"Concord will probably try again with bottled water ban; Town Meeting to be in April" by Christopher J. Girard, Globe Correspondent | July 12, 2010
Two town officials and the lead advocate of Concord’s ban on the sale of bottled drinking water said residents will probably try to further the measure at a future Town Meeting after the attorney general’s office rejected it Friday....
Related: The Boston Globe's Invisible Ink: Bottled Water Back in Boston
Jeffrey Wieand, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said the ban has merit, but he opposes it because the town could have to defend it in costly litigation....
--more--"Also see: The threat of a water war
Globe has to turn everything into a war.
"Flood repairs in Somerville may cost millions" by Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff | July 12, 2010
It may have been brief, but Saturday’s torrential rain storm and accompanying flash floods left Somerville with damage estimated in the millions of dollars, according to Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone’s office.
Raw sewage and flood waters quickly overwhelmed the public safety building on Washington Street, damaging equipment and forcing the closure of the Police Department’s headquarters and Engine 3 of the Fire Department. Cleaning crews were still decontaminating the building late yesterday.
“The guys were diving through the sewage in order to hook chains to the cruisers,’’ said Michael Meehan, Curtatone’s director of communications. “There were cruisers floating around.’’
--more--"Related: Hot-Blooded
"Spring floods dry up, leaving towns parched; Weather spurs water use limits" by Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | July 8, 2010
The region faced record rains and devastating floods in March, but now there’s a another water-related woe: With a three-month stretch of drier-than-normal weather and households using staggering amounts of water on parched lawns, many local water systems are under heavy strain, raising fears of shortages later in the summer....
--more--"
Also see: Business is hot for AC repairmen
Maybe I'll grab a snack.
Maybe not.
"Immigration suit worries governors" by Abby Goodnough, The New York Times | July 12, 2010
In a private meeting with White House officials over the weekend, Democratic governors voiced deep anxiety about the Obama administration’s suit against Arizona’s new immigration law, worrying that it could cost a vulnerable Democratic Party in the fall elections.
While the weak economy dominated the official agenda at the summer meeting in Boston of the National Governors Association, concern over immigration policy pervaded the closed-door session between Democratic governors and White House officials and simmered throughout the three-day event.
At the Democrats’ meeting Saturday, some governors bemoaned the timing of the Justice Department lawsuit, according to two governors who spoke anonymously because the discussion was private....
The Democrats’ meeting provided a window on tensions between the White House and states over the suit, which the Justice Department filed last week in federal court in Phoenix....
--more--"Related: Obama Administration Sues Itself
"Patrick finds funds to employ youths" by Meghan E. Irons, Globe Staff | July 12, 2010
Joanne Goldstein, secretary of labor and workforce development, said $3.5 million will come from the new fiscal 2011 budget, $3.8 million from reserve funding in last year’s budget, and $1.8 million from federal stimulus money from previously years....
So they have just been SITTING on MONEY, huh?
Related: How Massachusetts Balances Its Budget
The outlook for summer jobs seemed bleak just weeks ago....
I smell an agenda being pushed.
With a wave of crime in Boston and with private-sector jobs scarce because of the slow economy, pressure was mounting for the state to step in....
With no help from the federal government this year, Patrick decided to begin using money that was allocated for summer jobs in the fiscal 2011 budget, said Nancy Snyder, who heads the Commonwealth Corporation, the agency that runs the state’s youth jobs program.
Which leaves NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET SHORT, right?
Daiquan Bradford, a 16-year-old from Roxbury who helped press for more funding, said he was pleased that the state listened to their appeals and found more cash for summer jobs....
I'm wondering when they are going to start listening to taxpayers.
--more--"
