Sunday, May 19, 2013
The state's Restaurant and Business Alliance said there was "no sign of opposition" at a hearing this week.
The Joint Committee on Revenue in the Massachusetts legislature held a hearing this week on the notion of a potential meals tax holiday for August and one supporting group is liking its chances. According to the state's Restaurant and Business Alliance (R.A.B.A), the hearing held Tuesday for the Meals Tax Holiday Bill saw "no sign of opposition" to the measure. Twelve legislators have signed on to the bill primarily sponsored by Rep. Keiko Orrall of Lakeville and Sen. Michael O. Moore of Millbury. If passed, the legislation would go into effect from Sunday, Aug. 11 through Thursday, Aug. 15. "We should offer a Meals Tax Holiday to benefit employees and small local business owners inside Massachusetts to help stimulate the economy," said …
Saturday, May 18, 2013
State Sen. Mike Barrett has filed an amendment to fund the Massachusetts Asian American Commission.
Recap and analysis of the week in state government.
Like pieces of a puzzle that don't quite fit together yet, the Big Three may have been separated at birth, but with each incremental step their destinies seem to grow more intertwined. No, we're not talking about those Big Three - Gov. Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray and Speaker Robert DeLeo - though they play major character roles in this thickening plot. Instead, three bills have come to define the early months of the 2013 legislative agenda and resolutions on tax hikes, local road funding and the annual state budget continue to be elusive and dependent on one another. Patrick spent the early part of his week welcoming British Prime Minister David Cameron to Boston for a few quick meetings and a visit to the Copley …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Concord's member of Congress, Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell), who made ending sexual abuse within the armed forces a key part of her election campaign, had some harsh words following recent allegations of sexual misconduct of a high ranking Air Force officer.
Last week, Lt. Colonel Jeffrey Krusinski, head of the U.S. Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, was charged with alleged sexual battery, a fact that led to a strong response from Concord's member of Congress. The news came on the same day that US Rep Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell), was briefed by U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on the Department of Defense's (DoD) annual report on sexual assualt in the military. Tsongas, co-chair of the Congressional Military Sexual Assault Prevention Caucus thanked Hagel for presenting a plan for preventing sexual assault, but had scathing words for the current state of sexual harassment faced by members of the military. "the DoD report indicates a staggering amount of instances of …
Saturday, May 11, 2013
To raise awareness for rare diseases, state Sen. Mike Barrett presented an official citation to leaders of the Hereditary Angioedema Association alongside executives of Shire, a drug manufacturer whose U.S. headquarters for rare diseases is in Lexington.
Results from a recent executive survey ranked Massachusetts 47th for business.
A CEO magazine ranks Massachusetts as one of the worst states in the nation for business. Chief Executive Magazine ranked Massachusetts 47th based on a survey of corporate leaders. Survey respondents reported the Bay State is one of the worst for taxation and regulation. The state Republican Party is pointing to the survey and saying that Gov. Deval Patrick and the Democratic-led Legislature are bad for the economy and business. What do you think about Massachusetts’ business climate? Is this a good state in which to do business?
Recap and analysis of the week in state government.
Massachusetts' problem is now Virginia's. After a macabre, around-the-clock stakeout of a Worcester funeral home this week by frenzied reporters and furious protestors, the remains of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev were secreted out of central Massachusetts and buried in a small Muslim cemetery in rural Virginia. No cemetery in Massachusetts, or public official for that matter, wanted Tsarnaev's body. And Gov. Deval Patrick just seemed relieved the tense standoff was over. "No. I have enough to do," Patrick said, when asked if he wished he had gotten involved to end the theatrics sooner. The April 15 attacks on the finish line of the Boston Marathon threw Beacon Hill policymakers off stride, quieting the raging debate …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Congressman leads Gabriel Gomez by 17 points.
A new Suffolk University/7NEWS (WHDH) poll shows a strong lead for Democratic U.S. Congressman Edward Markey over Republican businessman and former U.S. Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez in the race for the U.S. Senate special election. The poll of 500 likely voters has Markey at 52 percent and Gomez at 35 percent. Eleven percent of voters in the poll were undecided. A third-party candidate, Richard Heos of the Twelve Visions Party, got 1 percent and another 1 percent refused to respond. David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston, said along with the announcement of the poll, Markey has "a large lead over his Republican opponent who voters are unsure about." Indeed, 32 percent of those polled said they'd…
Monday, May 6, 2013
They think Massachusetts Democrats are the New York Yankees of politics. Here's why they're wrong.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
The bill will go before Gov. Deval Patrick for approval.
The Massachusetts Senate has passed a $300 million transportation bond bill that, if approved by the governor, will help finance transportation needs across the state. The funds provided in the bill can be used by every municipality in the state for highway construction, preservation and improvement projects, and maintaining, repairing, improving and constructing town and county ways and bridges, according to a statement issued by Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex counties state senator Richard J. Ross. “This legislation provides much-needed funding to our cities and towns for transportation projects essential to keeping Massachusetts roads safe and efficient for residents,” Ross said in the statement. “During such troubling economic times, …
Ken B.
10:34 am on Sunday, May 19, 2013
The problem was in more than one office and involved more than 2 "clerks". So Gene, what is "real news" to you ? The IRS problem being blamed on a Bush appointee ? Benghazi attack was the result of a video ? more ›