Governor Patrick on General Mills Solar

Posted on August 6, 2010 by billmanzi

Governor Patrick was kind enough to send a video for the General Mills event in which he talks about not only General Mills, but also about the Massachusetts efforts on renewable sources of energy. Nice job here by the Governor.

Posted in Methuen, State News | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Judy Scannell Named Interim Superintendent

Posted on August 5, 2010 by billmanzi

The Methuen School Committee, in a unanimous vote, selected Tenney/Timony Supervising Principal Judy Scannell to be the interim Superintendent of Schools in Methuen. The Committee voted to give Judy a one year contract. She is slated to replace Dr. Jeanne Whitten, who retires at the end of August.

Posted in Methuen | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Sharron Angle: Pravda in Nevada

Posted on August 4, 2010 by billmanzi

Candidate for U.S. Senate in Nevada Sharron Angle seems quite determined to keep saying things that are quite extraordinary. Her latest? The press should ask questions that the candidates would like to answer, and press appearances should be designed to help the candidate raise money. I know Angle is the conservative in this race, but her press philosophy sounds much like the Soviet philosophy of a “free press”. Will an Angle victory bring a Pravda to Nevada? No wonder the dour Harry Reid seems to be smiling more these days.

Posted in National News | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The House Craps Out

Posted on August 4, 2010 by billmanzi

Speaker Robert Deleo, his gambling expansion plans in tatters, is blaming the Governor for the demise of the expanded gaming bill.

“I think saying no to local aid, saying no to 15,000 jobs, I think that could be an issue,” DeLeo said when asked about the governor’s re-election bid, adding that unions were “outraged” by Patrick’s decision to send the casino bill back instead of signing it.

Yes the Governor is taking the heat from the Speaker on this. In the meantime Senate President flies under the radar screen, shrugging her shoulders and saying she could not muster the votes for an override. Hmmmmm. Difficult road for the Speaker, but he was certainly outmaneuvered by the Governor and the Senate President on this issue. I am hard pressed to think that the Speaker should not have accepted a quarter loaf here, with a plan to fix up what he felt he needed to later. Difficult to believe (for me) that once you have slots in any form that additional slots would not be approved in a subsequent session at some point. He also forces Suffolk Downs to take the gas pipe on its resort casino ambitions, which would have been a big boon to his district. That is a lot of jobs going down the drain over multiple acts of political intransigence. The House certainly didn’t win on this issue.

Read the Herald story here.

Posted in State News | Tagged , | 1 Comment

President Obama on Revitalized Auto Industry

Posted on August 1, 2010 by billmanzi

The federal bailout of the auto industry continues to stir strong feelings, but as time evolves the strength of the Obama policy has muted many of the political critics of the federal intervention. And what has happened since the federal intervention?

The administration says that the bailout and restructuring of the companies has put the entire industry on better footing than it has been in years. In the first quarter of 2010, GM earned a quarterly profit of $865 million, its first since 2007. Chrysler reported an operating profit of $143 million over the same period.

Preliminary figures suggest that auto industry employment in the United States may reverse a decade of decline.

General Motors is now having tremendous success in selling its autos in China, helping us to repatriate some of the trillions in dollar reserves China is sitting on. Even harsh critics appear to be satisfied that the investment might have been worth it.

The success of the program has earned acknowledgment from people like Corker, who says that without the auto industry bailout, “Who knows what would have happened?” He adds that, “I’m genuinely pleased that people across this country that are involved in the auto industry are seeing it come back and that Americans are being employed as a result.”

Many of our worldwide competitors have directly financed home industries, much to the detriment of American workers. The President appears to have gotten this one right. Jobs have never been more important, and just flushing these companies was never the right thing to do.

Read the Washington Post story here.

Posted in National News | Tagged , | 4 Comments

The Guy Glodis Interview

Posted on July 31, 2010 by billmanzi

Worcester County Sheriff Guy Glodis joined me on WCAP to talk about his candidacy for State Auditor. Thanks to Guy for taking the time to come on. And yes we did talk about unfunded state mandates.

http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf

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Mayor's Statement Re Civil Service Case

Posted on July 31, 2010 by billmanzi

The decision of the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission yesterday on the case of Joseph Solomon v. the City of Methuen is a lengthy one and is under review by the legal counsel for the City of Methuen. And while we are disappointed at the civil service finding restoring Joseph Solomon to the position of Chief of Police two important points need to be emphasized.

1) The Commission fully upheld my initial suspension of Mr. Solomon for three days over the misallocation of the COPS Grant, which resulted in a back charge to taxpayers of the City of Methuen of over $20,000.

2) The Commission, on the second and more substantive matter, overturned the City sanction of termination. They found sufficient wrongdoing however to impose a penalty of a one year unpaid suspension on Mr. Solomon. That is a severe penalty, although it is less than we sought. The finding of mismanagement of grant funds by the Methuen Police Department has resulted in a back charge to the taxpayers of the City of Methuen of over $170,000.

I will have additional comment in the coming days on the political diatribe that constituted a large portion of the 125 page opinion issued by Commissioner Stein. I would like to return the “compliment” of the Commissioner and say that he has demonstrated great skill at “verbal gymnastics”.

Posted in Methuen | Tagged | 11 Comments

Interview With Melrose Mayor Rob Dolan

Posted on July 28, 2010 by billmanzi

I guest hosted former Mayor Mike Sullivan’s WCAP show Around the Valley and had Melrose Mayor Rob Dolan on as one of my guests. Mayor Dolan is the President of the Massachusetts Mayor’s Association and has been outspoken in his support for municipal health care reform, pension reform, and on casino gaming. We got to talk to him about all three subjects during his stint on the show. Thanks to Mayor Dolan for taking the time to appear.

http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf

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A Quick Hitter on Education Standards

Posted on July 27, 2010 by billmanzi

Quite a lot of back and forth over the adoption of the federal Common Core standards for education in Massachusetts. It deserves a post of its own, which I will get to. For now here is the Governor hitting Charlie Baker over the issue. Baker has been vociferous in his denunciation of the adoption of Common Core.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Latest Rasmussen Governor Poll

Posted on July 27, 2010 by billmanzi

Governor Deval Patrick continues to cling to the lead in the latest Rasmussen Poll, but Charlie Baker is within striking distance. The Rassmussen Survey had Governor Patrick leading with 38% of the vote, to Charlie Baker’s 32%, with Tim Cahill third at 17%. The results seem to be in line with the prior Rasmussen survey, with the Governor holding on to a lead that he has never relinquished.

The critical (in my opinion) “independent” voter appears to be swinging towards Charlie Baker, with 42% of those voters favoring Baker, 24% for Patrick, and 16% for Cahill. It appears that Baker has widened that lead, which is critical for him. It also calls into question how Cahill thinks he can win this fight when he is not only running dead last, but also dead last amongst independents, the supposed lifeblood of his candidacy.

Each poll result, especially in the summer, comes with the caveat that “there is a long way to go”, which there is. Deval Patrick holds the lead despite an ongoing negative ad bombardment by the Republican Governor’s Association. And the Governor is yet to be up on the air, and Charlie Baker has yet to face the negative ad onslaught you know is coming. So that is a good thing for the Governor. But Charlie Baker has growth potential, and the Governor’s relatively weak position with independents has to be a source of comfort for Baker. Yes, there is a long way to go.

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