Attorney General-elect Maura Healey will announce the creation of a new division of community engagement in her inaugural address Wednesday, pledging to answer the public’s questions in online forums and at in-person events across the state.
The “Ask the AG” effort will raise the profile of a figure widely considered a rising star in Massachusetts politics, and it dovetails with a campaign promise to be the “people’s lawyer.”
*************
Treasurer-elect Deborah Goldberg, who will be sworn in by Governor Charlie Baker in the House of Representatives chamber, is expected to announce the creation of a new Office of Economic Empowerment.
The deputy treasurer in charge of the office will work on issues Goldberg discussed in the campaign, such as financial literacy, college savings, and equal pay for women.
A Goldberg spokesman said it will not require any new spending.
Auditor Suzanne Bump, who is beginning her second term, is expected to trumpet the high-profile audits of her first term, several of which focused on education and child welfare.
She will also discuss her efforts to overhaul the office, according to an aide.
Related: Bump Bruised
Four years ago, a National State Auditors Association review blasted her predecessor, A. Joseph DeNucci.
Related: Who's Auditing the Auditors?
Not One Honest Man in Massachusetts Government
I haven't found one. I guess that's why they are giving the women a chance.
Last year, the organization gave her office a passing grade, the highest grade it issues.
Secretary of State William F. Galvin, as is his custom, will be sworn in privately by the governor Wednesday....
Related: Galvin Guards Government Secrets
Healey’s division of community engagement, according to an aide, will include an online portal allowing citizens to request training on confronting bullying, sexual harassment, and other issues. The new office will also use technology to ferret out trends in the public’s complaints and target investigations accordingly.
--more--"
Also see:
Can Maura Healey work with the business community?
Healey opposes deal with Partners HealthCare
In packed ceremony, Maura Healey sworn in as AG
The 5'4" former pro basketballer is taking on the big boys!
"S&P settles with US, Mass. over mortgage securities" by Deirdre Fernandes, Globe Staff January 21, 2015
Ratings company Standard & Poor’s will pay $77 million to the US government, Massachusetts, and New York to resolve an investigation into mortgage-backed securities.
The ratings agency will pay Massachusetts $7 million over allegations it made misleading statements about how it evaluated certain commercial mortgage-backed securities in 2011, giving investors a false sense of security and leaving them less protected from defaults and losses.
“Credit rating agencies are required to accurately disclose their ratings criteria to ensure transparency and protect investors,” Martha Coakley said in a statement released on the day she left her attorney general’s post in Massachusetts. “We will not tolerate credit-rating agencies continuing to compromise the integrity of their ratings for their own financial gain while putting investors and the financial markets at risk.”
By relaxing its ratings and failing to inform investors, S&P made $7 million in fees, according to Coakley.
S&P will also pay the Securities and Exchange Commission $58 million and New York $12 million. The federal regulator said this is the first enforcement action against a major ratings company.
--more--"
Those are the same guys that just downgraded Russia after AAAing all the MBS garbage that they made billions off.
UPDATES:
"Partners’ deal to acquire three hospitals rejected" by Priyanka Dayal McCluskey and Robert Weisman, Globe Staff January 29, 2015
A Superior Court judge on Thursday dealt a devastating blow to Partners HealthCare’s plans to expand its dominance across Eastern Massachusetts, rejecting a controversial deal that would have allowed Partners to acquire three community hospitals and add hundreds of doctors to its network.
After months of deliberations, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Janet L. Sanders sided with opponents of the acquisitions, who argued that allowing Partners to expand more would give the health system, already the state’s largest and most expensive, the market power to further increase costs.
It’s highly unusual for judges to reject consent judgments, and Sanders’ decision came as a surprise to many in the health care industry who had expected the settlement to be approved.
In a 48-page decision, Sanders found that the settlement negotiated by Partners and former attorney general Martha Coakley did not provide sufficient protections to keep Partners’ market power in check — and thus help control health care costs for Massachusetts consumers in the years ahead.
She called the remedies in the settlement a temporary “Band-Aid” and the deal far too complex for the court to properly enforce. It would, Sanders said, “cement Partners’ already strong position in the health care market and give it the ability, because of this market muscle, to exact higher prices from insurers for the services its providers render.”
The ruling was a stunning setback for Partners and for Coakley, who brokered the deal with Partners after five years of investigation and several months of negotiations. Partners could still press forward with the acquisitions — but under the threat of litigation....
--more--"
Related: After legal setback, Partners should drop merger plan
Also see: "The political class, already on the lookout for a new Democratic standard-bearer, took note.... the Next Big Thing in Massachusetts politics."
Winners and losers from the Partners deal fallout
Partners ruling could have national implications
