Category Archives: State News

Governor Patrick Reforms Indigent Defense

Posted on February 10, 2011 by billmanzi

Governor Deval Patrick, in his recently submitted budget, proposes to save some $40 million dollars by overhauling the way the Commonwealth provides lawyers for indigent defendants. Currently the Commonwealth utilizes the services of about three thousand private contract lawyers to … Continue reading →

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Health Care Questions

Posted on January 31, 2011 by billmanzi

Monday morning, and only time for three observations on municipal health care reform. We have heard some statements on health care reform that on the surface make sense, but upon cursory review just fall apart. Lets look at them. 1) … Continue reading →

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Governor Patrick Press Conference

Posted on January 27, 2011 by billmanzi

The Governor’s Press Conference on the budget. More on the budget in the days to come. http://www.statehousenews.com/video/11-01-26gov/player-viral.swf

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The Governor's Budget Presentation

Posted on January 27, 2011 by billmanzi

The Governor unveiled his budget yesterday, looking to balance the books in the most difficult of times. The Governor’s budget is the starting point in the process, with the House and Senate both getting ready to produce their own versions. … Continue reading →

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Michael Widmer on Mayor's Corner

Posted on January 27, 2011 by billmanzi

Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation was the guest on the Mayor’s Corner last week. He was a great guest, speaking about pension reform, municipal health care reform, and the upcoming state budget. For my money the preeminent authority … Continue reading →

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Governor Patrick at the MMA

Posted on January 21, 2011 by billmanzi

Governor Patrick appeared at the MMA annual meeting today, giving a speech dealing with local aid in his next budget as well as the introduction of a new proposal for municipal health care reform. The Governor told the MMA that … Continue reading →

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Lieberman Exits

Posted on January 19, 2011 by billmanzi

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman will announce today that he is not running for re-election in 2012. I predicted his retirement back in November , and the reality of being in political no mans land had to impact his thinking. Joe … Continue reading →

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Governor Patrick Steps Up on Pensions

Posted on January 19, 2011 by billmanzi

Governor Patrick, flanked by Senate President Murray and House Speaker Deleo, introduced a new package of pension reform yesterday, taking aim at some abuses but more importantly introducing systemic change that has the potential to save real money over the … Continue reading →

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Governor Patrick Sacks the Parole Board

Posted on January 14, 2011 by billmanzi

Governor Deval Patrick, taking a strong stand in support of accountability, yesterday accepted the resignation of the five parole board members who voted to parole Dominic Cinelli. He also took action to fire other staff members responsible for oversight, and … Continue reading →

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WCCM Interview: Michael Widmer

Posted on January 5, 2011 by billmanzi

I joined Lou Blasi on WCCM last week, during the snowstorm, to talk about municipal health care, pensions, and the upcoming state budget. We were joined by Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association, who I consider to be the … Continue reading →

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