He did it as he left, and they should name it after him:
"State-funded report recommends big increase in gas pipeline capacity" by Jon Chesto, Globe Staff January 08, 2015
A report commissioned by the Patrick administration and released Thursday, less than an hour before Charlie Baker’s inauguration as governor, shows the need for a significant increase in natural gas capacity to help fuel local power plants on cold days.
That shows a denial that is astonishing. Think of it this way: you give two weeks notice at a job. The first week you are still working, want that good referral. The second week, you are pretty much coasting. It's over and someone else will be taking your place.
Now, the first month I can understand tying up some loose ends (after eight years of colossal failure), but this last month shows some mental health issues.
The report, from Synapse Energy Economics in Cambridge, could reignite discussions about a tariff to help pay for more pipeline capacity into New England.
Oh, NOW I OPPOSE the PIPELINE!
Tariff means TAX, and my history books imply that as bad!
A group representing the region’s governors put the tariff talks on hold in August after then-Governor Deval Patrick decided to revisit the need for more natural gas pipelines.
They are using the cost to extort you.
The Patrick administration then paid Synapse $250,000 to study the issue. The release of Synapse’s findings on Thursday represented one of the administration’s final acts before Baker took over.
So which well-connected concern got the contract, and he's cutting out 1/4 of a million dollars for a study while leaving with a budget out of balance?
The report looked at various scenarios.
************
The theory behind the tariffs: A hefty upfront investment could save ratepayers money down the line by increasing supplies into the region.
What that means is a huge up-front charge with promised pay-offs down the line, and haven't we heard all that before?!!!!
Tony Buxton, a lawyer who represents a coalition of big industrial users in New England, said he hopes Baker will revive those talks now that the Synapse report is done.
“If Massachusetts comes back on board, they will move toward some kind of tariff,” Buxton, who works at the Preti Flaherty law firm in Maine, said of the six-state group. “How that works is still up in the air. I think the other five states are eager to do it.”
But critics said the report failed to take into consideration a number of factors that could offset the need for more pipelines.
No.
For example, Larry Chretien, executive director of the Mass Energy Consumers Alliance, said the report did not fully anticipate all that could be done to make buildings more energy-efficient.
Peter Shattuck, clean energy initiative director at the nonprofit Acadia Center, said the report did not consider the recent worldwide plunge in oil prices or fully assess other energy projects that could eventually come online.
“It’s important for the governors . . . to look at all the alternatives before they make a significant gamble on gas,” he said.
Exxon says it is not much of a gamble.
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The next move could be up to the new governor. In his inaugural address Thursday, Baker said he’s looking forward to working with the other New England governors to solve the problem of sky-high electric rates in the region. What that means, exactly, is unclear. A spokeswoman for the administration declined to comment on the Synapse report....
Why should he? They didn't commi$$ion it.
--more--"
Oh, yeah, and those gas savings:
"Consumers celebrating $2-a-gallon gas prices can spend their savings on $125-a-month electricity bills. Starting this month, the electricity bills for most NStar customers will rise 29 percent compared to last January. The rate increase, which was approved by state regulators in November, could eat into the benefit consumers are reaping from the falling price of crude oil -- low prices on gasoline and heating oil. A typical NStar household in Boston, which uses about 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity, would see their monthly bill rise from $95.80 last winter to $123.10, according to company figures. NStar said the utility will charge customers more because power generators are demanding a higher price for electricity."
All part of the legacy....
"Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, US Senator Elizabeth Warren, and US Representative Michael E. Capuano joined Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Governor Deval Patrick, and other officials for the event. Each thanked the outgoing governor for his commitment to the project."
Look, it's OVER!! The sooner you get that through your thick skull the better!
Patrick signs farmer-winery ‘fix’ moments before leaving office
Even I will raise a glass to his departure because it lifts my spirits!
ACLU argues for drug-crime defendants in Annie Dookhan saga
Blanket amnesty is the only fair thing to do as Charlie Moves In.
I've no more energy to help. Good thing the wind is with him.
"At times Thursday the House chamber was more akin to a school auditorium during an assembly, as state leaders chatted away, cellphones chirped, and at least one person heckled Baker during his inaugural address....
How did he get in there, and he should be tarred, feathered, and dumped in the drink.
Btw, I feel real good about the Massachusetts Legislature being like a school auditorium assembly. Gives me a lot of confidence in the $cum.
So what lobbyists were on the phone?
Baker’s inauguration marked a return to power for the state Republican Party, which held the governor’s office for 16 years before Patrick emerged from obscurity to win the seat in 2006. The only specific problem he mentioned were hundreds of homeless families languishing in hotels and motels. He also made vague reference to management failures that sullied Patrick’s second term. Later, he pointedly noted that he had inherited the budget shortfall from the previous administration, but he sidestepped the roiling debate over police-community relations that followed the deaths of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Mo. and New York City. Baker made it clear that his most pressing challenge is the budget crunch. But he pledged not to raise taxes or cut aid to cities and towns. Baker, a former Swampscott selectman, has placed a heavy emphasis on respect for local government. And in one of his first official acts as governor, he authorized $100 million in bond spending for local infrastructure projects that Patrick had withheld....
And it offered a glimpse into the governing challenges Baker faces. After campaigning as a manager of sterling credentials, he now finds himself hard against a management problem of nine-digit proportions: a budget shortfall that he said Thursday is $500 million, but which could be more. “History will record that a budget deficit exceeding half a billion dollars is being transferred to my administration,” Baker said, almost literally passing the buck. The Swampscott Republican was only too happy to lay that and other problems at the feet of outgoing Governor Deval Patrick and, less explicitly, the Legislature. If Baker’s campaign and inaugural rhetoric is to be believed.... "
Well, where else is it supposed to be laid? Amazing how it is accepted to be much more after such protestations from the administration days ago.
Also see:
Governor defends Ronald Walker as choice for labor secretary
Chrystal Kornegay is Charlie Baker’s unlikely ally
You can continue to deconstruct Charlie Baker if you want to spend some capital.
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
Governor Baker puts freeze on state hiring
It will only save $6.5 million, but it's a start. Good luck to him.
