Based on his actions, I think he is in denial:
"Patrick makes a push to help hydropower; As time runs out, governor makes last drive for rules" by Jon Chesto, Globe Staff December 09, 2014
Governor Deval Patrick is just 30 days from leaving office, but that hasn’t stopped his administration from making one last push to bring more Canadian hydropower to Massachusetts.
Patrick’s top environmental aides are working feverishly on new rules that could compel electric utilities to buy a certain amount of energy from Canada’s big hydro plants.
The governor’s administration wants to finish a draft of the new regulations by the end of the month. But with weeks running out before Patrick leaves office on Jan. 8, Governor-elect Charlie Baker’s administration will have the final say on whether to let those rules take effect.
The odd timing underscores how strongly Patrick and his aides believe in hydropower’s potential — both to help reach the state’s global warming reduction goals and to address concerns about the reliability of the electricity grid.
Related: Shining a Light on Patrick's Legacy
But these new rules also raise concerns about driving up the already expensive energy costs here, on top of existing requirements to buy escalating amounts of electricity from renewable sources.
“This is very late in the administration to be doing something like this,” said Robert Rio, senior vice president of government affairs at Associated Industries of Massachusetts. “The time frame is very short to be looking at a program that has huge implications. . . . I don’t think they want to look at the cost.”
With the details still in the works, it’s unclear what kind of extra costs the new rules would create.
An even larger increase than what he is leaving?
Hydropower is often considered to be a cheap form of energy, but it could cost billions of dollars to build a major dam in Canada and the power lines through northern New England needed to get that juice into Massachusetts.
The Patrick administration has been down this road before. Earlier this year, the governor tried unsuccessfully to shepherd a clean-energy bill — one that could push utilities into contracts for hydropower — through the state Legislature. That bill died when the buzzer ran out in July, a victim of competing interests and the legislation’s complexity. Lawmakers are planning to revive a version of the bill in early 2015, as the new legislative session begins.
Warnings from the region’s grid operator about a potential power shortfall, and the possibility of rolling blackouts as soon as 2016, have amped up the urgency for elected officials to bring new sources of electricity into New England.
Too bad all that tax loot was wasted while the power companies profited and the infrastructure neglected.
Legislation is typically needed to compel utilities to enter into long-term contracts for hydropower and other forms of clean energy. But state officials can use regulations to require the companies to buy a certain amount of clean energy without a change in state law.
The Patrick administration’s latest proposal is part of its efforts to set the state on a path toward meeting its goals for greenhouse gas reductions.
They do know they are leaving, right?
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NStar parent company Northeast Utilities is already opposing the new rules. An NU executive sent a letter on Nov. 7 to the Patrick administration, saying the proposal would lead to a substantial increase in electricity bills. The new clean-energy standard, NU claims, duplicates several existing programs — the renewable energy credits and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, among others — that are adding $573 million to ratepayers’ energy costs in the state this year. In 2018, the extra costs could rise to as much as $1.1 billion....
It will be included in your bill.
Related: Rising Electric Rates Are to Extort Pipeline
Then let them have it.
David Cash, Patrick’s environmental protection commissioner, said new state regulations would eventually provide savings for consumers by helping to shield them from the volatility of fossil fuel markets. (That volatility, for example, is a driving force behind double-digit increases that consumers are seeing on their electric bills this winter.) “It will suppress prices in the long run,” Cash said.
That's what we are always told, it turns out not to be true later, and have they seen the price of oil lately?
But the Conservation Law Foundation argues that hydropower’s negative consequences — the loss of trees from flooding, the release of carbon dioxide from decomposing materials during the raising, and lowering of water levels — need to be taken into account....
The governor-elect has been public in his support of efforts to bring more Canadian hydropower into Massachusetts, but it’s unclear how Baker will respond to the Patrick administration’s proposal.
A spokesman said Baker will wait until he takes office to make decisions about energy policy.
“It’s useful input for the new administration, (but) I don’t think they have their hands tied in any way,” said Peter Rothstein, president of the New England Clean Energy Council....
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Related: Charlie Baker should uphold proposed rules on hydropower
So sayeth the Globe!
And those INCREASED FEES at the state parks will be well spent:
"State grants $8m for eco-friendly visitor center at Walden Pond" by Trisha Thadani, Globe Correspondent December 08, 2014
Historic Walden Pond — a magnet for swimmers, nature lovers, and fans worldwide of Henry David Thoreau — will get an ecofriendly visitor center through an $8 million investment from the state, officials said Monday.
Governor Deval Patrick joined state and local officials in Concord on Monday to announce the funding for the new visitor center at Walden Pond State Reservation, which will be powered by a solar parking canopy and have electric vehicle charging stations, according to a statement from the governor’s office.
Bill Hickey, a spokesman for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, said in a telephone interview that the project would help reduce energy costs for Walden Pond.
The visitor center will be a model of green technology, the statement said.
***********
Since Patrick took office, his administration has invested more than $350 million in urban parks, preserving working farms and forests, and protecting large natural landscapes across the state, the statement said. The investments have helped protect more than 125,000 acres of land, and led to the renovation or creation of more than 210 parks.
“The improvements . . . will lower operational costs, be more energy efficient, all while creating a world-class visitor center that will be enjoyed by visitors from around the world,” Jack Murray, the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s commissioner, said at the announcement.
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So how do you plan to get out of town (said that he intends to return to the private sector after he leaves office? MIT is not private sector. Lying to the last minute.), guverner?
"Governor Patrick to seek state oversight of Uber, Lyft; Taxi industry says effort falls short" by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff December 10, 2014
As he prepares to leave office next month, Governor Deval Patrick is making a last-minute push to provide state oversight of Uber and Lyft, the popular ride-sharing services that have faced complaints that they are not subject to the same regulations as traditional taxis.
You can let me off here. I don't want to share the cab ride.
The governor’s aim is to allow the companies to continue to grow while requiring them to follow basic insurance and driving standards. Uber and Lyft applauded the governor’s plan, but taxi representatives blasted it, saying it would do little to increase safety or consumer protections.
Uber’s efforts to fend off what the company considers onerous regulations nationwide are led by David Plouffe, President Obama’s campaign manager in 2008, who also worked as a strategist on Patrick’s campaigns in 2006 and 2010.
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“From my insurgent campaign in 2006 and since, David has shown an interest in and an appetite for challenging established ways — and winning,” Patrick said in a statement on Uber’s website. “As we have seen in Boston, one of its first cities, so has Uber. I wish them both well.”
Related: The inconvenient truth about ride-sharing
It's ILLEGAL!
Last week, city councilors dreamily attested to the efficiency of Uber and Lyft all while acknowledging that they’re, well, against the law.
Patrick aides said their efforts to provide a legal framework for Uber and other ride-sharing firms began before Plouffe’s hiring. Jesse Mermell, a Patrick spokeswoman, said the governor never spoke to Plouffe about Uber rules.
“The Patrick administration is committed to ensuring the public safety and at the same time supporting innovation in transportation,” said Mary-Leah Assad, another administration spokeswoman. “We are diligently making progress on issues related to ride shares and will be working hard on this front through the inauguration.”
Tick, tick, tick, tick.....
While Patrick is moving to support Uber, other municipalities have moved against the service in recent days.
On Monday, the city of Portland, Ore., sued the company, accusing it of operating an “illegal, unregulated transportation service.” On Tuesday, the district attorneys of San Francisco and Los Angeles County also sued Uber, accusing the firm of making false statements to consumers and engaging in a variety of business practices that violate California law.
Under Patrick’s proposal, the state Department of Public Utilities, which regulates bus companies like Peter Pan, would be granted the power to regulate ride-sharing companies.
State will SQUASH 'EM!
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Administration officials say the governor plans to make those regulatory changes unilaterally by issuing new Registry of Motor Vehicles rules. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is scheduled to hold a hearing on the new requirements on Dec. 31, just eight days before the governor leaves office.
But those rules, even if approved before Patrick departs, will not take effect until the Legislature grants the Department of Public Utilities the power to oversee the industry. That will require a change in a state law, Patrick administration officials said. The governor is drafting a bill to empower the department, but his office would not say when it would be filed. It would be very unlikely to pass in the waning days of his administration. Lawmakers currently are meeting only infrequently in informal sessions designed to address routine matters, not controversial bills.
Then this is really all filler, this cab talk.
If the regulations pass but Patrick’s bill gets stuck in the Legislature, administration officials envision Uber and other ride-sharing companies receiving temporary notices from the Department of Public Utilities, allowing them to continue to operate until formal oversight can be put in place.
A spokesman for Governor-elect Charlie Baker, who takes over in January, declined to comment on Patrick’s proposal.
Meghan Joyce, general manager of Uber Boston, released a statement on Tuesday welcoming the governor’s plans.
“We applaud Governor Patrick and the administration for taking this step forward in formally recognizing ride-sharing as a new and valuable transportation alternative in the state of Massachusetts,” she said. A Lyft spokeswoman said the company appreciated Patrick’s “recognition that new rules are needed for ride-sharing.”
Donna Blythe-Shaw, a United Steelworkers official who represents 1,400 taxi drivers in Boston, criticized the proposal as “watered-down regulations” that would have no major impact on an industry she argues is operating illegally.
“I find these regulations to be too little, too late,” she said. “It’s not going to make the cars any safer, the drivers any more vetted, the service any safer. It’s not going to protect the consumers.”
She and other taxi industry representatives said the governor’s proposed rules are an acknowledgment that the companies should be stopped because they are operating in violation of state regulations.
“It’s unfortunate that the administration, with knowledge that these companies have been operating illegally, has allowed them to do so,” said Steve Regan, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Regional Taxi Advocacy Group. “We think this effort at the 12th hour to create regulations to legalize an otherwise illicit operation is not in the best interests of the citizens of Massachusetts.”
What's up with that?
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I wonder where he will be living next:
"Patrick announces $3.5 million to reduce chronic homelessness" by Katie Johnston, Globe Staff December 08, 2014
Governor Deval Patrick launched a new effort Monday to reduce the state’s chronically homeless population funded by $3.5 million from private investors, the state’s second “pay for success” program. The goal of the program is to stabilize the lives of up to 800 longtime homeless individuals — nearly half the state’s chronically homeless population — by providing them with permanent housing while at the same time reducing the amount of taxpayer money that would otherwise have been spent on shelter, Medicaid, and other emergency services for these individuals.
Sounds great, right?
The state will only repay the money, plus a modest return — up to $6 million in total — if the project is deemed a success by an independent evaluator.
Okay, WHO BENEFITS from the EXTRA TAX LOOT!?!
In this case, success means housing individuals for at least a year. If only half the tenants stay for a year or more, the investors will suffer a loss. If 85 percent stay the year, investors get a 3.33 percent return. If all the tenants make it a year or more, investors will get the maximum return of 5.33 percent.
The project will be led by the newly formed Massachusetts Alliance for Supportive Housing, a collective that will work with providers to secure 500 units of housing, as well as job training and medical care for tenants. The funders are the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a national housing nonprofit based in New York providing $500,000; Santander Bank, giving $1.25 million; and United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, investing $1.75 million.
“We struggle to make investments in promising new interventions that can help people improve their lives,” said Glen Shor, the state’s secretary of administration and finance. “Pay for success is a new way for government to do business.”
The program will start early next year with 50 units of housing, and gradually scale up to 500 over two years. The state has dedicated rental vouchers to help maintain many of the 500 housing units for the chronically homeless beyond the six-year initiative.
Related: Vouching For the Boston Globe
In 2012, Massachusetts became the first state to announce that it would use this social financing system, also known as social impact bonds, which was pioneered in the United Kingdom. In January, the state launched a $27 million juvenile justice initiative funded by the investment firm Goldman Sachs and other foundations to help the Chelsea nonprofit Roca to reduce the rate at which young offenders return to jail. The first evaluation will be held in two years.
Related: Goldman Sachs buys ‘social impact’ bonds
At what point do you stop denying to yourself that governments exist to serve bankers?
The state funds pay-for-success contracts through a $50 million Social Innovation Financing Trust Fund. The housing initiative is the state’s second such program. In August, the Patrick administration announced a third: a $15 million program to help Jewish Vocational Services serve some of the 16,000 adults on the wait list for vocationally-oriented English-language classes.
Or other chosen interests (helping to push along the immigration immersion agenda)?
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Also see: Governor’s Council grills inmate seeking commutation
Related:
"Mass. courts fail to shield juveniles in holding areas; Chastised by US, state seeks funds to alter facilities" by John Hilliard and Maggie Mulvihill, Globe Correspondents December 09, 2014
For years, the state has violated a federal law that requires courthouses to protect juveniles from being verbally abused or threatened by adult prisoners in holding areas, resulting in penalties that slashed grant money intended for at-risk youth programs.
This fall, a top Justice Department official issued a stern rebuke about the state’s failure to make any measurable improvements.
Same as Bridgewater.
Now, to deal with the issue, the state is preparing to apply for a federal grant that would cover half of the estimated $1.34 million needed to fix the 11 courthouses that an internal audit found had the most serious violations.
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State officials have known about the problem since at least 1999, [and] when the problem had not been resolved by fiscal 2011, the Justice Department levied the first annual penalty against the state. Each penalty is a 20 percent cut in federal grants for programs designed to prevent juvenile delinquency.
But they care about you kids, and now you know why budget cuts are needed.
Those cuts have added up to about $500,000 from fiscal 2011 through fiscal 2014, according to records from the Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
In an October letter to Andrea Cabral, secretary of the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Robert Listenbee, administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, criticized the state for making no “measurable improvements” to comply with the law and rejected a request by Cabral to waive the penalties for fiscal years 2011 through 2013.
Listenbee also criticized the state for not supplying a “reasonable time frame” for achieving full compliance.
The state violations in 2011 through 2013 are “high and problematic,” Listenbee said in his October letter.
A spokesman for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said the department disagreed with Listenbee’s characterization, but would not air their concerns in the media....
While most of the country is in compliance with the law, West Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Puerto Rico, in addition to
Massachusetts, are currently being penalized for not fully complying
with it, according to the Justice Department....
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They are “moving as reasonably quickly as we can to get this situation solved,” yup, “the issue is you have old buildings that have to be redone, that have to be remodeled. It’s just that simple.” Something they have known about for 15 years.
Now let's sum up Patrick's legacy (in addition to the ones listed above):
Increased poverty
Increased homelessness
Surging Heroin Epidemic
Meningitis Murders
State Drug Lab Scandal
State Website Failures (then they lied about)
DCF Debacles
I'm sure I've left other things out, but does it matter?
Thank God we are getting "New" Leader$hip:
Baker picks former Weld lawyer as chief legal counsel
Another Democrat, but from what little I've seen Baker is already an improvement.
EBT card confusion troubling, Baker says
US orders Mass. to fix food stamp procedures
Are state Democrats up to the challenges ahead?
I have my reservations.
NEXT DAY UPDATES:
A new strategy on shelter
The advice is that "Baker should continue Patrick’s initiative to end homelessness" because "of course, social impact bonds need to be more about the social impact than the bonds. The number of homeless is soaring in Massachusetts under Governor Patrick, [and] Massachusetts was the first state to enter into pay-for-success contracts to fund human services. At Monday’s event, his words rose while frigid winds blew outside. “This is about how we — all of us — share responsibility for a problem that is about all of us,” he said, leaving his prepared remarks. “This is about ending the notion that the homeless are somebody else’s problem, somebody else’s relative. And it’s not just about getting someone like Mike out of the cold on a terrible day like this, but about helping them get back up and stay on their feet.” Someone in the crowded hall shouted “God bless!” at that. Baker may not come naturally to this kind of heart-tugging oration, but he doesn’t have to. He just has to embrace the radical logic that saving lives can save money."
And get Goldman Sachs a 6% return of tax loot.
Survey finds acute homelessness in Boston
How can that be in the $100 BILLION city?
At least it's all good, $elf-$erving fun, huh?
Institutions formally announce HUBweek festival
Bill Weld’s dubious first
Weld registers as a State House lobbyist
Bill Weld’s reinvention as lobbyist is jarring
State GOP chastises Weld for endorsing a Democrat
Is that all that is going on under the Capital?
Wedding officiants-for-a-day are put on hold
Time for a divorce:
"‘Senior status’ lets federal judges keep working — for free" by Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff December 12, 2014
In his late 60s, US Senior District Judge Mark L. Wolf is technically retired — old enough to be on the golf course, or in the Bahamas. But, like three other federal judges in Massachusetts, he is on what is known as senior status, which allows the veteran jurists to retire with a full pension but continue working with a reduced caseload.
Without getting paid extra.
The judges are living a life that seems increasingly common among high-achieving people who are approaching or have hit retirement age and have a strong desire to keep working.
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The senior status arrangement, enjoyed by some 500 federal judges around the country, allows older judges to go into semiretirement while mentoring the fresher faces on the bench and helping to clear the court’s cases.
“It’s a win-win situation,” said US Senior District Judge Michael A. Ponsor, 68, who usually presides in Springfield. Ponsor explained the benefits in a recent interview between publicity stops for his first novel, events he has been able to do more frequently since he reduced his caseload.
“Most people don’t want to stop working completely, I think most people would want to continue contributing, and the public gets the benefit of people who are essentially donating their time,” Ponsor said.
He paused.
For those who have built a life around their role as a judge, he said, “It’s not easy to give that up. And if you don’t have to give it up completely and can still leave time to yourself to travel, spend time with your family, that’s a wonderful solution to an internal conflict.”
The average salary for a District Court judge in 2014 was nearly $200,000. While judges who go on senior status would be paid that amount through their retirement benefit, they receive tax breaks on that benefit as long as they continue to work on senior status....
Oh, it's ALL $ELF-$ERVING ALTRUI$M after all in my propaganda pre$$.
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And some judge can now speak more openly about judicial matters, something she wouldn’t be able to do as a judge?
Also see:
Governor-elect Charlie Baker names labor secretary
Mass. teen birth rate at all-time low
