"State’s ‘worst’ drivers hit the road for reality show" by Peter DeMarco, Globe Correspondent | March 20, 2010
Take pride in these women — or hang your head in shame — because they are the face of Massachusetts motorists on the Travel Channel’s new reality show “America’s Worst Driver,’’ airing tomorrow at 10 p.m.
The Travel Channel filmed in eight cities last fall, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. But really, what’s more emblematic of Boston than our me-first driving attitude, where ignoring the basic rules of the road is, for better or worse, as much a part of our culture as pahking cahs in Hahvad yhad?
--more--"Had enough of the s***-shoveling and insults yet, readers?
Well, I'd rather not drive in Boston so....
"From the Big Dig to the Turnpike Authority, what a long, strange trip it’s been" by Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | March 21, 2010
The Turnpike Authority has been abolished, but the legacy remains. The hangover from the Big Dig, aging roads and rails, and a history of patronage employment has all left commuters with a system that needs billions of dollars in repairs to get up to working order....
Meanwhile, our tax loot is going to debt payments, Hollywood, favored corporate interests, and looting politicians.
The constant threats of toll and MBTA fare increases, along with the Big Dig’s $15 billion price tag, have put a spotlight on these problems.
Clearly, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the highway system are central to the state’s economy as well as to our daily lives, which have become increasingly absorbed by long commutes. We endured years of Big Dig construction, and now we notice the bumpy roads that are crumbling and the train delays resulting from old signal systems.
You are NOT TELLING ME anything I do not already know!
The people in charge of the state’s transportation systems are under enormous political pressure to fix the mess, without raising fees or cutting service. It shows.....
Aww, the poor looters of state government!!
Un-flipping-real!
Governor Patrick, like his predecessors, has resorted to borrowing money against future transportation needs.... continuing the cycle of debt....
That's because they work for the bankers not you, citizens.
Related: Massachusetts Residents Taken For a Ride on the T
Massachusetts Democrats Keep Making the Same Mistakes
And they have the NERVE to criticize?
Former general manager Daniel A. Grabauskas used to explain that this practice, which he also employed, is like using a credit card to pay off a credit card.
Related: Morning T Ride on the Patrick Prevaricator
Oh, the state lied about his dismissal and then had to pay him off rather than letting him serve the last few months of his tenure?
Yeah, a PURELY POLITICAL FIRING that COST YOU, taxpayers!
Meanwhile, the transportation system in this state is shit!
Eventually, the bill gets a lot bigger and the ability to get out from under the original debts gets more difficult. In this case, the size of future fare hikes or tax increases could get proportionately larger because today’s credit card bills have been put off.
Don't you love how this state is MISMANAGED, readers?
How big is the long-term problem? The T’s total debt and interest commitments have reached $8.6 billion.
We are NEVER GOING to be able to pay that without going BANKRUPT, readers -- and I'm sure that was the point.
The debt is the major reason the T, along with transit agencies around the country, cannot afford new equipment and is increasingly vulnerable to crashes and breakdowns, according to several analysts.
(Blog editor just pulled the stop rope; I'm getting the f*** off now)
And that’s just the T.
The state raised the sales tax last year, in part to make payments on Turnpike Authority debt that would have otherwise required a toll increase, which many commuters said they could not afford.
Related:
"Legislators also agreed last week to change legal language in the recently passed sales tax hike to assure credit agencies that $100 million earmarked for the Turnpike Authority would go toward paying off Big Dig debt"
And the politicians sold it to you as saving services -- which we all can see was another lie!!! The state also has made a concerted effort to reduce the number of bridges deemed structurally deficient, but there remain hundreds that need extensive rehabilitation.
In other words, it will take lots of time, lots of work, and lots of public scrutiny to fix these problems....
If they ever get fixed.
Yeah, about those bridges:
"State reduces bridges in disrepair; 2-year rebuilding project cuts total from 543 to 494" by Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | March 19, 2010
In Massachusetts, the number of structurally deficient bridges had been on the rise in recent years, as the old structures deteriorated faster than the government could afford to fix them....
The obligation to pay off Big Dig debt has hurt the state’s ability to maintain and repair bridges.
Related: The Massachusetts State Budget
Yeah, and when you see where all the tax loot goes....
The program that has helped boost bridge repair is financed in part by $1.1 billion borrowed against future federal grants.
You know, the SAME S*** that PUT US IN THIS MESS!!
I guess I better call a cab:
"Wheelchair sting puts city’s taxis to the test; Drivers complying with rules regarding disabled" by Maria Cramer, Globe Staff | March 19, 2010
For the past several weeks, Steven Howard, a 45-year-old police officer in the Boston police hackney unit, and other officers have been conducting undercover stings around the city to find out if Boston cabdrivers are giving rides to the disabled, as they are obligated to do.
What, there are not any crimes to solve?
Related:
“Earlier this month, police wrapped up a 30-day sting involving plainclothes officers mimicking tourists and other pedestrians. Once they were panhandled, they essentially became victims guaranteed to show up for a trial”
Of course, Boston cops have plenty of time to cruise the strip, bust brothels, hang out in bars, buy drugs, and worry about cellphones while ROBBERIES, RAPES, and MURDERS go UNSOLVED!!!
The ruse is simple: dress in plain clothes, use a wheelchair, and flag a cab. Anyone who refuses the undercover officer has violated hackney rules and faces suspension.
It is a new tactic police are using in the aftermath of a complaint by Shari Zakim, the daughter of the late civil rights activist Leonard P. Zakim. Shari Zakim uses a wheelchair and said she was snubbed by a cabdriver in Allston as she tried get a ride home early on New Year’s Day.
Yup, a JEW COMPLAINS and the authorities will move mountains!
“That’s what told us we have a problem out there and we have to address it,’’ said Captain Paul O’Connor, who heads the hackney unit, which oversees the city’s hackney licenses and enforces rules for drivers. “We want 100 percent compliance.’’
UNREAL!
In the month and a half police have conducted the stings, they have not found any violations.
So it was all a WASTE of TAXPAYER DOLLARS, huh?
Sometimes the cabdrivers wise up to the operation.
Yesterday, Howard got into a cab on Huntington Avenue as his partner, Officer Jerry Ajemian, waited around the corner in a black Crown Victoria. Unbeknownst to Ajemian, the taxi driver had seen the unmarked car pull around the corner and suspected something.
The taxi driver pulled up beside Ajemian and grinned.
“You’re going to get me?’’ he shouted out the window.
“Don’t say a word to anyone,’’ Ajemian shot back.
Howard jokingly rebuked his partner.
“You blew the cover, man!’’ he said.
The driver’s discovery was not a setback, Ajemian said, noting that if word spreads of the stings, it will force drivers to obey the rules.
Still, Howard takes pains to keep his identity cloaked. Yesterday, he dressed in jeans and a gray jacket. He donned a
Yup, his is how YOUR TAX MONEY is being spent, Bay-Stater!
Officers conduct random stings during the day and night, police said. The stings have become part of the unit’s undercover operations, which also watch for other violations, like drivers who refuse to take people on short rides, drivers from other cities and towns who try to pick up fares in Boston, and drivers who won’t accept credit cards.
No CRIMES to SOLVE, 'eh, coppers?
The newest sting helps protect the civil rights of disabled people, said Michael Muehe, executive director of the Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities.
So when are they going to START WORRYING about the REST OF US and OUR CIVIL RIGHTS, huh?
“We need to do this kind of enforcement,’’ said Muehe. “People with disabilities face this kind of discrimination every day.’’
Yeah, they haven't caught anyone in 6 weeks, but you know... what's one more bullshit lie, huh?
--more--"
I guess she better try the T:
The MBTA’s specialized service for the disabled, The Ride, is a lifeline for tens of thousands of people in Eastern Massachusetts, allowing those who are too disabled to drive, ride a bus, or take the subway to make their way to jobs, to stores, to doctors, and home.
But the program, visible through its yellow-striped vans and sedans, has become a huge budget concern for the cash-strapped transit agency, which has quadrupled spending on The Ride from $21.4 million to $84.8 million over the past decade.
You know where you can find a few million, right, readers?
So don't call me insensitive to the cripples because I am not; I simply WANT the LEGISLATIVE LOOTING to STOP so THESE PEOPLE CAN GET the SERVICES THEY DESERVE!!!
The Ride, with 36,000 regular users in 60 cities and towns, has grown far faster than any other mode of transportation run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The number of trips — nearly 2 million this budget year — has doubled over the past decade, and the program is projected to continue growing as the region’s population ages....
That could be me someday.
As the number of users rises, the cost to the MBTA of each trip is growing even faster....
So what is the answer?
The MBTA, which each year considers service cuts and fare increases as it struggles to manage heavy debt, offers a variety of general explanations....
And you KNOW WHERE that money is going!!!
--more-"
Morning Bike Accident in Boston
The End of Boston's Bike Program
Okay, a bike is out.
What else is there?
Wheeling Around Boston
That's a joke, right, Glob?
You know, I think I'll just walk.
Actually, forget that. I'm not going to that stinking city ever again.
Sorry, Boston.
