Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is on Team Tom Brady

By now, you've likely heard of #Deflategate and the subsequent suspension of New England Patriots QB Tom Brady. While Brady may not have gained the support of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, he's got at least one powerful figure on his side: Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R). Today, at an Ice Bucket Challenge event at the Massachusetts State House to raise money and awareness for ALS, the governor sported a "Free Brady" shirt.

 

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NOW: Gov. Charlie Baker is wearing a "Free Brady" T-shirt while taking the Ice Bucket Challenge #7News

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11:20 AM - 10 Aug 2015

The event featured Pete Frates, a Massachusetts native and former Boston College baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS in 2012 at the age of 27. Last year, he started the viral "Ice Bucket Challenge" that quickly spread worldwide and resulted in thousands of dollars in donations to various ALS charities.

Via: Townhall

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Massachusetts Republicans are more liberal than Arkansas Democrats

Massachusetts Republicans like Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Gov. Charlie Baker are comparatively moderate.

The Boston Globe

Those of us in the Bay State know that Republicans in Massachusetts aren’t like those more conservative politicians yakking it up on Fox News. Now there’s firm statistical proof of that.

Massachusetts Republican state legislators are more liberal than Republicans in every other state legislature, and they are even more liberal than Democrats in Arkansas, according to a data-heavy political study from Princeton and Georgetown University researchers.

As The Boston Globe explains, the researchers culled roll call votes of legislatures in every state. They then compared those votes to how those across the political spectrum voted in similar topics. Politicians who vote along similar lines were grouped together.

“Strictly speaking, then, this data doesn’t show that Massachusetts legislators hold a particularly liberal set of beliefs,” the Globe writes. “Rather, it shows that they support the types of policies that are embraced by California and Connecticut, contested in much of the country, and anathema in Oklahoma and Missouri. That, by itself, turns out to be a pretty good definition of liberalism.”

Massachusetts Democrats aren’t radically liberal compared to Democrats in states like California or New York, according to the study. Instead, it’s Republicans’ moderate positions that make the state shift so far to the left.

Via: Boston.com

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MASSACHUSETTS: Baker may need to speed up approach on DCF reform

On the campaign trail, Gov. Charlie Baker once slammed then-Gov. Deval Patrick for being “slow, if not resistant” to acknowledge widespread dysfunction inside the Department of Children and Families.

Following the disappearance of Jeremiah Oliver, Patrick ordered an in-house review — but also backed his embattled commissioner and agency.

“If there is a systemic issue in this or any other case, I’m the first one who’s interested in it because it’s my job to deal with systemic issues,” Patrick said weeks after DCF launched a review of 40,000-plus cases. “But I haven’t seen any evidence of that yet.”

Within a week, public pressure pushed Patrick to order an outside probe, which eventually found those “systemic issues.”

Now in the Corner Office, Baker appears to be handling his first DCF crisis the same way he did other headline-grabbing problems: Review first, take a stand later.

Baker has called for commissions, ordered reports and postponed taking action until the problem was too big to ignore — the winter transit collapse — or gone before he had to say where he stood — the 2024 Summer Games.

But DCF, like the T, is Baker’s problem now, especially after a Herald report detailed how school officials alerted­ the child welfare agency to concerns about a 7-year-old Hardwick boy who was later­ found beaten and starved.

Caught in a media scrum yesterday, Baker said he didn’t want to address the case’s developments “piecemeal.” He said he wants a report first, this one expected by Sept. 24. “I want to see the facts.”

It remains to be seen if this DCF firestorm reaches the same level as the one that engulfed Patrick’s final years. But if questions continue to swirl without answers, Baker — once on the outside calling for quicker action — could be facing a test of his more measured approach.

Via: Boston Herald

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MASSACHUSETTS: Charlie Baker Denies USOC Gave Him Boston 2024 Ultimatum

Baker, who has a news conference scheduled later Friday, has yet to declare his support.

Leaders of Boston’s bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics released details Thursday about insurance proposals they say will provide unprecedented coverage for Massachusetts taxpayers.

Baker said the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) is having a meeting on Monday and they asked him to call in.

The report from that group, The Brattle Group, isn’t expected until next month.

“It would be inappropriate for me, or for the Senate president, or for the speaker, to commit the Commonwealth one way or the other until we get that report”, Baker said Friday from the Massachusetts statehouse.

It is possible this alleged ultimatum was an attempt to gain a firmer endorsement from the authorities before USOC officials departed to Kuala Lumpur for next week’s worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) Session.

If the USOC were to bail on the Boston bid and try to replace it with another city – presumably Los Angeles – time is running short to make that move.

“We have learned much from the Boston bid and in many ways it will set the stage for a more transparent bid process for future Games, consistent with the principles of Olympic Agenda 2020″. The USOC considers the governor’s support key to the effort, as well.

“Since I became chairman we have created from the bottom up the new Bid 2.0, which has been made public on our website in its entirety,” Boston 2024 chairman Stephen Pagliuca said in a statement. Boston 2024 had previously kept parts of the “1.0” bid redacted, and cited confidentiality “commitments” to the U.S. Olympic Committee. It also included details about public and political support for the proposals, according to an AP report.

The documents reveal that organizers initially projected the games to cost about $4.7 billion but run at a almost $500 million deficit.

“We’re encouraged by recent discussions with Mayor [Marty] Walsh and Governor Baker and look forward to continued, constructive dialogue”.

A televised debate between bid officials and opponents on Thursday was followed on Friday by the release of an un-redacted version of the original Boston bid, submitted when Boston beat out three other cities to gain the USOC nod. Boston 2024 also suggested they were prepared to challenge any referendum effort on a variety of fronts, including the courts and legislature. In June, a revised proposal was released showing a $4.6 billion budget and a surplus of $200 million.

Via: Rapid News Network

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Thousands ruled ineligible for Mass. Medicaid

BOSTON (AP) — Tens of thousands of people have been removed from the state's Medicaid program during the first phase of an eligibility review, according to figures from Gov. Charlie Baker's administration obtained by The Associated Press.

The eligibility checks, required annually under federal law but not performed in Massachusetts since 2013, began earlier this year as part of Baker's plan to squeeze $761 million in savings from MassHealth, the government-run health insurance program for about 1.7 million poor and disabled residents.

At $15.3 billion, MassHealth is the state's single largest budget expense.

Based on the results of the redetermination process so far, the state was on track to achieve the savings it had hoped for in the current fiscal year without cutting benefits for eligible recipients, said Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders.

The first phase of the process involved letters sent to 503,286 Medicaid recipients over the first six months of the calendar year notifying them of the need to reapply for benefits, according to numbers provided to the AP by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

Final figures were not expected until Aug. 1, but of the nearly 293,000 applications processed through late June, 78 percent remained eligible for Medicaid based on income. Of those deemed ineligible, the majority will have access to subsidized private insurance through the state's health connector, though about 5 percent, according to Sudders, would not qualify for subsidized coverage.

The results of the eligibility redeterminations to date, Sudders said, were in line with the typical rate of change in the Medicaid population and she did not believe it had deprived deserving residents of coverage.

Via: The Herald News

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Massachusetts: Charlie Baker, Marty Walsh field unique requests

U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano has never been afraid to blast political enemies or even those in his own party like Hillary Clinton, waxing that her rollout offered more of a fizzle than a bang.

Turns out the former Somerville mayor’s had a lot of practice sparking explosions.

Capuano said he got a federal license back in 1973 to light fireworks, and worked behind the scenes on municipal fireworks shows throughout the state.

“I thought I could make a killing during the bicentennial. I was wrong,” the Democratic congressman joked during an in-studio visit with Boston Herald Radio.

Capuano didn’t spend a lot of time working the fireworks circuit, but said he gleaned one big takeaway.

“Everyone who worked there, they all had a little something missing,” he said.

Charlie’s chopper

Gov. Charlie Baker threw out his notes at a ceremony honoring the arrival of “The Wall That Heals” last week and instead regaled a veteran-heavy crowd with a slew of stories, including one during which he struggled to contain his emotions.

This one, however, got the most laughs:

Recalling a meeting with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society — which is holding its annual convention in Boston in September — Baker described himself as breezing into his “15th meeting” that day, quickly shaking hands amid introductions and pledging to do whatever he could to help.

One elderly gentleman had a request, Baker said: He wanted to go for a helicopter ride — a notion Baker laughed off. When it came time for a group photo, the same man sidled up next to him, and repeated his request. Baker told him he’d take “note of that” with an eye roll.

“Then he looks up at me like this,” Baker said, leaning back and turning his eyes toward the sky, “and he goes, ‘You know? You’re a pretty big guy.’ ... I used to fly with a guy who’s about your size. We used to call him Too Tall.’

“And so I looked at him and said, ‘You know, there’s a guy named Too Tall. His name’s Ed Freeman.” Freeman, Baker described, was a Medal of Honor recipient who bravely flew a helicopter in and out of a Vietnam War battle zone to bring supplies to soldiers and carry the wounded to safety.

“He probably saved dozens of lives,” Baker said. “I said (to the elderly man), ‘His flying buddy in that battle was a guy named Bruce Crandall.’

“This guy looks at me and says, ‘Yeah, me! Bruce Crandall! That’s what I said when I came in!’ ”

Baker, breaking into a wide smile, told Crandall — also a Medal of Honor recipient — that he was honored to meet “a real American hero.”

“So,” Baker said, “he looked at me and said, ‘So do I get my helicopter ride?’ ”

Pitching Marty

Since he took office in January 2014, Mayor Martin J. Walsh has gotten dozens of direct messages on Twitter. The majority are constituents offering complaints or compliments. More than a half-dozen address him simply as “Marty” or even “Martin.”

One, however, was an outright solicitation from a man who said he owns his own “pavement marking company.”

“... just wondering if you could help me maybe get a few contracts?” the DM reads.

Walsh didn’t respond, according to documents Herald reporter Jordan Graham obtained through a public records request. In fact, Walsh’s account had no outgoing DMs, according to his office.

Hillary Chabot and Jordan Graham contributed to this report. State House reporter Matt Stout can be reached at matthew.stout@bostonherald.com.

Via: Boston Herald

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Massachusetts revenue, welfare, transportation, environmental agencies hit by early retirements

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Revenue, tasked with collecting state taxes, is losing 289 employees, or 15 percent of its total workforce, as part of a state budget-saving measure.

Auditors and tax examiners are among those taking an early retirement incentive.

The Department of Revenue plans to publish information later this week on how it will deal with the changes.

Gov. Charlie Baker proposed, and the Legislature approved, an early retirement incentive that was meant to save the state money by trimming the state workforce. Now that those workers have retired, effective June 30, 2,478 public employees have left state service, according to Massachusetts Comptroller Thomas Shack.

As expected, some agencies were harder hit than others – including the Department of Revenue, the Department of Transportation, the department that oversees welfare, the Department of Environmental Protection and several Health and Human Service agencies. Some of these jobs could be backfilled, as the Baker administration has the authority to use up to 20 percent of the savings to hire new people into the vacant positions.

Brendan Moss, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, said state government will be able to deal with the losses. "We are continuing to work closely with all state agencies affected to ensure it will have minimal impact on state services," Moss said.

Baker pointed out that he had expected 4,500 people to retire. "We had planned for a larger number of people to leave state service than actually did, and I actually feel at this point that we're in reasonably good shape," Baker said Monday.

Via: Mass Live

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