Dorchester is a backdrop in Mass. Senate race ads
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Dorchester residents are seeing some familiar faces in the television ads for the Massachusetts Senate race.
“Her father was janitor; my father was a janitor,” says Catherine O’Neill, a Savin Hill resident whose statement opens U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren’s latest ad, which started airing on Wednesday. O’Neill is active in local politics and recently wrote a politically-themed play, “Murph,” which just wrapped up a run at the Boston Playwrights’ Theater.
“Big banks, institutions, Wall Street — she’s not afraid of anybody,” O’Neill adds later in the 30-second ad. Read more
Menino announces picks for advisory committee on casino
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A partner at the law firm McCarter & English will be heading up Mayor Thomas Menino’s advisory committee on a Boston casino. Brian Leary, a former reporter and anchor for WCVB-TV, will join five others on the committee as City Hall is expected to negotiate a mitigation agreement with the owners of Suffolk Downs, which is seeking to open a destination resort casino in East Boston. Read more
Political drama 'Murph' at Boston Playwrights Theatre April 13 to 28
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Dorchester writer Catherine O’Neill’s political drama, ‘Murph,’ starts next week at the Boston Playwrights Theatre.
Set in Boston on “the eve of the Clinton administration,” the play revolves around the fictional state Rep. Kevin Murphy and his acolytes. “These characters are composites of people I’ve been in political foxholes with,” O'Neill, who has worked on several local campaigns, told the Reporter last year.
The drama, directed by Brett Marks, stars James Bocock, John Geoffrion, Emily Kaye Lazarro and Robert Pittella.
The play runs from April 13 to April 28. Read more
Poll has good news for Coakley, medical marijuana initiative
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Favorability numbers for Attorney General Martha Coakley have increased by 26 points since she ran in the special U.S. Senate election in Jan. 2010, according to a new poll. Voters returned her to the attorney general's office the following November. Read more
Rep. Fox could pick up another challenger
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A second candidate could be taking on state Rep. Gloria Fox (D-Roxbury) this year. Rufus Faulk, a 30-year-old program director with the Boston TenPoint Coalition, told the Reporter on Monday he’s jumping into the race.
Born and raised in Roxbury, Faulk has worked for the coalition’s gang mediation initiative for seven years. He has degrees from Temple University and Boston University.
Faulk joins community activist Jed Hresko, who has also announced a campaign for Seventh Suffolk state representative. The Democratic primary is set for September. Read more
Consalvo chief of staff running for Governor's Council seat
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District 5 City Councillor Rob Consalvo’s chief of staff is mounting a run for a vacant Governor’s Council seat. A holdover from the Bay State’s colonial era, the eight-member council signs off on judicial nominations, pardons and commutations and state treasury payments. Read more
(UPDATED) DeLeo, Yancey clash over school funding
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When City Councillor Charles Yancey mentions the prospect of a Mattapan high school, he is often greeted with weary smiles and eye rolls from City Hall insiders who know how frequently the longtime District 4 representative manages to work it into his remarks.
On Wednesday night, Yancey elicited a different reaction when he brought a Mattapan high school up during a forum at the Joseph Lee School featuring House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) and state Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty (D-Chelsea). Read more
DeLeo in Dorchester on Wednesday night as lawmakers work on sentencing bill compromise
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House Speaker Robert DeLeo is set to headline a neighborhood crime meeting in Dorchester on Wednesday night. The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Joseph Lee School at 155 Talbot Ave.
DeLeo (D-Winthrop) will be joined by state Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, the House chair of the Judiciary Committee and Chelsea Democrat.
State Rep. Russell Holmes, a Mattapan Democrat and member of the House side of the Judiciary Committee, will provide the introduction. Read more
Plea change hearing set in former state Rep. Wallace's campaign finance case
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A hearing for a plea change has been set for next week in the campaign finance violation case of former state Rep. Brian Wallace. The South Boston Democrat and his former campaign treasurer were indicted last year by a Suffolk grand jury for allegedly failing to report thousands of dollars in campaign contributions in 2008.
Wallace’s attorney, Bill McDermott, declined to comment late Tuesday afternoon when asked about the plea change hearing, which is scheduled for March 20. A trial is potentially scheduled for May, according to court records. Read more
Rep. Collins wins Dem state committee seat
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State Rep. Nick Collins (D-South Boston) won a write-in campaign to grab a Democratic state committee seat, according to unofficial results. Collins won 1,518 votes to local activist Craig Galvin's 535 votes.
At Tuesday's presidential primary election, voters could choose a party committeeman and a woman for their respective state Senate district. State Sen. Jack Hart (D-South Boston) chose not to run for the First Suffolk committee seat, leading Galvin, who last year ran for Dorchester's District 3 City Council seat, to launch his candidacy. Read more
Report: Patrick skipping South Boston breakfast
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Nestled in the State House News Service item on Gov. Deval Patrick's plans for a vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands is this news: Patrick will be coming back on Sunday, March 18, but he won't be attending the annual St. Patrick's Day breakfast in South Boston.
The breakfast is hosted by state Sen. Jack Hart (D-South Boston). Elected officials take the stage at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center to roast and poke fun at each other.
State rep and local activist quarreling over Dem state committee seat
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An intraparty squabble appears to be spicing up an otherwise sleepy Super Tuesday, as a state representative from South Boston and an activist from Dorchester face off for a state Democratic Party slot.
Craig Galvin, a Dorchester Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for City Council in 2011, has been waging a write-in campaign to be the state Democratic Party’s committeeman for the First Suffolk Senate district. A man and a woman from each of the state’s 40 Senate districts are elected to state committee seats, which are up for grabs every four years during the presidential primary election. Read more
Former Mayor Flynn backs Brown on 'conscience clause'
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Former Mayor Ray Flynn this week wrote a letter of support for U.S. Sen. Scott Brown’s push for a “conscience clause” exempting employers from covering contraceptive services based on religious or moral objections. Read more
In maiden speech, Baker calls for 24-hour substance abuse helpline
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City Councillor Frank Baker, in a maiden speech to his colleagues, on Wednesday called for a 24-hour substance abuse help line, saying the city and the state do not have a round-the-clock service.
Substance abuse help lines do exist at the city and state level, but they do not function 24 hours a day, according to Baker. "We need to ask ourselves why we don’t have a helpline in the City of Boston, why the services provided are not available 24 hours a day, and what we can do to make this invaluable resource accessible to our residents," Baker said.
Baker said the issue is personal for him, having lost a 25-year-old niece to heroin last year and a brother to drug overdose 19 years ago. The latter sent him into a negative spiral, which came up during the 2011 campaign.
Baker's maiden speech, as prepared for delivery, is available after the jump. Read more
Pressley to appear on MSNBC's 'Ed Show,' talk Blunt Amendment
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City Councillor At-Large Ayanna Pressley will appear on MSNBC's "The Ed Show" on Thursday night to talk about women's health issues and the controversial proposal known as the Blunt amendment.
The amendment, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri), allows employers to opt out of health benefit mandates for religious or moral reasons. Read more
St. Mark's civic group could vote on whether casino referendum should be city-wide
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The St. Mark’s Area Civic Association could weigh in Tuesday night on whether there should be a city-wide vote on a Boston casino.
According to an agenda previewing the meeting, attendees of the monthly meeting will be polled on the issue. The association’s meeting starts 7 p.m. in the lower hall of St. Mark’s Church on Dorchester Ave. Read more
Lynch: Obama compromise on contraception rule ‘reasonable’
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U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston), who criticized President Obama’s initial contraception rule, is backing the White House’s compromise as U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Democratic candidate for Senate Elizabeth Warren battle over the issue via radio ads.
The Obama administration said in January that employee health coverage through religious groups and organizations must include contraception, before backtracking and saying they can be exempt. Read more
Scott Brown, like other pols, gets his history wrong
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Beware of politicians bearing narratives, we warned earlier this week. An addendum can be added to that: Context, history and cynicism are necessary. Read more
Beacon Hill close to accord on habitual offender/three strikes bill
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The following is via State House News Service, which wrote up state Rep. Bradford Hill's Wednesday morning appearance on FOX25. The Ipswich Republican is a member of the conference committee attempting to hash out a compromise on habitual offender/three strikes bills. Read more
Dem caucuses set for this weekend in Boston
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The epic showdown in 2002 between Menino loyalists and state Rep. Marty Walsh over control of party delegates and the 2010 announcement from state Rep. Marie St. Fleur that she was not running for reelection showed that ward committee caucuses can sometimes be head-turning – and news-making – affairs, particularly in election years.
This weekend’s caucuses will choose delegates and alternates to the state party convention, set for June 2 in Springfield. All registered Democrats are eligible to participate at their ward meeting.
Below is a listing of some of the upcoming caucuses: Read more
City Council weighs State House legislation on three strikes and sentencing reform
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A split between activists battling so-called "three-strikes" legislation played out in the City Council chambers on Wednesday. The Senate and House have both overwhelmingly passed bills dealing with elimination of parole for three-time violent criminal offenders in fall 2011, and Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed his own anti-crime package.
The House version is far narrower than the Senate bill and has drawn criticism and heated rhetoric from activists split between those seeking a compromise bill and those who aren’t. Read more
In this week's Reporter: White, school assignment, casinos and more
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A quick rundown of the politics and policy in this week's Reporter:
-- “We would go down to City Hall frequently and we were on the same wave-length pretty much all the time,” former Senate President William Bulger recalls of the late Kevin White. “It was, how do we get through this and have everything intact at the end of the effort. There was a maturity and trust for the other person. He was always very kind to me in his public utterances.”
-- Wherein Steven Roth of Vornado Realty Trust gets called a "jackass from Manhattan."
-- Chuck Turner's revenge? Mike Deehan previews Turner's lawsuit against the City Council. The Supreme Judicial Court hears the arguments next week.
-- Revamping of the school assignment plan is just beginning, but here's a look at what's changed since last time and what people are looking for. Read more
Former Patrick aide leaving UMass, headed to private sector
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A year after rejoining UMass Boston, a former top aide to Gov. Deval Patrick is on the move again. Effective Feb. 10, Arthur Bernard, vice chancellor for government relations and public affairs, is headed to the private sector.
He'll be joining up with a former boss, Robert Travaglini at Travaglini, Eisenberg and Kiley LLC, a government relations firm. Travaglini served as state Senate president, and for four years Bernard was his chief of staff. Read more
