Governor Charlie Baker took a hit on election day, but those who smell blood in the water are seriously mistaken. Baker supported expanding charter schools, Question Two on the ballot. He was right on the issue, but the expansion referendum went down in flames. He opposed legalizing marijuana. That, too, made sense. But despite his efforts and …
Tag: Charlie Baker
Bathroom bill looms in Massachusetts
I have a friend. Let's call her Suzannah. She is over six feet tall, blue-eyed, platinum hair in a page boy. Terrific set of gams, as my father would say. She's married to a smart and talented guy. But here's a problem. It's the bathroom law, currently in effect in North Carolina and Georgia and under consideration …
Marijuana legalization in Mass. – high or low?
I've often thought that, for an adult, getting mildly exhilarated without the caloric intake of wine or other alcoholic beverage would be a good thing. And doesn't the government already intrude either directly or indirectly in too many of our personal decisions? So why not legalize marijuana, as a referendum on the Massachusetts ballot in November …
Continue reading Marijuana legalization in Mass. – high or low?
Charlie Baker: color him purple
Charlie Baker couldn't be elected dog catcher as a Republican in wide red swaths of our country. For evidence, look at just the last 24 hours. Our Republican governor is expanding diversity in businesses contracting with the state, widening opportunities for people with disabilities and LGBT orientations to share in the $4 billion a year in contracts for …
Popular mayor not immune to criticism
The Boston Globe took Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to the woodshed this week. In a 3/4 page editorial (a sign of energy unusual for the paper's diminished editorial page), the paper screamed "Enough." It proceeded to lambaste the mayor for continuing his $1 million (to date) lawsuit to stop Steve Wynn's proposed casino in neighboring Everett. The …
Fox Olympics debate more heat than light
A serious debate over the bid to bring the 2024 Olympics to Boston was a good idea. What took place Thursday night wasn't. Promising a no-rules, informal format, the two moderators (the Boston Globe's Sasha Pfeiffer and Fox 25's Maria Stephanos) let the Boston 2024 supporters run roughshod over the opponents and the moderators themselves. Five …
A modest proposal for the House Speaker
Three Massachusetts Speakers indicted, the most recent, Sal De Masi, sent to the slammer for eight years. With Massachusetts reeling from the scandalous pattern, Representative Bob DeLeo became the man of the hour in 2009 when, on becoming Speaker, he successfully pushed for term limits for the position. DeLeo ascribed the change as reflecting the need for …
Rise up, ye garden party skunks
Driving down the Mass Pike the day after Boston was tapped for the 2024 U.S. summer Olympics bid, there on the WGBH electronic billboard, the five Olympic rings logo against our beautiful skyline. A frisson of excitement. Wow; it's coming here! Congratulations to the bidding group. And in a split second, I wondered what (and who) …
Pray for Charlie Baker’s good health
Governor-elect Charlie Baker is off to a good start. He was gracious to losing candidate Martha Coakley on election night and the day after. He struck the right tone with Deval Patrick in discussing the transition. Pushed to announce his positions on everything, he has refused to get sucked into the illusions of hosting the …
Coakley v. Baker – almost a yawn
Tonight's televised benign if mildly tense debate between Charlie Baker and Martha Coakley was clearly a draw, which may have been the defensive objective of all concerned. Comfortably moderated by WGBH talk show hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan, both candidates stuck to their well honed, but by now shop-worn messages, spoke calmly, and smiled wanly …
