included a new on-and-off ramp to I-93 that would have cut right through the southern portion of the Boston Globe‘s property on Morrissey Boulevard.

A map on page 27 of the key venue plan shows a new entrance and egress ramp just north of Savin Hill that clearly encroaches on the Globe‘s property. The design has some appeal. The new highway entrance replaces the existing one at Columbia Road and makes it possible to dispense with the often traffic-clogged roundabout at the intersection of Columbia Road and Morrissey Boulevard. The new ramp also dumps traffic coming from the highway right at the front door of UMass Boston.

But Globe officials weren’t pleased. Globe CEO Mike Sheehan called Boston 2024 CEO Richard Davey to ask what was going on, and Davey apparently told him the proposed ramp was no longer being considered. Davey, a former state transportation secretary and general manager of the T, took over as CEO of Boston 2024 in late January. (The Boston Herald reports that John Henry, the owner of the Globe, was once being eyed as a member of the Boston 2024 board.)

Kyle Sullivan, a 2024 spokesman, said the plans submitted to the US Olympic Committee in December were always viewed as preliminary in nature. “Updated plans are being crafted with input from impacted communities and stakeholders and will be consistent with the future development goals of the city,” he said in a statement. “The off ramp in question is no longer being considered as part of the plan for the Athlete’s Village.”

Did the proposed off-ramp have anything to do with Winstanley Enterprise’s decision to call off its purchase of the Globe‘s Morrissey Boulevard property in February? Adam Winstanley said the deal was canceled because one of his company’s capital partners backed out. “It was not because of the ramp in any way,” he said in an email. Sheehan is on the same page, saying the Winstanley deal fell through for other reasons.

BRUCE MOHL

 

BEACON HILL

Deliberating over the House budget is a thoroughly closed-door affair, and the Speaker won’t even talk to Globe reporter Josh Miller to defend the process.

How do you solve a problem like Brian Joyce? Senate President Stan Rosenberg and his leadership team are trying to figure that out. (Boston Globe) Maybe they should also look at Sen. Marc Pacheco, who in 2007 appears to have scrapped an investigation of staffing levels at the Probation Department after being given a job to hand out at the agency’s Electronic Monitoring Office in Clinton. (CommonWealth)

State officials have seized a Weymouth cigar store for more than $75,000 in unpaid taxes. (Patriot Ledger)

Plymouth Sheriff Joseph McDonald, a Republican, has hired former state representative Rhonda Nyman, a Democrat who lost her seat in a close election last fall, to be his department’s new government affairs specialist to deal with the Legislature. (State House News Service)

BuzzFeed’s Darren Sands had a lengthy, friendly chat with Deval Patrick. The most telltale sign of its friendliness: The article cites Patrick’s work to “implement the state’s health care insurance system” in ticking off the highlights of his progressive legacy, making no mention of the disaster that befell the rollout of the insurance connector website.

On that, more will be coming soon, as the Pioneer Institute tells the Herald it will release a report on Monday based in part on information from “whistleblowers” with inside knowledge of the botched website. The Baker administration disclosed this week that it received a subpoena in January for records related to the Connector. (Boston Globe)

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

East Bridgewater selectmen have asked state revenue officials to investigate the school department’s budget, which has racked up back-to-back deficits. Meanwhile, students concerned about their college prospects protested proposed cuts during a School Committee budget hearing. (The Enterprise)

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

A federal appeals court rules the NSA’s collection of bulk call data illegal. (New York Times)

US Reps. Seth Moulton and Joseph Kennedy, the two youngest members of the state’s congressional delegation, talk about their opposition to the death penalty in the Boston Marathon bombing trial, their reluctance to have cameras in federal court, the Patriot Act, and their views on Deflategate. (Greater Boston)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren files a Federal Reserve accountability bill. (Associated Press)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo raises the wages of fast food workers. (Governing)

British Prime Minister David Cameron, the Conservative Party leader, not only survives but gains an absolute majority after yesterday’s UK election. Labour and the Liberal Democrats performed dismally, prompting the resignations of their leaders.(The Guardian)

DEFLATEGATE

The American Spectator says it’s “more probable than not” that the Wells Report declaring the Patriots cheaters is anything but definitive. Brady says nothing at a Salem State University appearance to inflate controversy. (Item)

The “Brady brand” endorsement gravy train takes a hit. (Boston Globe)

ELECTIONS

Scot Lehigh reacts positively to the positive, Hillary-bashing-free message Ohio governor John Kasich brought to New Hampshire on a test-the-GOP-waters visit. From Bridgegate to Deflategate: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, campaigning in the Granite State, lends support to Tom Brady. (Associated Press)

No home field advantage: Former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee, meanwhile, is contending with the “mix of bewilderment and derision” at the idea that he might jump in the Democratic race — and that reaction, writes David Scharfenberg, is in his home state. (Boston Globe)

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Fall River, which saw its industrial base hollowed out by the forces of globalization, casts a wary eye on the latest proposed trade deal. (Boston Globe)

Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase have agreed to remove debts legally discharged by bankruptcy from borrowers’ credit reports amid an investigation by federal officials into the mega-banks’ practices. (New York Times)

EDUCATION

CommonWealth‘s Michael Jonas, in a new “Face to Face” video conversation, talks about the opt-out movement in which students and families are boycotting standardized tests with Robert Pondiscio of the Fordham Institute and Massachusetts education blogger Jennifer Berkshire (aka EduShyster).

Andrew Rotherham delivers a devastating critique of the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, which is sailing through Congress with bipartisan backing, arguing that the rewrite will exacerbate inequality and send things back to a time when we left lots of poor kids behind. (US News)

A group of Brockton High School students walked out of the building and marched around the school in a peaceful protest demanding a change in the way minorities are disciplined. (The Enterprise)

Westport School Committee members will get a second chance to ratify the new teachers contract after a tie vote last week was nullified because the member who made the motion to accept the contract had not been officially sworn into office and was ineligible to make the motion or vote. (Standard-Times)

ARTS/CULTURE

The Institute of Contemporary Art wants to add new space in a building adjacent to its waterfront museum. (Boston Globe)

HEALTH CARE

An MIT grad is launching a company that allows patients, for a fee, to store all their medical records in one place, which would be accessible to any of their health care providers. (Boston Herald)

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack should stop defending the absenteeism numbers in the recent MBTA review report because they are misleading, writes CommonWealth‘s Bruce Mohl.

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

Debate continues over what to do about the state’s “net metering cap” on solar energy projects. (MassLive)

Kinder Morgan, with little notice to homeowners,starts marking their gas pipeline through Longmeadow. (Masslive)