Charlie Baker

Creative accounting on Beacon Hill

Politics/ Summer 2018

Creative accounting on Beacon Hill

Lawmakers warm to the idea of private funding for police, fire training

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BRIAN KEYES, the police chief in Chelsea, sounds like a mountain climber with the summit finally in sight. He and his fellow chiefs have been scaling Beacon Hill for almost a decade looking for a way to fund police training programs that wouldn’t require them to go hat in hand to the Legislature each and(...)

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Baker signs ‘grand bargain’ bill

Politics

Baker signs ‘grand bargain’ bill

Measure includes new payroll tax for family, medical leave

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER signed a new law Thursday that could affect virtually every resident of Massachusetts, a week after lawmakers settled months of negotiations over proposed ballot questions that could have had dramatic consequences for the state’s finances and economy. Legislators scrambled to assemble the so-called grand bargain bill after interest(...)

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Feds reject Baker bid to rein in pharmacy costs

Drugs/ Health Care

Feds reject Baker bid to rein in pharmacy costs

State sought to restrict access to some MassHealth drugs

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THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT on Wednesday rejected a bid by the Baker administration to rein in pharmacy spending by restricting which drugs would be covered under its MassHealth program. “While it is disappointing that our request to more effectively control rising pharmacy costs was not approved at this time, we remain committed to finding more innovative(...)

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The Download/ Politics

The politics of payback

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“Womp womp.” That pretty much sums up the reaction from the Trump administration and its supporters over the uproar of separating children from their parents trying to cross at the Mexican border. “Womp womp,” said former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski while mocking Democratic strategist Zak Petkanas during a discussion on Fox News. Petkanas was relating(...)

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Grand bargain talks can now begin in earnest

Economy/ Politics

Grand bargain talks can now begin in earnest

Deal remains possible with millionaire tax dead, but it likely will be costly

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Now that the millionaire tax is dead, state leaders can finally get down to work. The millionaire tax was a great excuse for doing nothing. As long as the question was on the ballot and its poll numbers remained high, the millionaire tax’s $2 billion-a-year haul was the answer to just about everything. Fix the(...)

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The Download/ Economy/ Politics

Grand bargain talks can now begin in earnest

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Now that the millionaire tax is dead, state leaders can finally get down to work. The millionaire tax was a great excuse for doing nothing. As long as the question was on the ballot and its poll numbers remained high, the millionaire tax’s $2 billion-a-year haul was the answer to just about everything. Fix the(...)

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Is Charlie Baker beatable?

Politics

Is Charlie Baker beatable?

John Walsh sits down with CommonWealth Magazine and MassINC Polling Group president Steve Koczela

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Charlie Baker, the most popular governor in America, looks like a lock for reelection, according to polls, pundits, and even lots of Democrats you talk to. But don’t count John Walsh as one of them. The former chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party insists Baker can be defeated — and he says the governor’s team(...)

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The Download/ Politics

The Codcast: Is Charlie Baker beatable?

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Charlie Baker, the most popular governor in America, looks like a lock for reelection, according to polls, pundits, and even lots of Democrats you talk to. But don’t count John Walsh as one of them. The former chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party insists Baker can be defeated — and he says the governor’s team(...)

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Why Charlie Baker is beatable

Politics/ Opinion

Why Charlie Baker is beatable

Ignore the conventional wisdom and study the numbers

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PEOPLE FREQUENTLY ASK ME about the race for governor this November. Their interest often gets boiled down to one question: “Is Charlie Baker beatable?” They usually make clear that they’re pretty sure the answer is no. They are certainly not alone in that view. My answer? Of course he is! But he’s the most popular(...)

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DCR still struggling as landlord

Politics

DCR still struggling as landlord

Audit: User fees uncollected, leases monitored poorly

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 THE STATE’S DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION is improving as a landlord, but the agency still has a long way to go, with a new state audit reporting that $600,000 in user fees went uncollected over a two-year period and a number of  tenants were allowed to continue using state property with expired leases. The(...)

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