Massachusetts
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10:23 a.m.
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Did you know that Albert Einstein corresponded with Louis Brandeis about the idea that eventually became Brandeis University? Did you know that Einstein was the one who insisted it be named after Brandeis? I am reading a report in the Hoot about a lecture given by Professor Stephen Whitfield about the early days of the University [...]...
Innermost Parts - 9:03 a.m.
The Governor unveiled an internet ad today, looking to take advantage of a perceived weakness in Charlie Baker, which is the rising cost of health care, especially for small business. I do believe this is going to be an especially rugged campaign, and even in Massachusetts health care will be ......
Bill Manzi - 8:26 a.m.
Governor Patrick's current winning streak -- an impressive series of policy and political extra-base hits that includes an unexpected vote of confidence from the business group Associated Industries of MA -- continued yesterday and today with two hard-hitting pieces in ... the Herald!? That's right: the Herald yesterday hammered Charlie Baker for watching his salary at Harvard Pil...
Blue Mass. Group - 7:26 a.m.
A State House News Service story, picked up by the Boston Herald, shows the Legislature expressing strong distaste for pension reform. Governor Patrick has filed a bill which contains reforms that are necessary by any sane fiscal standard. But sanity shall not be the standard here. The bill, from ......
Bill Manzi - 4:43 a.m. - 3 clicks 
HCFA’s HelpLine is on track to field more than 40,000 calls this year. Every day we hear from HelpLine callers who tell us that were it not for our help, they would be stuck without access to health care. National health care reform would ensure access to health care coverage for millions of Americans [...]...
A Healthy Blog - Mon 8:29 p.m. - 2 clicks
I was listening to WCAP this morning, so I heard about the delays on the commuter rail line from Lowell to Boston. I checked online, phoned for an update, and sure enough: Due to flooding, the trains were stopping in Wilmington to unload passengers and shuttling them by bus to Anderson, where they would get back [...]...
Jackie Doherty - Mon 8:27 p.m. - 4 clicks
Students from Lowell High School have been honored for their accomplishments in the visual arts by CSPAN and the Lowell National Historic Park in two separate contests. Regarding CSPAN, four seniors of the Lowell High School Communications Academy, Cameron Crockett, Marc Cahill, Matt Kelleher and Carlos Mattos were recently awarded an honorable mention in the [...]...
Richard Howe - Mon 7:25 p.m. - 4 clicks
Steve O’Connor gives us his top ten Irish movies along with some St Patrick’s Day commentary: Growing up, I had a Jewish neighbor, Dave Lipinsky, who was always telling me that wanted to go to Ireland. “A lot of Jewish people say they want to go to Israel,” he would tell me. “Not me. I want [...]...
Richard Howe - Mon 7:25 p.m. - 2 clicks
In light of all the negative coverage of Brandeis that filled the local media last week, it feels particularly good to see something like this in the newspaper: Standing on the edge of Brandeis University’s Peace Circle, senior Beth Bowman urged the 100-plus students and faculty gathered in support of the campus’ Muslim community to look [...]...
Innermost Parts - Mon 7:25 p.m. - 3 clicks
Street closings in Methuen include Morrison Court, Maple Street, and Horne Street. Bay State Gas has shut some gas in the area of Morrison Court and Horne Street. If you have any questions or need assistance please call 978-983-8940, which is the Fire Department non-emergency line. Our website at www.cityofmethuen.net ......
Bill Manzi - Mon 3:43 p.m. - 4 clicks
Brandeis is full of wonderful people, and I don’t just mean students. Over the last few days I have paid a bit more attention to the Brandeis staff – they are so nice! I was lost in Epstein, and two separate men cheerfully set me own my way. They joked around, and helped me find free [...]...
Innermost Parts - Mon 12:40 p.m. - 3 clicks
Regular readers of this blog are familiar with Health Care For All’s HelpLine: a free in-house resource, referral, and enrollment service available in four languages (Portuguese, Spanish, Mandarin, and English) for consumers. Counselors help consumers from all backgrounds get the information they need, providing a broad range of support from answering health reform questions [...]...
A Healthy Blog - Mon 11:12 a.m.
There was a short item in the Globe over the weekend about complaints from "several minority officers" in the Boston Police Department regarding the content of "Pax Centurion," the newspaper published every other month by the Boston police union. Just for context, here's one of the items mentioned in the Globe story, from the January/February 2010 issue (PDF - it's on page C3). (Cl...
Blue Mass. Group - Mon 10:48 a.m. - 5 clicks
An op-ed in today’s Boston Globe highlights the oral health needs of children in Massachusetts. Fay Donohue, the President and CEO of Delta Dental of Massachusetts, wrote that while we’ve made great strides over the past ten years, the Commonwealth can do even better to protect the oral health of our children by [...]...
A Healthy Blog - Mon 9:25 a.m. - 5 clicks
Raw, sometimes insightful, sometimes amusing politics often appear in the Boston Herald . Today's gem is a short piece on how Martha Coakley owns her major oversight in his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat — not talking, mingling, glad-handing and otherwise exposing herself during the race. In fact, from the outside, it looked like Scott Brown was racing and she was in the pit. She tol...
Marry in Massachusetts - Mon 7:50 a.m. - 6 clicks
Just as Liberty Mutual's $50 million city/state tax break package comes up for votes at City Council (3/24) and the state Economic Assistance Coordinating Council (3/31), the Boston Globe reveals these "business incentives" as no more than waste, fraud and abuse, the real purpose of which is to give politicians a chance to brag of "doing something" about economic development (and to recruit corp...
Blue Mass. Group - Mon 7:50 a.m. - 4 clicks
There are white lies, black lies, and now, Brown lies. In his response to President Obama's weekly radio address, Senator Scott Brown jettisoned any semblance of independence and revved up the Republican talking points, almost every one of them untrue. Lie #1. The legislation before the Congress would "completely transform America's health care system," and create "federally controlled h...
Blue Mass. Group - Sun 7:48 p.m. - 5 clicks
I will admit to being a terrible cynic at times, but nothing prepared me for the Patrick's Administration's "treatment" of Tufts Dental at Fernald. It was announced today that Tufts Dental, a pioneer in providing specialized dental care to people with developmental disabilities and providing preventative care and treatment for for 2,100 community living and campus living residents will be cl...
Blue Mass. Group - Sun 7:48 p.m. - 6 clicks
Paul Tsongas served in the US Senate and ran for President, but he never lost his affection for Lowell. When we consider all the things he accomplished for the city, we think of the National Park, the arena, the baseball park and many similar things. In the following story, however, Jim Peters shares [...]...
Richard Howe - Sun 6:26 p.m. - 4 clicks
Bump! — sahar In her response to the the Brandeis 2020 Committee proposals, Provost Marty Krauss lists the five groups tasked to work towards healing Brandeis’s long-term financial deficit. They are: The 23 member Brandeis 2020 Committee, which identified reductions in Arts and Sciences. The professional school revenue committee, composed of 4 administrators and the Office of Budget ...
Innermost Parts - Sun 2:28 p.m. - 4 clicks
When John Patrick Bedell walked up to a security checkpoint at the Pentagon subway stop on March 4, he carried with him a pair of semi-automatic pistols. He possessed these weapons, which he used to shoot and injure two police officers, despite "a history of mental health problems" that resulted in his being institutionalized several times. One of the guns, a 9 mm Ruger, was seized from a fel...
The Hubster - Sun 10:00 a.m. - 4 clicks
Gary Snyder, legendary poet and environmental activist, reading his poems as the recipient of the 10th annual Robert Creeley Award — Tuesday, March 16, 7.30 pm, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, 36 Charter Road, Acton (Free and open to the public; donations welcomed). For details, visit http://www.robertcreeleyfoundation.org/ Gary Snyder Jericho Brown, reading from his American Book Aw...
Richard Howe - Sun 10:00 a.m. - 5 clicks
Here’s the link for the Lowell Film Festival coming up April 8 to April 10. Click here for times and locations. ...
Richard Howe - Sun 8:26 a.m. - 4 clicks
There's a cautionary tale in Todd Wallack's look at the impact of state programs aimed at keeping business in Massachusetts with tax breaks attached to the promise of new jobs. The message of course, is businesses should be held to their end of the bargain. The saga of Nortel Networks, its $2 million in state and local tax breaks and the net loss of more than 2,000 jobs -- but not the tax break...
Massachusetts Liberal - Sun 7:06 a.m. - 8 clicks
I've always thought much is being over blown about the rift between Patrick and organized labor. Certainly there will be strains during the deepest economic recession in a generation. Much has been made about the recent dust up in Plymouth with the leaders of the AFL CIO picketing their own conference because their invited guest, Deval Patrick, accepts an invitation to come. How absurd was that? ...
Blue Mass. Group - Sat 7:41 p.m. - 6 clicks
The House will soon be taking up a sentencing reform bill. One issue cries out for attention - our failed drug sentencing laws. Massachusetts could save millions and improve public safety at the same time by reforming "mandatory minimum" sentencing laws for drug offenses. Each year hundreds of drug offenders receive fixed and often lengthy mandatory minimum sentences - 950 men ...
Blue Mass. Group - Sat 3:20 p.m. - 4 clicks
Brandeis has a sort of reputation for having great student activism – and it’s deserved! However, Brandeis the institution doesn’t do that great a job teaching students on how to be great activists. Well, there are ways to try and deal with that (for example, the Activist Resource Center). One great opportunity: the yearly Boston Student [...]...
Innermost Parts - Sat 3:06 p.m. - 4 clicks
Health Care For All and the Consumer Health Quality Council successfully advocated for a mandate that all Massachusetts hospitals establish Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs). This mandate was included in Chapter 305, the omnibus cost containment/quality improvement law that was enacted in 2008. Under the regulations for implementing this section of the law, all [...]...
A Healthy Blog - Sat 11:09 a.m. - 4 clicks
There was a lot of sturm and drang in the media last year whenever Deval Patrick opted to release bay news on a Friday afternoon. But it appears what's good for Deval is also good for Bobby and Terry. The House and senate Ways and Means committee chairs opted for a Friday afternoon statement to alert local officials about a 4 percent, $200 million cut in local aid in the upcoming fiscal year. ...
Massachusetts Liberal - Sat 6:08 a.m. - 8 clicks
Mass. Sen. Scott Brown took to the airwaves today for a Republican response that castigated Barack Obama for not following through on his promise to focus on job creation instead of health care. So imagine the irony that the junior senator didn't follow through on his own commitment to jobs, voting against a summer jobs bill -- sponsored by senior Sen. John Kerry -- that helped to pay for 7,0...
Massachusetts Liberal - Sat 6:08 a.m. - 12 clicks
I guess global warming isn't the only green initiative that doesn't have Charlie Baker's wholehearted support. The Republican gubernatorial candidate has opted out of tomorrow's South Boston St. Patrick's Day political breakfast, citing "prior commitments." You really mean to tell me the scheduler did not know months in advance that there's a breakfast and a parade in Southie around St. Patr...
Massachusetts Liberal - Sat 6:08 a.m. - 10 clicks
Scott Brown gives the weekly G.O.P. response, attacking the President on health care. Is he ready for prime time? Same old Republican talking points on health care! ...
Bill Manzi - Sat 6:08 a.m. - 6 clicks
The last few days have been absolutely exhausting. It was my pleasure to be able to end up such a tumultuous week by meeting with my fellow Brandeisians in the spirit of loving-kindness today. It was great! I am so proud to go to Brandeis with this wonderful community. I think maybe over 80? people came [...]...
Innermost Parts - Fri 4:45 p.m. - 6 clicks
I am the only candidate who has actually worked on legislation that expanded health coverage over the last couple of decades. Governor Patrick's shot at Baker and Cahill yesterday only served to highlight his own inaction. For those of us who have worked for years to a real solution to our healthcare problems in Massachusetts, we knew that the Massachusetts' plan as it is known could not work lon...
Blue Mass. Group - Fri 1:43 p.m. - 12 clicks
On Wednesday, March 10, the Health Care Financing and Community Development and Small Business Committees heard testimony on the provisions of Governor Patrick’s small business bill dealing with health care cost control. The hearing opened with testimony from the Governor himself, who spoke before a packed room. Gov. Patrick shared stories from Massachusetts small [...]...
A Healthy Blog - Fri 12:18 p.m. - 4 clicks
March 11, 2010 Dear Friends, For over a year, Congress and the President have been working to craft comprehensive health care reform. For me, throughout this process, I have focused on how to make health care available to all Americans without damaging the quality of care in Massachusetts. I do believe we achieved that goal in the bill passed by the House. I have not yet reached a final conclus...
Blue Mass. Group - Fri 9:47 a.m. - 5 clicks
Watch Your Mouth’s newest advertorial, “Healthy Communities, Thriving Children,” was featured on the today’s opinions page in the Boston Globe: History shows us that when Massachusetts’ residents put their minds to something, they can make a difference. Together, we have acted to provide health and dental care to all residents and our health reform program [...]...
A Healthy Blog - Fri 8:29 a.m. - 5 clicks
METHUEN AWARDED RECOVERY ACT ENERGY GRANT $179,200.00 Grant Will Be Used To Fund Several Projects Mayor William M. Manzi, III announced this week that Methuen has received $179,200.00 energy grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG) is designed to assist ......
Bill Manzi - Fri 7:09 a.m. - 7 clicks
Color me skeptical. At last night’s Boston schools budget hearing, the big shots weren’t talking and ranting or begging students and parents may have been bellowing into the wilderness. As City Councilor John Connolly so candidly described it , the details of the school budget are fungible. He is in his third year of the messiest job on Council, chair of the education committee. He admit...
Marry in Massachusetts - Fri 6:44 a.m. - 108 clicks
Health Care For All’s Consumer Health Quality Council has been working for 3 ½ years to bring attention to issues around health care quality and patient safety. National health reform is good for Massachusetts because it will allow us to make progress on the quality and safety fronts. The most powerful tool that the Consumer [...]...
A Healthy Blog - Fri 5:27 a.m. - 6 clicks
Remember when our newly minted senator declared he was against the national health care reform law because it would only hurt Massachusetts? It was a position he repeated again this week (in a talk to insurers), as he continues to eat away at his 15 minutes in the spotlight. But it's obviously a selective spotlight, because the junior senator from Massachusetts wasn't taking reporter calls when...
Massachusetts Liberal - Fri 2:28 a.m. - 9 clicks
Just when it seems that the Democrats might actually be able to stand for something and take a major step toward curbing insurance industry abuses and making certain that tens of millions of Americans gain health insurance out comes Representative Capuano prepared to stab President Obama in the back with a strong suggestion that mighty Mike will vote against HCR. For the details see talking poin...
Blue Mass. Group - Thu 7:42 p.m. - 9 clicks
Just picked this up over at Talking Points Memo - saying my main man Mike is wary of voting yes for the Senate bill because he's afraid it can't get fixed. Gives some sound reasons but still I think he has to keep the eye on the prize. I guess he emailed supporters saying this: House Members will now likely be asked to vote on the Senate bill without changes, making it available ...
Blue Mass. Group - Thu 7:42 p.m. - 8 clicks
[Note: Today's guest blogger is Marc Hymovitz, Director of Government Relations & Advocacy American Cancer Society, New England Division] While Massachusetts health reform has been successful in reducing the number of uninsured residents and ensuring a minimum, adequate level of coverage, barriers to care still remain. Passage of meaningful health care reform at the federal level [...]...
A Healthy Blog - Thu 7:48 a.m. - 8 clicks
Governor Deval Patrick yesterday directly called out his opposition on the cost of health insurance premiums, going to Beacon Hill to testify in support of a cap on the rates that the health care industry would be allowed to charge annually. The Governor appears more willing to step out and ......
Bill Manzi - Thu 6:21 a.m. - 8 clicks
I post below the Building Committee presentation on Methuen High School to the Methuen School Committee. We visited and presented the project to the M.S.B.A. sub-committee in Boston yesterday, and our reception there was warm, with high praise given to the project. My thanks to Suzanne Lamoureux, the Building Committee ......
Bill Manzi - Thu 6:21 a.m. - 4 clicks
There's shock in both the mainstream media and the Twitterverse this morning: Deval Patrick practiced politics in the Statehouse! The decision by Patrick to stop being a punching bag and jabbing back at his opponents was immediately characterized by the head of Charlie Baker's political team as somehow desperate. The local TV media pundit who recently made the governor a pinata saw, horror ...
Massachusetts Liberal - Thu 2:50 a.m. - 8 clicks
In testimony this afternoon, and in a press availability immediately afterward, Governor Patrick strongly urged the legislature to pass his jobs bill that would (among other things) control health insurance premium hikes and provider costs -- and called out Charlie Baker and Tim Cahill for failing to propose anything constructive on these crucial issues. In case you missed it, the Gov's bi...
Blue Mass. Group - Wed 10:40 p.m. - 8 clicks
Universal Hub reports that an East Boston resident plans on opening a cafe at 102 Meridian Street -- and wants to serve some alcohol as well as coffee and tea. Gina Guerraro is asking the city to license her proposed 35-seat Cafe GiGu to serve beer and wine. No word yet on when the eatery would open. ...
The Hubster - Wed 5:46 p.m. - 12 clicks
Since moving from Texas – the state where I was born and raised – to Boston late last year, I began conducting a small social experiment: I casually engage New England natives in conversations regarding their impressions of Texas as a state, population and, perhaps most significant if not delightfully intriguing, as perceived of having [...]...
A Healthy Blog - Wed 9:21 a.m. - 10 clicks
Mike Barnicle once used a throwaway line (I assume he didn't "borrow" it from someone else) that if you take the Massachusetts Legislature out onto a barge and sank it, all you would lose is the barge. In the case of the United States Congress, you'd probably need to lose two or three. Witness the case of Eric "Tickle Me" Massa, former Democratic congressman from upstate New York, who wove a t...
Massachusetts Liberal - Wed 2:43 a.m. - 8 clicks
Under the heading of "One Cook's Best Dish," there's a story at Boston.com about Joy Cagno and her recipe for roasted-pepper frittata. Joy is from East Boston and we were in the same class together at East Boston Central Catholic back in the late 1970s. She was Joy Zirpolo then -- sweet, adorable and a social butterfly. (Yeah, I had a crush on her, but so did everyone else.) Years later I sa...
The Hubster - Tue 4:03 p.m. - 11 clicks
[Note: today's guest blog is by Deborah Banda, State Director, AARP Massachusetts] At AARP, we hear countless heartbreaking stories from our members who can’t get affordable health care coverage or who can’t afford their prescription drugs. We know that health care is among the most important and personal economic issues they face. AARP is fighting for [...]...
A Healthy Blog - Mar 9 - 12 clicks
The Public Health Council is meeting on Wednesday, March 10 from 9-12 a.m. at their usual location, 250 Washington Street, Boston, 2nd Floor (meeting agenda (pdf)). Included on the agenda are a summary of H1N1 activities and an update on Limited Service Clinics in Massachusetts. When limited service clinics (like CVS’s MinuteClinics) were [...]...
A Healthy Blog - Mar 9 - 8 clicks
Two interesting -- and some might say politically tinged -- looks at the dollar drain from state government in today's Boston papers. The Herald's payroll crusade looks at cashed out vacation time and singles out former Deval Patrick chief of staff Doug Rubin, who cashed out $11,000 in unused vacation pay. I know Rubin stops by here occasionally so I'd be happy for a comment. On the other sid...
Massachusetts Liberal - Mar 9 - 9 clicks
News flash: Massachusetts public employee unions are unhappy with Deval Patrick , who they accuse of trying to balance the state budget on the backs of their members. Old news: labor rank and file votes far more conservatively than leadership, dating back to the days of the hard hat supporters of Richard Nixon, to the Boston Police Patrolman's Union endorsement of George H.W. Bush over Michae...
Massachusetts Liberal - Mar 8 - 5 clicks
Today, Health Care For All is releasing a powerful video in support of national health care reform. Massachusetts patients, doctors, students, consumer advocates, and representatives of small business and labor come together and talk about why we need national health reform and why it is good for the Commonwealth. You can view the video above, [...]...
A Healthy Blog - Mar 8 - 9 clicks
The leading candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination is known almost universally as Charlie. But today's Globe profile suggests candidate Baker is really more of a Charles, and he needs to make some adjustments if he hopes to really connect with voters -- particularly those expecting another free-speaking Scott Brown. I've had a few personal encounters with Baker and I find him an ...
Massachusetts Liberal - Mar 7 - 2 clicks
It appears that The East Boston Times is not the only newspaper owned by the Independent Newspaper Group that cuts and pastes information from other sources into its stories without proper attribution. A front-page article in this week's issue of The Chelsea Record includes more than half of its material from a year-old press release, though the source is never cited. The story, titled "Night-tim...
The Hubster - Mar 5 - 2 clicks
Massachusetts has been a national leader in expanding affordable coverage to children. Chapter 58 expanded MassHealth coverage to kids in families with income up to 3 times the poverty level, and the Children’s Medical Security Plan provides basic care to all children ineligible for other coverage at any income level. Our aggressive outreach programs have [...]...
A Healthy Blog - Mar 5 - 4 clicks
