I live every day it's like it's my last. Especially when JFK junior passed away and Princess Di—they’re powerful handsome rich people and they’re dead and they can’t make a difference. Well, I still can. I can work every day and try to make a difference.That's right, the only difference between the powerful, handsome, rich JFK Jr., the powerful, handsome, rich Princess Diana, and Scott Brown is that Scott Brown is alive.
Brown signed the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) Taxpayer Protection Pledge, a promise not to raise taxes on the American people, and immediately challenged Coakley to do the same.In his wide-ranging press conference, Brown also went on to wish the Buffalo Bills well in their third try at a Super Bowl win, congratulated Bill Weld and Charlie Baker on their innovative plan to roll the Big Dig debt into the Turnpike Authority, and reiterated his opposition to President-elect Bill Clinton's health care proposal.
“When I first ran for state office, I signed a pledge not to raise taxes. Today, as a candidate for U.S. Senate, I am renewing that pledge. Very simply, I will not raise taxes on the American people,” said Brown.
It was one year ago that Mother Nature decided that we'd been having it a little too easy, so she covered everything with an inch of ice and let gravity do the rest. In a lot of ways, we haven't completely recovered.Snow is expected to reach the east slopes of the Berkshires and Connecticut valley between 3 and 5 am Wednesday... and should reach the Merrimack valley between 5 and 7 am. The snow should quickly become heavy at times... perhaps falling at the rate of one inch per hour during the Wednesday morning commute.I guess I'll need to get the generator out tonight and fire it up, just in case. I'm not planning on being caught off guard again.
The arrival of milder air will cause the snow to change to sleet and freezing rain Wednesday morning... before an eventual change to rain Wednesday afternoon. There is still uncertainty as to how fast this transition will take place.
Snowfall totals of 4 to 8 inches are possible... with the 8 inch amounts likely to occur from the Worcester Hills into southwest New Hampshire. A light coating of ice is also possible.
Be prepared for the possibility of downed tree branches and scattered power outages.
It's been nearly two full years since I weighed in on the lair of looniness that is the Telegram and Gazette Letter to the Editor page. But this one got me:Mr. Fur...spent three days and three nights up in the tree. We tried to entice him with cans of tuna but to no avail.Firstly...Mr. Fur?!
Finally, we contacted a local arborist with a cherry picker, who will remain nameless, to come and get Mr. Fur down from the tree. At my husband’s insistence, he finally came and rescued Mr. Fur. It took all of 30 minutes and we were charged $375. Although we were forewarned of the cost, such a small amount of time and effort on the arborist’s part could have resulted in a lesser, kinder cost.
The fire two summers ago was a really big deal in our neighborhood. The Sawyer House is less than a mile from our home, and the blaze shook up some neighbors who have been living on the hill for decades. Apparently there had been a series of barn fires in the area in the late 1970s, including one barn in our neighborhood that was torched. At least one of our elderly neighbors was fearful that the same thing was happening again.WORCESTER — Two Clinton men were sentenced to state prison yesterday for a 2007 arson spree from Central Massachusetts to the western end of the state that the judge called “random, reckless and unnerved acts of evil.”
Saying they acted with a “sense of impunity” and a total disregard for the consequences of their actions, Judge John S. McCann sentenced John Rousseau [at right] and Michael P. Dreslinski [far right] to 14-1/2 years to 15 years and a day in state prison with 30 years of probation that will begin immediately and keep the two longtime friends, both 30 years old, under the court’s supervision until they reach age 60....
The first of the two local fires destroyed the 18th century homestead of Mary Elizabeth Sawyer, the so-called “Mary Had a Little Lamb House,” at 108 Maple St., Sterling, which was on the National Register of Historic Places.
I guess in some ways the same thing was happening, but at least this burning spree was spread out over the whole state, and not centered in one terrified community.Noting that both defendants had adult criminal records dating back to 1996 that included breaking and entering convictions and arson-related crimes, Judge McCann said neither had shown “a propensity for rehabilitation.”The record is full of missed opportunities. In 2003, Rousseau admitted to police that he had set a series of fires around Clinton that fall. At his trial, the confessions were thrown out and the charges were eventually dropped. Looking back at some of the stories from the trial, the similarities between the 2007 fires and the 2003 fires is stark:
The judge said in a sentencing memorandum, “Their swath of destruction has grown wider each year and brought us to the present.”
He called the setting of the fires two years ago “random, reckless and unnerved acts of evil evolving over a one-month period of time.” He said the crimes jeopardized the lives of the property owners, their neighbors, firefighters and, in the case of the Florida fire, railroad workers whose communication system was temporarily shut down.
Rousseau, 26, is accused of setting four fires in abandoned buildings as well as in a Dumpster behind High Street. There were no injuries in any of the fires. Rousseau is also charged with impersonating a police officer and four counts of breaking and entering in the night to commit a felony after he allegedly hacked into police radio frequencies and pretended to be an officer. He also allegedly hacked into the CSX railroad frequency and reported false bomb threats and explosions on the tracks in Clinton. He is currently living at his Wilson Street home monitored by an electronic bracelet.Fires in abandoned buildings? Check. Hacking into railroad radio frequencies? Check. Corroborating with Dreslinski? Check. Once the charges in the 2003 fires were finally dropped, the Times and Courier wrapped up the story with a timeline of Rousseau's and Dresinski's exploits, starting with the vandalization of a Bolton school with a swastika.
The case was investigated for months by local and state police as well as the state fire marshal's office before the charges were made in November 2003.
BOSTON -- Sometime between five and eight years ago -- the two men differ in their recollections -- Wilmington American Legion Commander Joe Steen approached his state senator, Bruce Tarr.Just reading the first four paragraphs of this story, I knew something was amiss. I understand that Republicans like to wrap themselves in the flag and frequently propose pseudo-patriotic resolutions--with the explicit intent of having Democrats kill them, so they can try to pin their opponents as un-American--but I can't imaging that even the craziest of them would submit a bill requiring children to recite a federal law at the start of the school day. So I decided to look up S371, as referenced in the article:
Steen was incensed by a story he read about a group of Texas protesters stomping on an American flag, and he had a request -- a bill that would require Massachusetts schoolchildren to recite the U.S. Flag Code along with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Among the provisions in the code: Never let an American flag touch the ground; do not display the flag on clothing; in a row of flags, always display the American flag on the far right; the correct way to dispose of an American flag is by burning.
Over the years and many trips to committee, that bill morphed into S371, a measure that would make flag etiquette a part of public-school civics classes.
AN ACT TO ENHANCE THE MANAGEMENT OF PROBLEM WILDLIFE.Well, good. Either we're trying to teach schoolchildren how to report the removal of pesky animals, or the report incorrectly lists the bill number.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 80A of Chapter 131 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof, the following new paragraph: Any person issued a permit as provided by this section shall, within thirty days of the expiration of such permit or extension of same shall report to the director of the division of fisheries and wildlife, on a form approved by said director, the municipality of which the request was made, the name of the property owner, address of the property threatened, the name of authorized agent, method used to alleviate the problem, and the number and species of animals taken pursuant to the permit, and other information deemed necessary by the director.
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A PROGRAM OF INSTRUCTION OF THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES.That's not so crazy. I have no problem with schools teaching the proper etiquette of the flag as part of the curriculum. I'm not sure that is the sort of thing that should be done legislatively--the people who set curriculum standards in the commonwealth's Department of Education are a more appropriate group to be setting these standards--but nonetheless, I have no problem with that proposal.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended in Section 2 by adding after the word “government” the following phrase:- “and a program of relating to the flag of the United States of America, including but not limited to proper etiquette, the correct use and display of the flag, and the provisions of 36 U.S.C. 170 to 177”.
Reporters assume that if one man is endorsing another man it’s because that man is competent. To then turn around and ask women such a question is insulting and biased because the question’s very existence carries the presumption that the candidate’s qualifications weren’t enough to merit the endorsement.I have no doubt that Tsongas’s endorsement is based on merit and not gender. But it’s awfully rich for “a small team of women seeking big gains for women in politics,” which is hoping to unleash “the full potential of ‘the other half’ of the population’s unique perspective, talents and leadership” to criticize someone else for asking if gender is part of the decision-making process.
The format was lame, the questions were lame, the production was lame and the result was tedious...That about sums it up.
Virtually every rule of "don't" was broken. Don't ask everyone the same question, don't ask yes/no questions, don't ask hypotheticals, and don't use a format that doesn't allow for interaction among the candidates.
If Gov. Deval Patrick were to win re-election despite half the electorate wanting him out and only 14% admitting to a very favorable view of him - as this poll suggests would happen if the election were held today - what would re-election be worth? How would he function as a weak, widely-disliked lame duck, dealing with a hostile legislature? Why would he want to be in such a position? And how can he argue that it's in the best interests of the state to suffer through four years of that?Seriously? The governor is so far ahead that he should quit, saving us the pain of four more years of Deval (despite the fact that we appear to be voting him back into office)? That might be the most ridiculous thing I’m going to read in the 12 months leading up to the election. Definitely the leader in the clubhouse.
With Christy Mihos as the Republican nominee:
Deval Patrick (D) -- 34%
Christy Mihos (R) -- 23%
Tim Cahill (I) -- 23%
Not sure -- 19%
With Charlie Baker as the Republican nominee:Patrick currently holds at least a 10-point lead. In a best-case scenario for a challenger (assuming these numbers hold as a minimum—a dicey assumption 12 months out), the third place finisher would end up with at least 23%, meaning it would only take 39% of the vote to win. To get to 39%, Patrick could lose the “Not Sure” voters by as much as 3-1 to whomever finishes second and still be victorious (39-38-23).
Deval Patrick (D) -- 34%
Charlie Baker (R) -- 24%
Tim Cahill (I) -- 23%
Not sure -- 19%
Selectman William F. Connolly Jr., a proponent of keeping the range for target shooting and for police use, is a former member of the Fish and Game Association who has battled Lancaster officials about its use, and tried to work out an agreement to satisfy both sides.My guess is that Selectman Connolly is exasperated that Lancaster has gone back on what he thought was an agreement to allow the Clinton police to use the range. Frankly, I would be miffed too if the rules had changed out from underneath me. But deriding the administrator of a neighboring town as “Little Napoleon” is rarely a successful negotiating tactic. I can’t imagine that derision will help bring the two towns back into agreement.
Mr. Connolly said although approval for police was made last year before he was elected to the board in May, he was under the impression all involved had no problem with police certification shooting, including residents near the range...
“Little Napoleon [Lancaster Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco] may think he can tell the Lancaster Board of Selectmen what to do, but he’s not going to tell the Clinton Board of Selectmen what to do,” Mr. Connolly said.
Chief Laverdure said he is particularly miffed because the stop order has caused bad feelings in the two towns after years of cooperation between the Lancaster and Clinton police departments, which has included using the Clinton police lockup for Lancaster prisoners, and assisting Lancaster with police calls.It is outrageous for the police chief in one town to threaten to withhold aid to a neighboring community because of a political dispute between the boards of selectmen in the two towns. I guess it speaks to a certain naivete on my part, but I would hope that our police would stay out of public policy disputes. I believe the motto is “To serve and protect,” not “To serve and protect unless your town administrator pisses us off.”
Just last week, he said, six Clinton officers helped two Lancaster officers at a break-in on South Meadow Road in Lancaster, near the range, in which the alleged robber was still in the house.
“We combed the woods, we identified a suspect — and it’s a dangerous guy, and he’s still out there. We spent 20 hours on that case. I’ll be reluctant to do that again,” Chief Laverdure said.
With unemployment at 9.1 percent, and so many companies struggling to just keep their heads above water, we should be doing everything we can to help them weather the downturn in the economy, and not trying to stigmatize them and drive them out of business....The criticism that the Democratic legislature is not doing “everything we can to help [businesses] weather the downturn in the economy” and that it should be doing more to “encourage companies to locate and expand here” was particularly rich considering what was going on in the other chamber at nearly the same time.
I was discouraged to read over the weekend that EMC – one of the state’s largest employers – is moving 400 jobs to North Carolina because of the high electrical rates here in Massachusetts. These are the kinds of problems we should be addressing and trying to fix.
Instead of attacking businesses, the Legislature should be meeting in session every day to discuss how we can improve the state’s business climate, encourage companies to locate and expand here, and get Massachusetts residents back to work.
Not everyone on the Revenue Committee was persuaded. Rep. Lewis Evangelidis, R-Holden, said he worried about the potential cannibalizing effect the tax credits could have on other communities.But Representative, “these are the kinds of problems we should be addressing and trying to fix.” “With unemployment at 9.1 percent, and so many companies struggling to just keep their heads above water, we should be doing everything we can to help them weather the downturn in the economy.” Why wouldn’t we want to provide tax credits to help match struggling companies wit struggling communities?
"They might entice companies to move from one community to another," Evangelidis said. "Also, we're in a budget crisis, and tax incentives cut into revenues."
Their pitch came as lawmakers consider a bill of state Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral, D-New Bedford, described as an economic recovery act for older cities that serve as regional economic hubs.It’s because the bill was proposed by a Democrat. Period. A tea-party attending tax fighter like Evangelidis is opposed to a tax cut because it might "cut into revenues?" How disingenuous. Look, I'm as partisan as anyone, but if you're going to try to make a name as a tax-cutter, then support tax cuts. Unfortunately, the State House Republicans seem to care more about opposing Democrats then advancing a policy agenda.
You know what the best thing about October is? Hockey season begins again. And for the first time in at least 15 years, expectations for the Bruins are very high. After last season's surprise showing, the Bs are one of the favorites for the Stanley Cup.
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