Saturday, February 9, 2013
Do you agree with the governor's decision or was it too drastic?
All non-emergency drivers were ordered off the roads on Friday when Gov. Deval Patrick issued an executive order banning travel during the blizzard. (Editor's note: The ban is lifted statewide as of 4 p.m. Saturday.) Patrick's executive order is being praised by some and bashed by others, reported The Boston Globe. While former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, who was in charge of the commonwealth during the Blizzard of ’78, praised the governor’s move, others called the order “tyrannical” and say the strict ban and hefty fines were too much, according to The Globe. Those caught violating the ban would face up to a year in jail and a $500 fine. What do you think? Do you agree with the governor’s decision or do you think the travel ban …
Friday, February 8, 2013
Governor Deval Patrick has declared a State of Emergency, but what does that mean?
Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency today banning car travel after 4 p.m. According to information from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, a state of emergency can involve different measures and does not always affect travel or private businesses. There may be a request for drivers to stay off the roads and for businesses to change their hours, but the governor may also order roads to be closed to non-emergency traffic. There has not been an ordered ban on travel since the Blizzard of '78. Violators could be fined up to $500 and be sentenced to a year in jail, although Governor Patrick says the main purpose is to get non-essential people off the roads. The state of emergency does not mean the state will …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Tell us: do you think we need to increase taxes to strengthen education and transportation?
In his State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday night, Gov. Deval Patrick proposed raising the state's income tax by 1 percentage point and lowering the sales tax to pay for $2 billion in transportation improvements and early childhood education programs. "There is no good time to raise taxes. I know how tough the times have been on the people and families of the Commonwealth. And though the worst of the recession is over, many, many families still face tough decisions and have deep anxiety about the future. I would not ask if I did not believe in my heart that investing meaningfully today in education and transportation will significantly improve our economic tomorrows," Patrick said. Patrick said he wanted a more fair and …
Friday, January 4, 2013
A drop in the state's median household income led to the salary reduction.
Massachusetts lawmakers will get a pay cut this year, in accordance with a state law that links legislators’ salaries to the state’s median household income. Governor Deval Patrick’s office announced the drop in wages this week. “As required by Article CXVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution, for the purpose of adjusting the base compensation of members of the General Court, we have ascertained, from the federal census American Community Survey and reports of average weekly wages, that the median household income for the Commonwealth for the preceding two-year period decreased by 1.8 percent,” Patrick said in a Jan. 2 letter to State Treasurer Steven Grossman. The pay cut amounts to about $1,000 annually from legislators’ current base…
Thursday, November 1, 2012
The two utility companies have had complaints in recent storms—Hurricane Irene and Snowtober—but say they stepped it up for Sandy.
Hurricane Sandy blew out of the region earlier this week, but not without causing massive power outages, some of which have yet to be fixed. Both National Grid and NStar say they did a better, faster job in fixing power outages than in previous storms, according to WBUR. Not everyone agrees, however. According to the story, Newton Mayor Setti Warren said NStar was faster, but there's still work to be done. Gov. Deval Patrick also told WBUR the companies worked faster, but said a "total victory" can't be declared. Do you agree? Have they improved since the last storm? Or is there still work to be done? Tell us in the comments.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Gov. Deval Patrick speaks with Patch readers live at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Which questions do you want him to answer?
If you could ask Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick one question, what would it be? Patrick will join Patch Thursday at 1:30 p.m. for a live chat with readers. Now isyour chance to ask the executive of the commonwealth your question about casinos, the economy, elections or whatever else you want to know. Can't make it to the live chat? Leave your questions for Patrick in the comments to have them considered for the live Q&A session. We'll be sure to ask about the most popular topics when we chat Thursday. To join our chat, head on over to our homepage from 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. on Thursday.
Ask Gov. Deval Patrick about any topic you like during our live chat at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Gov. Deval Patrick will take your questions live on Patch this Thursday. The governor will spend 45 minutes fielding your questions as they come. Head to our homepage from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. on Thursday to join our chat. You'll simply have to provide your name, and you'll be able to ask your questions immediately. If you can't make the live chat, leave your questions as comments to this article, and we'll do our best to add them to the queue. We will publish the live chat transcript immediately and a recap first thing on Friday morning. Questions submitted will be subject to moderator approval. No vulgar or libelous comments will be allowed. Because we expect a high volume of questions for the chat session, we will keep the questions …
JT
3:40 pm on Sunday, February 10, 2013
People should use their common sense in situations like this--but there are always some who won't and will endanger others in the process. The ban was good in that respect, and the $500 fine certainly should have made folks think twice if they were hesitating over driving or staying home for no particular reason. However, the threatened jail time was absurd--and enough's been said about that here… more ›