Results tagged “budgetcuts”

• Budget Cut Redux: Gov. Deval Patrick plans to save the state's new film-industry tax credit while advocates for residents of Massachusetts with mental illnesses are concerned about cuts to social services. [Boston Herald]

• The father of the Boston special officer who shot and killed the man who stabbed the psychiatrist discussed his son with the media. [Boston Globe]

A $600 million budget gap could lead to trimming 2,000 state jobs, not to mention other cost-cutting measures. [Boston Globe]...The Mass. unemployment rate jumped to 9.2% in September, which might mean the Bay State is still in a recession. [Boston Herald]...Potential amendments to the state's transportation reform bill could eliminate some of the saving that was the purpose of the reforms. [Boston Herald]

• Both candidates appeared on WCVB last night. Tom Menino called the Flaherty/Yoon "ticket" as “jobs for votes," and Flaherty didn't like it. [Boston Herald]

• More budget cuts are looming as Governor Deval Patrick announced that September revenues were $243 million short of expectations. [Boston Globe]

Hey, what's the absolute best news you could get on a sunny July weekend perfect for going to the zoo? Probably that this is your last chance to go there, because all of the animals are going to die soon! Wonderful. Be sure to check out the lions, tigers, and bears while you still can, because state budget cuts may force the Franklin Park Zoo to close soon, leaving lumpy piles of dead animals in its wake. At current rates, the zoo will run out of money by October, at which time it will have to find new homes for more than 1000 animals. Officials estimate that about 20% of the animals will be particularly difficult to place, meaning that these creatures may have to be put down. The Globe article does feel a little alarmist, but we'd still like to avoid seeing friends like Seamus leave us. Let's hope we can come up with the funds for a solution that's good for the state and the animals.

When budget cuts put several of the city's horses out of work, their riders began to plan a farewell celebration for the noble beasts. After all, what better way to say goodbye to your favorite mount than with a little parade? But Mayor Menino, ever thrifty, stomped on the idea of an equestrian celebration, allegedly either because the unit's fate has not been completely decided, or because he didn't even know about the celebration and therefore couldn't have rejected it. Either way, there's a city council hearing about saving the horsies next Tuesday, so there may be no need for a parade.

We said earlier that the T may have to cut service drastically if the state doesn't help subsidize its budget. Now, the Globe adds details, and they are frightening. Commuter rail folks will never be able to get home after 7pm. Three stops each on the B and C lines will be gone. The E line will stop running past Brigham Circle and stop running altogether on weekends, with the C line going up to Lechmere to compensate. It's really quite a crazy collection of cuts. Full details from the Globe below and after the jump.

Those 14 percent T raises be damned—teachers are what's costing us money! And at least 400 of them may have to be fired to make room for budget cuts. (Compare that with the 400+ T workers who earned over $100,000 last year—we're betting that most teacher salaries are not quite at six figures.) 500 other jobs need to be eliminated in the process of whittling our education budget down by 5.5%. The transportation budget is cited as a big portion of costs. We say make those kids walk to school—we did it uphill both ways in the snow back in the day. If you've got a problem with the budget cuts, there's a budget hearing tonight at Blackstone Elementary School, and several others coming up as well. To prepare, you can read the superintendent's budget proposal (Word doc).