Meet the "New" leader$hip of Ma$$achu$etts:
Charlie Baker campaign manager to join administration
Charter school advocate picked for Mass. education chief
Doctor for poor chosen as Mass. health commissioner
Baker names Gloucester mayor to economic development post
Taken a tour lately?
Charlie Baker picks nonprofit CEO for housing role
Democrat -- not that there's anything wrong with that.
Baker names Patrick official to key environmental post
Now that.....
D.C.-based advocate to lead state’s child welfare agency
I wouldn't cross her.
Guyton joins governor-elect Baker’s team
Baker team leaves Western Mass. wanting
I didn't expect anything anyway.
In managing economy, Baker needs a long view
Okay, here it is:
"State revenues are likely to grow more slowly than in past economic recoveries. Relatively fixed costs, such as Medicaid, and paying interests on the state's debts, are eating up a greater and greater share of the budget. And that is putting tremendous pressure on items legislators and the governor have more control over such as aid to cities and towns, funding for higher education, human services, and public safety."
I hate to say it, but my PRINTED PAPER HAD that phrase included in its article. How very intere$ting that it got cut from the web version.
Time to get moving over to the inaugural:
"MassDOT ponders a move from downtown to Roxbury" by Casey Ross, Globe Staff December 18, 2014
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is negotiating to move its downtown Park Square offices to a $350 million development in Roxbury, a blockbuster deal that could shake up the real estate markets in both neighborhoods.
The Boston Redevelopment Authority on Thursday was scheduled to take up a land transfer that would pave the way for construction of a new State Transportation Building in the long-delayed Tremont Crossing project near Dudley Square and Ruggles Station.
That would free up its current headquarters at the heart of Park Square. The block-long Transportation Building is likely to trigger huge interest from the city’s real estate community.
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Meanwhile, the state agency’s relocation to Tremont Street, across from the Boston Police Department headquarters, would offer a huge boost to steadily unfolding efforts to revitalize Roxbury....
Governor Deval Patrick has been trying to finalize the deal in the waning days of his administration....
I've actually been worried about him these last few days because he appeared to be in denial.
A spokesman for Governor-elect Charlie Baker said the incoming administration is aware of the proposal and generally supports the idea of moving state offices to support development in struggling parts of the city.
Several major projects are already moving forward in Roxbury, including construction of a science and engineering building for Northeastern University and relocation of the Boston School Department to a remodeled commercial complex at the heart of Dudley Square.
Other major projects are planned along Melnea Cass Boulevard and at a former bus yard on Bartlett Street.
But the Tremont Crossing project would bring the most sweeping change to the area in decades.
The development by Feldco Development Corp. and Elma Lewis Partners would revitalize 7.25 acres of parking lots and vacant land that is now a dead zone between the South End and Dudley Square.
MassDOT would occupy up to 800,000 square feet of office space in the project, which would also include a hotel, 300 residences, offices, and 350,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. It would probably take several years for the new transportation building to be constructed.
BJ’s Wholesale Club has committed to anchoring Tremont Crossing’s retail space with a 90,000-square-foot store. The project would also include a museum for the National Center of Afro-American Artists, two public plazas, and a 1,500-space parking garage.
The Tremont Crossing project has suffered fits and starts over the years. The developers were close to striking a deal to host a new regional headquarter with Partners HealthCare, but a year ago Partners opted to move to the Assembly Row development in Somerville.
Negotiations to bring MassDOT to the property have been going on for several months. A law signed by Patrick on Oct. 31 signaled the state could be gearing up to sell its downtown property. The law calls for the transfer of ownership from the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to the Department of Transportation.
The transfer ensures that if the property is sold, the revenue would go to the cash-strapped transportation agency, which would need the money to help pay for the new Roxbury headquarters.
An item on the agenda for the BRA’s monthly board meeting proposes a land swap with the Transportation Department that would allow it to move to the Tremont Crossing location.
The agenda does not indicate what land the agency would get in exchange. BRA officials declined to comment.
When it was constructed in the early 1980s, the Transportation Building was meant to spur private investment at the edge of the old “Combat Zone,” which contained numerous drug-infested bars and strip clubs.
Though the transformation did not happen immediately, the eight-story red-brick facility now sits at the center of a bustling neighborhood that includes hundreds of luxury condominiums, renovated theaters, and hundreds of new hotel rooms.
The city’s Assessing Department values the Transportation Building at $121 million, though it would probably sell for significantly more.
State transit agencies have the largest presence in the building, with some 1,600 MassDOT and MBTA employees working there. The facility also has office space for other state government workers....
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Take a look out the window:
"Baker seeks review of MassDOT move to Roxbury; Seeks more input on agency’s move; Cites complexity in call for review" by Casey Ross, Globe Staff December 23, 2014
Governor-elect Charlie Baker on Monday threw doubt into the state’s plan to relocate the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to Roxbury, saying a deal of such cost and complexity should be subject to a more detailed public review.
Baker did not outright oppose the effort to build a 24-story headquarters for MassDOT near Dudley Square. But he said the proposal, certain to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, is proceeding too quickly, given the enormous implications for Roxbury and downtown Boston.
“Governor-elect Baker believes a project of this magnitude and its impact on the neighborhoods in question warrant greater public input and discussion to ensure it is the best deal for taxpayers,” spokesman Tim Buckley said.
Details of the plan have come only in recent days. The Boston Redevelopment Authority on Thursday approved a land transfer that would allow MassDOT to move from Park Square to a development site on Tremont Street, across from Boston police headquarters.
Governor Deval Patrick has been trying to advance the project before his term expires. Officials in his administration said the move is far from a done deal and was always expected to go through a more rigorous public review.
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Baker has said he generally supports using state resources to spur development in economically struggling parts of the state. But he said Monday that the Roxbury deal has not been adequately vetted. He first raised his concerns during a radio interview Monday morning with the Boston Herald.
The governor-elect, who takes office in January, will have several opportunities to influence or kill the project. Baker will have the authority to appoint new leadership at MassDOT, and his administration will control the agency’s budget as well as any proceeds from real estate sales.
Negotiations to move MassDOT to Roxbury have been advancing for several months. A measure signed into law by Patrick on Oct. 31 signaled the state could be gearing up to sell its downtown property. The law calls for the transfer of ownership from the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to the Department of Transportation, ensuring the proceeds of the sale could be used to finance the new headquarters in Roxbury.
The matter did not surface again publicly until the release of last week’s BRA agenda, which described a land swap that would allow MassDOT to construct its tower on city-owned property. The BRA’s board approved the deal Thursday night, though it remains uncertain what property the city would get in exchange.
Though the BRA’s initial approval was a major step forward, a spokesman for the authority said the building’s design and other details of the project are expected to undergo further review.
“There will still be opportunities for officials at the BRA and the community to weigh in,” spokesman Nick Martin said.
Cyndi Roy Gonzalez, a MassDOT spokeswoman, said the agency is planning to put the Park Square Transportation Building up for sale early next year, which would open up a big opportunity in the heart of Boston. Emerson College has expressed interest in the building but is expected to face competition from other bidders.
It would take several years to plan and build a new headquarters in Roxbury, which would house about 2,400 transportation workers, including all 1,600 employees now at Park Square and another 800 from other office locations.
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Related:
Boston OK’s move of MassDOT offices to Roxbury
Hit the brakes on moving transportation building
I would normally be speeding up in that case; however, there are the kids to think about.
"MBTA posts 2013 annual report nearly year late" by Beth Healy, Globe Staff December 11, 2014
The MBTA Retirement Fund posted its 2013 annual report on its website late Wednesday, nearly 12 months after the close of the year’s finances.
The belated report for the $1.6 billion pension fund was posted after a year of controversy for the system and public calls for greater openness.
Why it took so long I'll never know.
Almost a year ago, the Globe reported that the system lost $25 million on a hedge fund and never disclosed it to members. The annual report was posted after the Globe made inquiries Wednesday with several officials.
I remember. It made me see red.
The fund’s executive director, Michael Mulhern, said in his letter to 5,726 transit workers and 6,283 retirees that the system had a 17.1 percent investment return last year. That’s higher than the 16.2 percent unaudited return he had noted in a February newsletter.
Yeah, everyone is making loads of money except you and me, I gue$$.
The transit authority fund’s 2013 return was better than the much larger Massachusetts state pension fund’s 15.2 percent gain and the 16.2 percent return at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.
Is that lame or what?
The MBTA’s new annual report contains the disclosure that had been missing in previous reports, about the loss in a hedge fund run by Fletcher Asset Management of New York. Officials had known the investment was troubled since at least 2011. The investment was sold to the MBTA pension fund by its former director, Karl White, who left in 2007 to join Fletcher’s firm.
The pension fund disclosed the Fletcher loss on its website in February, following news reports about the matter.
State Senator William Brownsberger, a Belmont Democrat who once pressed for greater transparency by the MBTA pension fund but this year agreed to fewer disclosures, acknowledged that “a full year is late” for the annual report.
He said he was told the report was delayed to include a new pension agreement negotiated in collective bargaining. A spokesman for the fund, Steve Crawford, also said that was the reason for the delay.
Brownsberger this year held a public hearing at which officials of the secretive retirement fund were asked to testify about their operations.
The fund was established decades ago as a trust and is not required by law to follow the rules of other pension funds for public workers. Most of its records are not public and it does not hold open meetings or disclose executive pay.
In an interview in February, Jonathan Davis, the MBTA’s deputy general manager and a pension board member, would not say when the 2013 annual report would be released.
“I’d rather not guess,’’ he said. “It’s not as if on Jan. 1 you’d have all the information you need for the annual report. You do need to get all the valuations, and the audits.”
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Also see: MBTA waits a year to tell of issues at hedge fund
"Baker seeks openness at MBTA pension fund" by Beth HealyGlobe Staff December 22, 2014
The incoming Baker administration will press for greater openness at the MBTA retirement fund and encourage it to operate more like other pensions for public workers, a spokesman for Governor-elect Charlie Baker said Monday.
The logical que$tion is what are they hiding?
“The governor-elect wants to protect the pensions of hard-working MBTA employees and feels greater transparency and disclosure could help the pension board make better investment decisions,’’ the spokesman, Tim Buckley, said in a statement. Given the significant investment of taxpayer dollars in the MBTA, he said, Baker “feels it is appropriate to explore ways to align the MBTA pension board’s investment practices with those of other public pension boards.”
The statement was in reaction to a Boston Globe story on Monday about an investment in a troubled hedge fund the $1.6 billion T pension fund did not disclose until more than a year after it knew of the problems there. The pension fund said it did not lose money on the $10 million investment, but it was the second time in a year that pension officials waited to report a problem investment to members or the public until long after the fact.
The MBTA pension fund received $58 million from the taxpayer-funded transit system last year, up from $55 million in 2012....
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I have my own recommendations.
I'll talk 'em over with you at the party:
"Baker inauguration gala to cost $1.6 million; Big businesses help to pay for events" by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff December 31, 2014
Governor-elect Charlie Baker has tapped developers, insurers, and utilities that do business with the state to foot the ballooning bill for his inaugural bash, which is now estimated to cost $1.6 million and includes a private candlelight dinner for high-dollar donors.
A preliminary donor list released by Baker aides shows the governor-elect has raised more than $780,000 from two political action committees, 32 individuals, and 43 corporations to bankroll his inauguration on Jan. 8, which was initially estimated to cost $1 million.
Among the 17 top donors giving $25,000 each are Blue Cross Blue Shield; MassMutual; Hanover Insurance; Northeast Utilities; Boston University; and Brait Builders, a Marshfield construction company.
Verizon donated $20,000, and 12 corporations gave $10,000 each, including Diesel Direct, Astellas Pharma, Staples, and Atlantic Charter Insurance Co.
Baker has invited his biggest donors to a candlelight dinner at Alden Castle in Brookline on Jan. 7, the night before he is sworn in at the State House.
The inaugural schedule also includes parties in South Boston and Worcester and a concert for supporters on Jan. 9 in Dorchester.
Pamela H. Wilmot, executive director of the government watchdog group Common Cause Massachusetts, said special interests should not be funding inaugural celebrations or be granted exclusive access to the governor-elect at a private dinner the night before his swearing-in.
“These are people who are actually looking for something from government and getting special access and influence, or at least creating the appearance of it,” Wilmot said. “That’s a problem for public trust in government and can be an actual problem.”
What public trust in government?
Jim Conroy, a top Baker aide, defended the Baker inaugural committee accepting large sums from companies that either do business with or are heavily regulated by the state.
“We are pleased to have received such strong support for the inaugural celebration from across Massachusetts and have chosen to self-impose contribution limits as well as publicly disclose these contributions in the interest of full transparency,” he said in a statement.
At the estimated $1.6 million, Baker’s inauguration is more expensive than Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s $1.4 million ceremony last January but less than Governor Deval Patrick’s $1.9 million celebration in 2007, which was the costliest in state history.
Baker has set a limit of $25,000 for donations from corporations and individuals and $200 from lobbyists. Despite the cap on lobbyists’ donations, the Baker camp still enlisted lobbyists to raise money for the inauguration.
Robert F. White, a veteran Beacon Hill lobbyist, said he was asked by Baker aides for fund-raising help and solicited checks on the governor-elect’s behalf from Blue Cross Blue Shield; Arbella Insurance; Boston Medical Center; and Cumberland Farms, which gave $25,000.
“I took my client list and worked with them to raise money,” White said.
Boston University, which also donated $25,000 to Walsh’s inauguration, said through a spokesman: “We frequently support important civic events, and we are pleased to support this one, too.”
Patrick had a self-imposed limit of $50,000 for corporations and individuals, and his donor list, like Baker’s, was replete with banks, law firms, and drug companies regulated by the state.
Patrick, who had vowed to shun the culture of insider dealing on Beacon Hill, also banned contributions from Big Dig contractors, tobacco companies, gambling firms, and firearms companies. Governor Mitt Romney, who also promised to clean up Beacon Hill, refused donations from tobacco and gambling interests.
Baker, a former health insurance executive, did not rule out contributions from any category of special interest. But Conroy said the governor-elect still rejected some donations. He refused to say which donations Baker rejected or why.
Baker’s donor list, in addition to large checks from corporations, includes hefty donations from wealthy business executives.
Among those donating the maximum amount of $25,000 were Roger Marino, cofounder of EMC Corp.; Kevin Rollins, former chief executive of Dell, and his wife, Debra; Thomas DeSimone, executive vice president of WS Development; and Wayne Capolupo, chief executive of SPS New England.
Those donating $10,000 included Steve DiFillippo, chief executive of Davio’s restaurant group; John Brock, chief executive of Coca-Cola; John McDonnell, managing director of Tito’s Handmade Vodka; and Seth Klarman, chief executive of The Baupost Group.
The two political action committees that donated to Baker were the State Police Association of Massachusetts, which gave $25,000, and the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants, which gave $2,500.
Baker has also sold about 3,000 tickets, at $50 each, to his “Let’s Be Great, Massachusetts” party at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on Jan. 8, several hours after he takes the oath of office in the House chamber.
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Related:
Inaugural’s top donors mingle with key officials
Winners, losers under Charlie Baker’s administration
Get's him ready for the next election:
"State campaign contributions set to double" by Joshua MillerGlobe Staff December 27, 2014
At the stroke of midnight Jan. 1, Massachusetts politicians can celebrate something besides 2015: their new ability to raise twice as much campaign money from individual donors.
Ma$$achu$etts democracy.
Beginning in the new year, candidates for all municipal, county, and state elected offices — including city council, mayor, the Legislature, and statewide offices such as governor — can raise $1,000 per year from individuals, double the current limit of $500.
The change, part of a multifaceted campaign finance package signed into law this summer, is certain to be a big boon to political pocketbooks. Beyond that, there is dispute about what the increase might mean.
Some specialists believe the increase will simply make campaigns more expensive. Others think it might allow politicians to raise the money they need in less time, and spend their newly free hours with regular voters, building support.
And while the increase could help incumbents, a handful of operatives and analysts say the higher limits could give a boost to challengers looking to take them out. The contribution increase, they say, could allow upstart candidates to raise enough money to mount a viable challenge in cases where they could not at $500 a pop.
Candidacies for any office, from state representative to governor, tend to require a certain minimum amount of money to pay for the basics of a modern campaign.
While every district is different, a challenger hoping to oust a state senator needs to raise somewhere in the vicinity of $100,000 to run a real campaign, operatives of both parties said. Theoretically under the new limits, a challenger could do that with 50 wealthy supporters who each cut a $1,000 check in both years of a two-year election cycle.
But, of course, incumbents will be able to raise twice as much as well. And other analysts are certain that the new limits will further entrench them in a state where elected officials are notoriously difficult to beat....
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Maybe he could become king, especially with the wind at his back:
"Two utilities opt out of Cape Wind; Future of Nantucket Sound turbine project in doubt as purchase contracts are terminated" by Jim O’Sullivan, Globe Staff January 07, 2015
The Cape Wind plan was dealt a major setback Tuesday when two power companies that had agreed to buy energy from the Nantucket Sound wind farm terminated their contracts with the developers, raising questions about the future of the $2.5 billion offshore project.
National Grid and Northeast Utilities said Cape Wind had missed the Dec. 31 deadline contained in the 2012 contracts to obtain financing and begin construction, and chosen not to put up financial collateral to extend the deadline.
NStar, a Northeast Utilities subsidiary, informed Cape Wind officials of its decision late Tuesday, officials said.
“Unfortunately, Cape Wind has missed these critical milestones,” Northeast Utilities spokeswoman Caroline Pretyman said in an e-mail. “Additionally, Cape Wind has chosen not to exercise their right to post financial security in order to extend the contract deadlines. Therefore the contract is now terminated.”
In a separate e-mail, National Grid spokesman Jake Navarro said the utility was “disappointed that Cape Wind has been unable to meet its commitments under the contract, resulting in today’s termination of the power purchase agreement.”
Under the 2012 agreement, Northeast Utilities and NStar agreed to buy 27.5 percent of Cape Wind’s production. National Grid had previously signed on to purchase 50 percent.
A Cape Wind spokesman said the developer does not “regard these terminations as valid” because of provisions that, the company argued, would extend the deadlines....
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Related: Cape Wind’s future called into question
You really have to labor to find corruption in the new cabinet:
"Baker’s labor pick left board as trouble began; City health center collapsed soon after he left board" by Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff January 05, 2015
In the last few years that Ronald L. Walker II served as chairman of the board of Roxbury Comprehensive Community Health Center, his own business — Next Street Financial — charged the center hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees for board development and strategic planning, documents show.
Within a year of his departure, the board had been decimated and the health center was about to suffer a financial collapse the board members apparently never saw coming. The 45-year-old institution was closed in 2013, and many of its employees never got paid for four weeks of work.
Last month, Governor-elect Charlie Baker named Walker the state’s next secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, heralding his work as a cofounder of Next Street Financial, which is a merchant bank that invests in small businesses and advises entrepreneurs in urban areas.
Wall Street writ little.
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Baker’s announcement listed many of Walker’s accolades, including his membership on prominent local boards and a variety of corporate leadership awards, but made no mention of his long-term oversight of the now-defunct health center known as “RoxComp.”
Walker was no longer on the board at the time the center closed, a point that Baker spokesman Tim Buckley made repeatedly on the day of the appointment when asked about Walker’s RoxComp involvement.
But Walker served as chairman of the community health center’s board for at least a dozen years, leaving after the first alarm bells went off in the summer of 2011.
By then, Walker apparently had stopped working with the board, although verifying the exact date is difficult given the lack of record-keeping at the center.
WHAT??!!
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Along with the presidency of Next Street, Walker’s resume includes a stint as executive vice president at Sovereign Bank and as board chairman of the BASE, a Roxbury mentoring center. He won the 2013 Boston Business Journal’s CEO of the Year Social Leadership Award, and the Boston Chamber of Commerce’s under-40 Leadership Award, according to Baker’s team.
The spectacular 2013 downfall of a health center that had been a neighborhood fixture for four decades has been primarily attributed to mismanagement by the chief executive officer, Anita Crawford, who was forced out before the center closed. But board oversight and governance problems were heavily criticized in federal reports on the center that preceded its demise. Walker’s company was paid since 2008 to strengthen the center’s planning and governance.
The former employee who spoke with the Globe on the condition of anonymity said Next Street’s involvement was pitched as an ambitious marketing campaign and that employees were interviewed about the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. Next Street created a website for RoxComp, but the employee could not recall ever seeing actions result from the strategic planning.
Rishi Shukla, Next Street’s head of finance and operations, did not respond to questions about whether a strategic plan was ever delivered. He also would not address specific questions about the firm’s work with the health center, saying in a statement only that it involved “strategy consulting, organizational development, and marketing,” and that a “strict confidentiality agreement” prohibited him from saying more....
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I'm sure others have questions....
Also see:
Baker emphasizes the right character
For Baker, 6 tips to a successful inauguration speech
I think it is a shame his mom doesn't get to see it.
Rosenberg calls for fight against income inequality
It's a little late now, don't you think?
Charlie Baker, Cardinal O’Malley visit Pine Street Inn
Charlie Baker’s service signals heft of Hispanic church
For Charlie Baker, a return to a place of lessons
I guess I haven't learned mine.
