A few quick things

Before I go back to trying to wake up a friend for a Labor Day breakfast:

--Yes, it would've been a lot more fun to appoint (or re-appoint) Christy Mihos to the Turnpike Board. Not that the meetings haven't been entertaining without him. But come on. Who else, during the heat of the gubernatorial campaign, would call in to Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey on a radio show and whose cheery hello would be greeted by silence.

But anyway. There's a new guy on the Turnpike, who is in his own words "by no means one of the state's leading authorities on transportation issues, nor am I the brightest bulb in the pack." But he "hates traffic." He also gives "great deference to whatever the staff comes up with." (Is that really a good idea?)

--How green are Massachusetts politicians? Some respond to a MetroWest Daily News questionnaire. Some don't: "While Beacon Hill leaders have a host of policy and legislative solutions to make the Bay State more environmentally friendly, most refuse to reveal what they are doing in their own homes."

--Widespread belief on Beacon Hill comes down on the side of the governor deciding to go through with casino gambling, according to the New Bedford Standard-Times. Dan Kennedy urges caution, recounting the last few weeks' events. As does the Salem News. Connecticut's casinos certainly aren't waiting for Patrick to make a decision.

--Low turnout predicted at tomorrow's Fifth CD primaries.

--Mr. Tux in Braintree closes; 110 employees to lose jobs, according to the Patriot Ledger.

--And finally, where organized labor is at in Massachusetts, one of the first states to make the day a holiday, on this Labor Day.