No go on Hawaii Five-O for Tarantino

This is hilarious: Quentin Tarantino declined to direct a movie remake of the Hawaii Five-O tv series: "I tried to watch the old TV show, but it sucks. I don't even like Hawaii."

It's tough to deny, though, that it's got one of the best theme songs ever. (Along with the Rockford Files.)

[via film ick]

My own horn

I've got a front-page story in this week's Dorchester Reporter on court interpreters.

Starting earlier this month, I've been covering court proceedings, and to a certain extent, law enforcement, over at Dorchester District Court several days a week for the Reporter.

(I still freelance at the State House the rest of the week, with plans to get some classes in between when school starts up next week.)

Just a tip: reading the PDF is much easier.

Botsford confirmed

But, as AP notes, "it didn't come easy."

The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune tracked down the cop who was shot in 1991. The guy who shot him got 10 years, prompting some, including at least one Governor's Council member to call her a "soft on crime."

At her four-hour hearing Wednesday, she and others in the legal community said she was mainstream in her sentencing and defended her against charges that she was soft on criminals.

The Boston Globe also weighed in this morning in support.

Two other things:

--To answer the Cambridge Politics blog's question: It was the Blacksmith House.

--And another random bit I stumbled upon while Googling Botsford the night her appointment was announced via the Globe and an AP Newsbreak: An October 2006 comment on the Health Care For All Blog.

The blog had posted about an event honoring Botsford's husband, Steve Rosenfeld, and had high praise.

But a commenter, signed in as "Margot Botsford" had this clearly tongue-in-cheek, witty post below:

These are nice comments, but who do you think gets up at 6 am to walk the dogs? Not Himself. There he is, snoozing away. And I wish he’d remember to put food out of reach of those dogs. A whole plate of smoked salmon, gone, because of his carelessness. Believe me, he’s not perfect.

There's a reason why

I don't do subscriptions. It's hard to justify picking up an expensive magazine when there's really only one article you want to read. Especially when you can read that article online.

So what I tend to do is only pick some up occasionally, like the New Yorker. But sometimes, something's just too enticing.

Case in point: After work today, I dropped by Borders (and by luck avoided the mess that Park Street became with a disabled train during rush hour) and picked up "MHQ, The Quarterly Journal of Military History."

No idea what MHQ stands for. Military History Quarterly perhaps? Which would make the subtitle redudant, you'd think.

Anyway. I couldn't resist: The cover story's about Achilles. "More Than a Myth, a Flesh-and-Blood Warrior Without Equal."

Also teased on the cover: "How I Unmasked the Greatest Spy of World War II." The spy article also has pictures of devices that look like they're out of "From Russia With Love."

Now it all comes down to finding the time to read them.

I want one of each

The Globe's Ideas section has a super-neat article on steampunk projects, including a modified flat-screen monitor and keyboard, made to look like it came straight out of the Victorian age. (Made by the same guy who converted a school bus into an RV.)

I want that keyboard. Absolutely gorgeous.

Separately, Sam Allis has a column on the Brattle Book Shop, which I'd visit more often if I wasn't so terrified of leaving with several armloads of used books and an empty wallet (or an even higher credit card bill).

Tribe to hold emergency meeting

Some folks are looking to make Glenn Marshall's step down from the chairmanship permanent. (The Day covers other falsehoods.)

Another meeting scheduled for tomorrow: town officials near Middleborough are meeting with Housing and Economic Development Secretary Daniel O'Connell someplace in Boston.

Meanwhile, casino execs are looking beyond the region to open other casinos.

MetroWest Daily News has an editorial on gambling and the addictions that come with it.

Fifth

WBZ ran the debate this morning between the five candidates in the Democratic primary for the Massachusetts Fifth.

Another debate is slated for tomorrow, hosted by the guy who used to hold the seat, Marty Meehan.

But who's actually paying attention? Not too many folks, according to the Lowell Sun, which did a super-informal survey: "The whole idea of the summer is to get away from bad news like what's going on in Iraq and the lack of health care. We prize our summers in America," said Jeffrey Gerson, a professor of political science at UMass Lowell. "For your average citizen, it's just not resonating or getting on their radar screen."

Bad news for Rep. Eldridge: "Just 36.7 percent identified Jamie Eldridge as the candidate pushing hardest for single-payer health care."

Maybe this item in the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune will help. (Though probably not.)

The Lowell Sun's Sunday political column also has a few Fifth race items, along with more folks possibly jumping into the race to succeed Robert Havern in the state Senate.

Needed for health reform plan: more $$$$

A California Paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune, through the Copley News Service takes a look at Massachusetts' health care reform law.

State officials and health care experts say the Massachusetts law has a good chance of achieving that goal by using both carrots and sticks. It is less clear whether its remedy would work in a state like California where money is scarce and the uninsured make up a larger share of the population.

In addition, Massachusetts might be strapped in a few years when it has to confront perhaps the most intractable health care problem of all: the relentlessly upward spiral of medical costs that every year forces more and more Americans to fend for themselves.

“Clearly, what's going to have to happen in the long run is more money will have to be injected in the program,” said Jonathan Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who helped to write the state's plan. “We don't have to in the next year or two, but if you look five or 10 years down the road, if this program is going to continue to exist, it's going to take more money to keep it going.”

Related story from the same paper here.

Another good story: An article on the Health Care Quality and Cost Council in the latest Commonwealth magazine. (For some reason, the website only has the spring issue up, not the summer. You've got to register anyway, so you're better off picking it up at Borders or someplace, if you haven't already.)

RI: looks to up the ante if MA goes forward with casinos

From the Providence Journal:

Anything other than a “No gambling” from Patrick will cut into revenues at Twin River and Newport Grand, observers say, though they differ on just how much, or how soon, the effects will be felt at the two video-slot parlors.

“We were always in a race with Massachusetts,” said Rep. Timothy A. Williamson, whose district covers West Warwick. “We always knew that if Massachusetts got ahead of us, we’d be in trouble.

...But [Steven] Costantino, the House Finance chairman, said he wants to make sure Twin River and Newport Grand are “as competitive as possible” heading into the possible storm. That could mean such steps as allowing 24-hour gambling, a revenue-raising idea the General Assembly rejected this summer, and the introduction of virtual blackjack.

The decision will also have ripples in New Hampshire.

It's two months into the new fiscal year

Do you know where your budget is?

That's the question folks in Lawrence might be asking. 'Cause their city council is having a little bit of trouble passing the proposed $238.8 million budget for this fiscal year:

Lawrence's budget impasse worsened Thursday night as the council adjourned a nonproductive session marred by audience disruptions and councilors shouting at each other. Some spectators shouted obscenities and insults at the council."The council has to really put their anger and differences aside and get back to the table, roll up their sleeves, and continue to look and vote on other options," [Mayor Michael] Sullivan said yesterday.

Some folks are looking for a state intervention. Others are just hoping they can have a temporary budget in time for the start of school.

The mayor and Blanchette have been in contact with the state Department of Revenue about the budget impasse. State officials are reluctant to get involved at this point because of the political overtones and decisions that appear to be politically motivated, according to the council president.

"There is still time, although the clock is ticking, for officials to get this done and DOR's expectation is this will get done," DOR spokesman Robert Bliss said.

EDIT:Whoops. Forgot to include the link. The story's from the Eagle-Tribune.

A Friday bombshell reverberates

Lots of people, I'm sure, on whatever local website they clicked Friday morning went "Whoa."

A week after The Day ran its positive piece on Glenn Marshall, the head of the tribe pushing for casinos in Massachusetts, The Cape Cod Times broke the story (plucked from their own archives) that Marshall had been convicted of rape over twenty years ago. And he's lied about his military record. He'll be (by the sound of it, only temporarily) stepping down as head, letting the vice chairman take over.

The Times has a follow-up today:

"The main thing is the credibility of Glenn Marshall," said Stephen Bingham, one of four tribe members who were shunned earlier this year after suing the tribe in Barnstable Superior Court as part of an effort to examine its finances. "Why did this information just come out?"

The deception is part of a deeper problem in the tribe and raises questions about Marshall's other activities as the tribe's point man in dealings with investors and the towns of Mashpee and Middleboro, Bingham said, adding that the shunned members had already passed concerns about the tribe's finances along to federal and state authorities.

A separate piece has a New Bedford lawmaker saying the news will have little impact (The story also notes Gov. Patrick will make his decision after Labor Day, not by it, as previously indicated).

"The decision that we make in the Legislature and in the executive branch is going to be for gaming in the entire state as it relates to all possible opportunities, whether it be Indian tribes or private entities," said Rep. Canessa, who supports a casino and represents part of Middleboro. "The issue of gaming doesn't focus on one particular tribe."

Mr. Marshall has been a charismatic presence at the Statehouse for the past several years, always dressed casually, his white hair tied back in a pony tail. For most legislators, he is the face of the Mashpee Wampanoag.

The Day also has a follow-up piece.

Fried Pepsi

Bizarre. Yet I'm curious.

A former Patriot Ledger reporter enlightens her ex-colleagues on this Midwest treat:

‘‘It's like fried dough,’’ she tells us, ‘‘but whenever the recipe calls for water, they use Pepsi syrup, so it’s thicker and heavier than normal fried dough and tastes like Pepsi. Then they drizzle more Pepsi syrup on top, then coat it with your choice of powdered sugar or cinnamon. It is served in little balls, eight for $3.’’

(You can tell it's a completely dead August, also, when this is the top item of the Ledger's "Heard in the Halls" column. The next item is on something Tim Russert said. Last Thursday.)

Casino fever

The Hartford Courant writes up the gambling fever that's gripped Massachusetts:

Casino gambling to the north has long been debated, producing a string of failed - and often forgotten - proposals. Remember former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld agreeing to a casino in New Bedford in 1994?But this time there is a major catalyst - federal recognition of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe in late spring, leading to plans for a casino along I-495. The tribe's status is likely to bring at least some additional gambling, beyond the lottery and racetracks, although the Mashpee Wampanoag still have a lengthy process ahead.

Anderson out, Reville in

Gov. Patrick put in his own guy at the head of the Board of Education yesterday, Paul Reville, who replaces Mass High Tech Council President Christopher Anderson.

The Herald's editorial staff sounds off: "Why he waited eight months to name his own chairman - until the week before David Driscoll’s retirement leaves the department without a permanent commissioner - is another question. But we’ve learned that Patrick doesn’t exactly rush these decisions. Eight months in, he is still forming leadership councils and task forces just to develop a 'vision' for the next phase of education reform."

Alan Moore's League due in November

Comic writer Alan Moore's next volume in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series will be out this November.

I know what you're thinking. "Isn't that the comic that was made into an awfully craptacular movie with Sean Connery, Shane West and that chick from La Femme Nikita?" (Or, if you saw it with the same wierd audience I saw it with, swap out "awfully craptacular" for "awesomely incredible" and erupt in applause after it ridiculously ends.)

Yeah, but don't click away yet. Hollywood has had a run of bad luck attempting to adapt Moore's works for the big screen, and sometimes, what holds true for books holds true for comics: The comic is better than the movie. (Except for Frank Miller's "300." The movie actually improved on a fairly mediocre comic.)

This one will be worth picking up, and in case you haven't already, the previous two volumes, as well.

Dumbledore and Shane

John Lombardi, the UMass Amherst chancellor and (and apparently human Wuzzle), had his going-away party today . He leaves at the end of the month to head the Louisiana State University system.

Some folks over there are still smarting over him leaving due to disagreements over how to run the Amherst campus with the UMass president's office:

Comparing Lombardi to the beloved headmaster in the "Harry Potter" series, library director Jay Schafer spoke of that character's battle with an evil wizard who wanted to "eliminate" him.

And vice chancellor Charlena Seymour likened Lombardi to Shane, the hero of the 1953 western who is drawn into a conflict between a homesteader and a cattle baron.

Certainly, whoever takes over as the permanent chancellor is going to have their work cut out for them. And not just in slipping into Lombardi's shoes.

Fundraising ability is likely going to be a top concern for the search committee when looking at candidates.

Interestingly enough, UMass officials pointed to lack of a powerful football team as one reason. (Even more interesting, rumors were floated earlier this year that in the private meeting where the UMass reorganization plan was unveiled to a small number of trustees and other UMass folks, a good deal of the discussion revolved around football. UMass board chairman Stephen Tocco has vigorously denied this.)

But back to the main point. The Republican, in an editorial today, writes:

The absence of a powerhouse football team - or UMass-Amherst alumni in powerful Statehouse positions - isn't enough to explain the university's lackluster fund-raising profile. While the UMass system's endowment has risen from $143 million in 2003 to $348 million today, much of that increase has come from the system's four smaller campuses in Lowell, Boston, Dartmouth and Worcester. The Amherst campus raised just $28.7 million in 2006, compared to the median of $48.4 million for 50 similar schools.

One way to raise more dough may be to admit more kids of alumni.

At least, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research paper, it is. As an item in the newest Atlantic Monthly puts it: "Though the authors note that alumni without a stake in the cycle still often give generously, many alums who are parents 'believe that donations buy them entrance into a lottery whose prize is admissions for their children.'"

Apart for the one for my son or daughter's eventual college tuition, looks like I'll have to start a separate coffee can for planned donations. (Full disclosure: I'm a UMass Boston student.)

Separately, in the "Hey, look! Positive press!" category, the UMass system's home page highlights a Worcester Telegram and Gazette's column on UMass President Jack Wilson.

Whitman joins regional casino gambling task force

From the Brockton Enterprise:

Concerned that a proposed Mashpee Wampanoag resort casino could create traffic congestion and hazards on Route 18 and that casino employees could create more demand for affordable housing, selectmen are joining a regional task force to push for compensation.

What a cheery hedline

"Red Line repaired in time for afternoon rush," according to the Globe.

Isn't that delightful. Not so much for the people (several thousand, by the Globe's count) who got stuck at JFK/UMass this morning 'cause of a signal switch failure of some sort.

I had to wait for two trains and about thirty minutes before an Ashmont train came along. Really, the less said about the entire experience, the better. The only good thing about it was I got to start reading the newest Atlantic Monthly, which has finally hit stands.

Then again

Okay, so it could be worse. A state lawmaker could be leaving for a job in the private sector as a lobbyist. While deciding to keep his current job.

Improbable? Take a look at what's happening in Nevada:

State Sen. Mark Amodei, a Carson City Republican, has been hired on as the new president of the Nevada Mining Association. (However, he's stepping down from a position at a law firm. And, to be fair, they have a part-time, low-paid legislature, from the looks of it.)

"Asked whether heading the mining association would create a conflict with his seat in the Nevada Senate, Amodei cited his and his law firm's long lists of clients with lobbying interests in the Legislature.

'My potential conflicts have just taken about an 80 percent drop,' he said.

But Amodei said he and the association's board would specifically concentrate on that issue.

'If, in order for me to be clean, I need to not be in that position and that's the conclusion we come to, then that's what I'll do,' he said.

But he said he expects disclosing his situation and abstaining from certain specific votes will take care of any conflict.

He also pointed out that he won't be running again because of term limits so the 2009 session will be his last in any case.

Paging Pam Wilmot...

[via 13th floor]

Never mind the beer garden

This might be a bit of a bigger deal. From the City/Region section of this morning's Globe:

To gain cover for the corporate donations, which are banned under the state's campaign finance law, the Legislature passed a special resolution that declared it in "the public interest" to allow lawmakers to solicit funds for the conference.

The two State House leaders threw an opening ceremony at Fenway Park with the help of a $50,000 in-kind contribution from the Boston Red Sox, which needs the Legislature's cooperation in the stadium renovation plans. The lawmakers also hosted a lavish reception at a Back Bay mansion owned -- and provide free of charge -- by a businessman who has a number of issues pending before the Legislature.

Marzilli looking to run for Senate

Rep. James Marzilli is looking to fill the Senate seat Robert Havern may abandon for the private sector, according to Inside Medford.

The representative is, as the State House News Service put it in a January 2007 story about him getting tossed from his post in the Health Care Financing Committee, is "regarded as one of the House's most liberal and policy-adept members."

Not the good kind of leak

The Big Dig project continues to serve as a font of good news: "Water is still leaking steadily into the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel with no signs of abating and continued uncertainty about where it is all coming from, according to a new state analysis, which flatly contradicts Massachusetts Turnpike Authority officials' claim that they have the problem under control," according to the Globe.

The claim mentioned in the lede and throughout the article appears to come from the report that was kept off of last month's Turnpike Authority agenda, to the chagrin of several of the reporters who were covering the meeting.

The Boston Herald takes the (week) long view in their Monday morning briefing:

Patrick, who campaigned on a promise to change “Big Dig” culture, was accused of foot-dragging on a safety review of the notorious highway project last week. The charges of delay from federal regulators were denied by the administration, but the existence of continued controversy shows the project has the potential to be a political liability for Patrick. Meantime, the governor must soon weigh in on how to resolve the state’s $19 billion deficit in transportation financing. Part of the solution will doubtless rely on taxpayers, which might not play well following years of Big Dig mistakes.

The Herald also has an editorial slamming what they call the state's head-patting:

And it doesn’t help that state officials are apparently at odds with their federal counterparts over just how big a danger the problems pose. They were apparently not serious enough to warrant the bridge’s closure. But Bay State residents don’t want to be patted on the head and told everything is fine - not after all they’ve been through, and not when the nation is on high alert over its critical infrastructure.

Two magic words

Water park?

Apparently, Glenn Marshall, head of the Mashpee Wampanoags, the tribe that recently recieved federal recognition and is looking to build a casino here in Massachusetts, has one big dream, and it's building a water park along with the gambling palace:

At 59, the Hyannis, Mass., native is most enthused not about the hotel or gaming or the convention center he would build on 525 acres in Middleborough, but a water park like the ones he's seen on other Indian reservations.

“The water park is for me,” he said in earnest. “I get to tell my grandsons, 'Hey, we're going to the water park today ... we're not traveling all the way to New Hampshire.' And, you know, it's an easy swallow for somebody to say we're going to the water park and then we're going to have a nice dinner. It's not always just about gaming.”

All that and more in this positive profile by Connecticut paper The Day. (A must-read for the write-up of his sit-downs with some state reps.)

The Day also has an editorial on the issue and its "domino effect": "Rhode Island will then, as a matter of self-defense, revisit the casino issue, and one by one, the dominoes will fall and legalized gambling will spread."

Marshall has an op-ed in today's Globe.

Tom Benner of the Patriot Ledger checks in with this article on where and what you can or can't gamble in the state.

The prospect of casinos is creating jobs in Massachusetts: Casino City Times is looking for gambling reporter/editor. In the compensation section: "...flexible spending accounts, private stock options, onsite work-out facility, and more." The ad is as amusing as the e-mail they give to dump your resume into: "greatjob@casinocity.com."

For those who missed it (I know I did), a profile of the tribe from Thursday's Globe.

Moving hour

After several frustrating days spent stomping around inside the inner workings of the WordPress blog, BTGO’s retreating over to Blogspot.

Too kind

The Dig’s Paul McMorrow calls this collection of scattershot postings “valuable.”

But on to the real meat of the post: McMorrow calls out Rep. Allen McCarthy, in classic Dig manner, for telling his Abington selectmen that Beacon Hill will probably approve casinos, with increased revenues to follow for school funds.

And he reminds us of the Dig article from February that actually analyzed the numbers that keep getting tossed around in the expanded gambling debate: “There are tons of variables in play, but we found that, in the most likely scenario, once you account for lost tax revenue and the inevitably shattered businesses and lives, the Mashpee Wampanoag’s Middleborough casino would net the state $79 million annually.”

If the task force report Gov. Patrick is holding so closely is at all comprehensive, it will likely have the same scenario, among several.

And maybe also have the compelling Dig article attached. (Though probably with any those ads for phone numbers where “nice girls get naughty” hastily scratched out by aides.)

An exercise in futility

You have to wonder whether deporting a Nazi war criminal back to a country that still has trouble reconciling with its World War II past will do any good.

Like a good number before him, he will likely pass away as the court system over there drags its feet.

The most egregious example of this is, of course, Aleksandras Lileikis, another Massachusetts resident before getting deported, who died at age 92 while the trial was ongoing.

Inside track?

Doubtful, but an interesting buried tidbit nonetheless: After getting a grilling on Chapter 70 funding from Abington selectmen, a freshman rep predicted lawmakers are leaning towards approving expanded gambling:

[Rep. Allen] McCarthy offered hope to the board, assuring selectmen the construction of a new casino in Middleboro would bring new revenue to the state, which would likely increase state-aid. State officials would first have to allow casino facilities, and if they do so, hopefully allow slot machines, McCarthy said, the most profitable form of gambling.

“It seems to be they’re leaning towards approving it,” McCarthy said.

On the other side, Rep. George Peterson, the assistant minority leader in the House, told his Westborough selectmen quite the opposite.

But that’s not all. Another slow news day brings more chatter over casinos.

Lawmakers pushing for a casino-rail link. The Boston Phoenix piece, a must-read for anyone keeping track (or trying to catch up) on the issue. The mayor of Chicopee collecting enough signatures for a petition for his board of aldermen to reconsider their rejection of a non-binding casino question for voters. Former John Hancock CEO weighing in on the topic in a Globe op-ed piece.

And that’s just a cursory trip through Google News. Next week is shaping up to be another slow one, meaning more heated speculation and conjecture on casinos.

Well, either that or deep, deep discussions on Chapter 70. Those Abington selectmen may be ahead of the curve on that.

Another reason to order Turner Classic Movies

Just spotted on the Herald’s website an ad for American Movie Classics.

Only one odd thing with it: The channel is touting its Sunday showing of the Kate Hudson movie “Raising Helen.” Which came out in 2004.

I’ve occasionally scrolled through the Comcast listings several times and seen that they show the hideously bad Catwoman movie with Halle Berry.

Memo to AMC: You guys might want to think about changing your name there if this is the kind of stuff you keep showing. Your well-reviewed new show “Mad Men” notwithstanding.

Fred Clark appointed BHE chair

Fred Clark, former aide to US Rep. Joseph Moakley, will be heading up the state Board of Higher Education, AP reports.

He replaces Stephen Tocco, a Boston lobbyist with Republican Party ties, and Aaron Spencer, who has been the acting chair since Tocco stepped down to head up the UMass Board of Trustees. (And could be the first chair to have graduated from a public college.)

Farther down in the piece, Clark, who has close ties to Patrick special education advisor Dana Mohler-Faria, defends Patrick from critics who say he’s moving too slow on his massive education reform plans: “It takes time for a new governor to put his stake in the ground, to make changes…That shouldn’t be something that is rushed.”

Those critics are likely be the same ones who are complaining about how the reform plans are costing the state candidates for education commissioner, as laid out in this good Lowell Sun piece from last week. As a consultant to the search points out, it’s also costing the state money.

But that’s looking like one of the hallmarks of the Patrick administration: Slow and steady. That includes a steady drip of appointments that’s continuing into his eighth month in office and could keep going into September.

Whether that’s been frustrating to each constituency affected by any of the appointments can sometimes be hard to tell.

Nobody seemed to mind that there wasn’t a new Department of Conservation and Recreation commissioner for a while, as the thermometer started to creep up into summer temperatures. (Patrick eventually picked Westfield Mayor Richard Sullivan.)

Education is one area some folks appear to be scratching their heads, though.

Before the administration took office, there were the transition working groups. Then there were the two task forces that met almost weekly. Finally, there was the big announcement at UMass-Boston…which announced essentially another task force, or blue ribbon commission, to set the field for the governor’s vision that he laid out in the speech.

The commission, dubbed the “Readiness Project,” earlier this month just got an 18-member “leadership council,” which will have control over 13 subcommittees with 10 to 12 members each. The commission plans to issue a final report and recommendations to the governor in May, with a rough draft by March, followed by hearings on the draft. (Ignore, for now, that the executive order that was signed establishing the council and commission incorrectly says a final report and recommendations will be in by March.)

That’s a whole lot. It remains to be seen whether (to trot out the – yes, yes – cringe-inducing axiom once again) slow and steady will win the race for Patrick.

Leahy lands speaking role in new Bat-flick

Not quite sure what to make of this, but having anything to do with Batman and Robin is something I wouldn’t exactly admit, Senator. Anyway, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) will be in scene with Batman and the new Joker:

Leahy is apparently a big comic book enthusiast, and actually served as an extra in the 1997 Batman installment: Batman and Robin.

The senator told the [CNN affiliate] station he can’t reveal the exact details of his role in the upcoming movie, but he did say he has landed a scene with its two stars, Christian Bale and Heath Ledger.

[via film ick]

Mass. isn't alone

USATODAY’s Dennis Cauchon takes a country-wide look at expanded gambling efforts. It’s not just Massachusetts, though he’s got us in there, too, complete with UMass Dartmouth prof Clyde Barrow in the mix for a quote:

Also driving growth: States are loosening restrictions about where casinos can locate and how they can do business. The days of casinos being located outside of major cities — tourist destinations, often in economically distressed towns — are coming to an end.

The Illinois Legislature is considering authorizing a casino in Chicago. Pennsylvania has approved two casinos in downtown Philadelphia and one in downtown Pittsburgh, next to the Steelers’ football stadium. “Our customer base will be people who live there and who want gaming nearby,” says Kirk Saylor of Majestic Star, the Pittsburgh casino’s developer.

Senate minority leader weighs in

Sen. Richard Tisei (R-Wakefield) offers a review of the last several months, with identity theft legislation, sales tax holiday, booster seats, and Sudan divestment.

Tisei also criticizes the Senate’s passing of new welfare reform legislation: “Instead of taking steps to ensure that welfare remains a transitional program that promotes self-sufficiency, the proposed changes only perpetuate a system of dependency that has led some to see welfare as a way of life, which it was never intended to be.”

Brookline explores meals taxes

With some of Gov. Patrick’s revenue-raising proposals stalling in the Legislature, at least one town is attempting to take matters into its own hands.

Gatehouse News Services’ Neal Simpson writes up the options being weighed by a Brookline committee charged with helping the town avoid a Property 2 1/2 override.

Local options taxes, one of the proposals pushed by Patrick on Beacon Hill, is one way. Another one the committee is looking at closing the telecommunications tax exemption.

The committee’s energy subcommittee also found out some interesting tidbits:

The subcommittee reported that although the town is doing a good job procuring the cheapest electricity possible, energy costs have shot up in recently renovated buildings.

Committee Co-Chairman Lloyd Dahmen reported that even so-called “green buildings” such as the Public Health Building now require 150 percent more energy than before they were renovated.

“That jumped out at me because the town spent a lot of money on that, and supposedly it was being spent to get some savings,” Dahmen said after the meeting. “Then all of a sudden the total amount of energy used went way up.”

Dahmen said the extra energy consumption comes from bringing the buildings up to code…

Romney related to the Baldwin brothers?

So intimates the Cape Cod Times:

“Romney, for those who pay attention to such things, has local roots that go back further than many who live on the Cape and Islands today. He is a descendant of William Bradford, signer of the Mayflower Compact when the Pilgrims paused in Provincetown Harbor to do laundry, steal some corn and write up a set of governmental rules to keep their colony going.”

Apparently, the four Baldwin brothers are descendents of Bradford as well.

Romney will be back in Massachusetts, and in the Cape and Islands district as the guest of honor for a Saturday fundraiser, according to the paper.

Expanded gambling a-go-go

Folks wanting to get some quotes from gambling opponents besides Rep. Daniel Bosley (D-North Adams) could try looking at Ed Mason’s article in the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune today:

“‘There’s an aura that they’re coming and just deal with it,’ [Sen. Susan] Tucker [(D-Andover)] said. ‘That’s the most dangerous thing now. People have this notion that they’re coming, and it’s not true. The Legislature has to decide to go down the casino road. It’s not inevitable.’”

In the second graph, Mason pretty much sums it up: “But the outcome is anything but guaranteed. Gov. Deval Patrick is undeclared, the House speaker has voted against expanded gaming in the past, and many local lawmakers are still feeling their way around the high-stakes issue.”

For another reporter, the whole affair has the distinct feeling of deja vu. A former Boston Herald reporter, who covered expanded gambling efforts for the paper in the 1990s, throws this onto his former employer’s op-ed page:

“Maybe the current Wampanoag proposal really does have legs, especially with a governor seeking any brass ring to help him honor his pledge of greater local aid. But for all the Middleboro headlines, the facts remain that no slots will jingle unless the state and the tribe agree to a compact and the Legislature legalizes casino-style gambling. That’s what croaked the earlier sure-to-happen Wampanoag deal, which makes gambling wars veterans amused by how current coverage tends to ignore such previous history.”

And for those who missed it, Globe columnist Joan Vennochi’s piece on Saturday, where she once again gets her hands on an e-mail, and an interesting one at that.

Cape Wind survey due before debate

Hours before proponents and opponents of the controversial Cape Wind project square off in a debate in Brewster on Wednesday, a new “in-depth” survey on renewable energy and support for Cape Wind is due to be released.

“Should Gov. Deval Patrick be ‘Schwarzenegger of East Coast’ on Global Warming Fixes?” is one of the questions the survey, conducted by the think tank Civil Society Institute, hopes to answer.

Civil Society Institute President Pam Solo, Opinion Research Corporation Senior Researcher Graham Hueber, and Clean Power Now executive director Barbara Hill are scheduled to be on the conference line, according to Cape Cod Today, which has all the details.

Oscar Wilde's Clobberin' Time

Stumbled on an interesting website: Comic artists drawing pictures of literary figures and authors.

Byline

Through the News Service, made the Globe today.

Following up on what Frank Phillips of the Globe wrote about on Wednesday and Thursday, essentially.

Still have to step outside and pick up the deadwood edition.