Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick Ireland yesterday praised the courage of House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray for approving emergency funds for the state court system, but said nothing about their decision to quash a court consolidation initiative.
Ireland, in a speech at an event hosted by the Massachusetts Bar Association, said he was “hopeful – very hopeful” that Gov. Deval Patrick will sign off on the $12 million funding plan, according to a story in the Boston Globe.
Patrick and Ireland have been at odds since the chief justice sided with DeLeo on court reform legislation that kept the state’s Probation Department in the judicial branch. Patrick wanted it moved to the executive branch. Patrick also didn’t take kindly to Ireland’s suggestion in July that the governor not appoint any new judges because the court system was so strapped for cash.
A CommonWealth Back Story yesterday suggested Ireland wasn’t getting much out of his close ties with DeLeo. The story, pointing to earlier budget cuts and the Legislature’s more recent move to block the court system’s plan to close or consolidate 11 courthouses, said lawmakers were treating the courts as a wholly owned subsidiary rather than an independent branch of government.
But a picture in the Globe of Ireland and DeLeo smiling broadly standing next to each other suggests the two remain close.
During his speech, Ireland touched on differences between the three branches of government, but not in a combative way. “The three branches may not always see eye to eye on what is best for the court system, but we all want the best for the people of the Commonwealth, and the groundwork for mutual trust and cooperation is strong,’’ Ireland said.
–BRUCE MOHL
OCCUPY EVERYWHERE
The National Review is coming around to the idea that the “99 percenters” have a point but it’s not about Wall Street. Rich Lowry says if anyone’s listening, they’re actually making a case for blowing up the health care reform and higher education systems.
Many are wondering if “Cleanup Friday” is the beginning of the end for Occupy Wall Street. Meanwhile, in a show of solidarity, students around the country held a mini-occupation on their campuses yesterday.
The Globe checks in on what those who work in the financial sector — some of whom belong to the “1 percent” being targeted by protests — think of Occupy Boston. Labor unions swing by the Dewey Square encampment, and then march on a Verizon store.
BEACON HILL
The state Senate approved casino legislation, with the Globe reporting that a final bill could be signed by Gov. Deval Patrick by the end of the year and slot machines could up and running sometime in 2012. The Senate’s version allows for Boston’s city council to call for a citywide vote on hosting a casino but it stops short of requiring citywide approval. The measure differs from the House bill, which only provides for voter approval in the affected ward in the state’s three largest cities. The Globe reports that the Senate amendment also pertains to Springfield, while the Herald says Boston and Worcester are covered by the amendment. Sen. Richard Ross says a legislative conference committee could reevaluate the proposed casino tax rates, arguing that a proposed 55 percent tax on slot parlors is “unacceptable.”
Gov. Deval Patrick funnels nearly $10 million to 11 cities for anticrime efforts. The Eagle-Tribune offers one story on the grants and another on the fact that the governor isn’t saying what he would do if a federal grand jury indicts Mayor William Lantigua. “This initiative isn’t about the mayor,” he says.
About 5,000 Massachusetts repeat drunk drivers get behind the wheel every day after blowing into a hand-held breath-alcohol monitoring device that unlocks the ignition, the Lowell Sun reports.
In an editorial, the Gloucester Times applauds the Legislature for providing funds to keep Gloucester District Court open. It says some courts should be closed, but not the one in Gloucester because the town is offering the space rent-free and even picking up $42,000 in utility and cleaning costs.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
In their first debate, Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch touted the $1.6 billion downtown redevelopment project and other investments while challenger Linda Mahoney, school committee vice chairman, lambasted the mayor for overspending and being too cozy with the developer and hiring cronies while laying off teachers.
Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll asks the city council to accept the state’s new municipal health insurance reform law, which would allow the city to impose spending reductions on health plans or join the Group Insurance Commission, the Salem News reports.
The New Bedford City Council went behind closed doors over the mayor’s objections to vote in favor of retaining a city constable who is facing charges for assaulting a disabled man after he photographed the constable’s car in a handicapped parking space.
Fitchburg’s mayoral race turns on street lights. CommonWealth looked at the issue in this Fall 2010 profile of Mayor Lisa Wong.
NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON
The Gloucester Times reports that the top administrator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration left a hearing early to have a chat with the Globe’s editorial board, a move that is angering politicians from fishing ports.
New Hampshire’s state Supreme Court isn’t critical of national health care legislation, so the state’s legislature turns on its high court.
ELECTION 2012
At the American Spectator, Robert Stanley McCain wonders if the conservative grassroots movement can stop Mitt Romney.
The Globe looks at Republican presidential contender Herman Cain’s “9-9-9” tax plan, and concludes that it would shift more of the tax burden onto middle and lower income Americans.
As a matter of fact, the Cain plan is being roundly criticized by just about everyone. Especially since, says Mother Jones’s Kevin Drum, “even by Republican flat -tax standards the 9-9-9 plan is ridiculous.” The Atlantic recounts Cain’s first insurgent campaign — a race for Senate in Georgia.
Paul Krugman is an economist, so he has some not-so-nice things to say about the GOP’s recent economic debate.
President Obama tours Michigan, again and again and again.
James Coyne King, a Boston lawyer and former Carter administration official, joins the scrum of candidates seeking the Democratic Senate nomination.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Construction is set to begin on a 27-story apartment tower on Washington Street in downtown Boston, but there’s still that big hole down the street.
OSHA moves in to investigate the death of a worker who fell from a radio transmission tower in Newton on Wednesday.
Earnings at JP Morgan set off new fears about banks’ health.
EDUCATION
Pittsfield school enrollment increases for the first time in a decade, which some believe may be linked to new hires by companies like General Dynamics.
The Berkshire South Regional Community Center designs a creative way to deal with students who have been suspended: academic support plus community service.
In his weekly Time column, Andrew Rotherham asks: Can education be “Moneyball”-ed?
HEALTH CARE
The Atlantic asks, was it health care costs, and not evil plutocrats, who ruined the middle class?
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
The Cape Cod Times looks at the rise of solar power in the region.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Mayor Tom Menino met with residents and community leaders in Boston’s troubled Bowdoin-Geneva neighborhood and vowed to develop a comprehensive plan to address joblessness and violence in the area.
MEDIA
The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports nonprofit news organizations are encountering long delays waiting for IRS approval of their applications for tax-exempt status.