Results tagged “governor”

The city of Boston and the men who fill the ranks of the Boston Fire Department simply can't get along. Contract disputes have long since gone nuclear and now any controversy turns into a five-alarm blaze of rhetoric and posturing perfectly designed for the city's competitive media outlets.

David Plouffe, Barack Obama’s campaign manager in 2008, has joined Gov. Deval Patrick's reelection campaign as a consultant, the Boston Globe reported today. Plouffe's status is an obvious reminder of Patrick's friendship with President Obama. The Globe said this suggests the President will campaign for Patrick. Bostonist wants to know if Plouffe will bring the teleprompter.

Governor/First BFF Deval Patrick is in Washington, D.C. today as President Barack Obama rolls out new fuel and emission standards. Obama plans for these new standards, which include requiring cars and light trucks to get 35 miles per gallon, to be in practice by 2016. Of course, there is a big bunch of media speculation that Patrick is really there to discuss the looming Supreme Court opening that the President will have to fill.

In part due to gas tax anger and folks bristling over his appointments of personal friends like Marian Walsh, Deval Patrick's approval ratings are heading to the toilet. If a gubernatorial (love that word!) election were held today, 35% would vote for Tim Cahill (though the state treasurer hasn't even officially declared a campaign) and 30% for Patrick. These numbers are from a poll conducted by Suffolk University, which also found that 47% of respondents felt it was time for a glowing new governor. Patrick's approval is pretty split, with 43% assessing him unfavorably and 44% favorably. The Phoenix is mostly okay with Patrick's policy, but criticizes his political skills (or lack thereof), particularly his willingness to snub the media.

Joan Venocchi's column appears on the Opinion/Editorial page in today's Globe. Why does it read, in parts, like a favorable book review for the book that Governor Deval Patrick hasn't even written yet? Deval Patrick comes across as a hero facing a horde of villains, most of them Republican.

On Tuesday we wrote about how Governor Deval Patrick's intellectually lazy casino job creation numbers gave ammunition to the skeptical of gambling Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi. Yesterday, however, Patrick got some good news from the Chamber of Commerce, who released numbers much more helpful to his cause.

--Logan Airport is getting wind turbines. And we look to opponents of Cape Wind to ask, "So, what's your issue with wind power again?" [Boston Globe]

Sean Garballey, 23, a grad student at Suffolk, soundly defeated two opponents yesterday to gain a seat in the commonwealth's House of Representatives. Garballey will represent Arlington and part of Medford.

--Massachusetts earned a C in state government from the Pew Center. Given the state of the Big Dig, is it any wonder? [Boston Herald]

The Commonwealth's Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi has long been seen as the biggest obstacle in the way of Governor Deval Patrick's plan to build three luxury casinos in the Bay State. DiMasi lived up to that reputation yesterday by delivering a blistering attack against the governor's projections for how many jobs the initiative would create.

--So, just how many new construction jobs will the casinos proposed by Governor Deval Patrick create? He said 30,000. An independent analyst says no way: "... building three casinos at a cost of $1 billion each in Massachusetts would create a total of 4,000 to 5,000 new construction jobs for the duration of the building period, probably three years." [Boston Globe]

The Commomwealth's Speaker of the House, Sal DiMasi, is well-known for his opposition to Governor Deval Patrick's casino plan. There's no turning back now.

We just read Boston.com's update on our developing snow situation, and, honestly? We're more confused than we had been before.

Whatever your thoughts on presidential candidate/political rock star Barack Obama borrowing a few points of Deval Patrick's rhetoric, you have to think it's good for the Governor. He's getting nation-wide press and it's not his fault that his speeches are so catchy and profound that Obama can't help copying them.

--Old hotness: Late trains on the Worcester-Framingham line. New hotness: Changing the timetables so they don't look late anymore. [WBZ]

First, there were the rumors about Tom Brady getting hair plugs. Now, our Governor shaves his head. The state of the Commonwealth's hair is in flux.

-- The Bridgewater man being sought by police for the murder of his ex-wife was found dead last night, an apparent suicide. Andrew Boisvert was found hanging in an Iredell County, North Carolina rest stop. He was fleeing Friday's warrant for his arrest in the murder of Medford resident Margaret Ninos, who was found beaten to death in her home on Wednesday. A North Carolina rest stop worker discovered Boisvert's body hanging from a tree. [Globe; Herald]

While some Bostonians dismiss the Herald as a tabloid rag, we read the paper everyday. There's often more energy and swagger on the cover of the Herald than in whole sections of the Globe.

Massachusetts' legendary senior Senator and national liberal icon, Ted Kennedy. Massachusetts' junior Senator and the 2004 Democratic nominee, John Kerry. Massachusetts' precedent-shattering Governor, Deval Patrick. None of the endorsements were enough for Barack Obama to win the Massachusetts primary.

People, so many people, mostly young people, people everywhere. There were so many people waiting in line for Senator Barack Obama's rally at the Seaport World Trade Center last night that the campaign turned the queue into a phone bank, handing out lists of voters and asking people to use their cell phones to plead for support. There were so many people waiting in the cold that a nearby Dunkin' Donuts had to prematurely close its doors after it sold every ounce of coffee in stock. So many people.

Is it even an argument at this point? Boston's Mayor Menino caused the Patriots' loss by planning the city's victory party a little too early and much too transparently. Last Wednesday, well before the unthinkable happened, the Herald was already proclaiming, "Tommy, you might as well have suited up for the hated Giants."

Deval Patrick has been making news lately with the State of the Commonwealth and his public support of presidential candidate Barack Obama. But what of Massachusetts' other top dog, Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi? Bostonist read Paul McMorrow's lengthy Boston Magazine profile of the Speaker of the House and found the article too interesting not to sum up.

Governor Deval Patrick testified this morning at the State House about his plan to create an Executive Office of Education. This would consolidate authority and responsibility for the commonwealth's education system from pre-kindergarten to higher education to one cabinet-level position in the State House.

--For something completely different, rising alt-country act Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles, fresh off a homecoming at the Lizard Lounge, will be playing at Dante's in Marlborough at 9:30 pm.

Another week, another political clapfest. Governor Deval Patrick's State of the Commonwealth may have lacked the drama (what are the firefighters going to do?) and surprise (dismantling busing) of Mayor Menino's State of the City, but it did showcase Patrick's trademark optimism and plans for progress. Now how are we going to pay for it?

It's unfortunate that yesterday's Herald gave huge play to a superficial analysis of Detroit's casinos and their similarity to Governor Deval Patrick's gambling vision. Bostonist was tough on the piece, which made up for its lack of evidence with a few anecdotes and general confusion.

Maybe the commonwealth could take the Toscanini's approach and pass the hat to cover our deficit? Anyone have a hat big enough for 1.3 billion dollars?

-- When the homeless meet gentrification, the homeless get treated like shit. Shocker. [Boston Globe]