tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197262412012-02-16T09:26:21.175-05:00"besides, it's all science fiction anyway" - keith richardsGinnoreply@blogger.comBlogger701100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-72598875177088082382007-10-19T15:55:00.000-04:002007-10-19T16:12:11.903-04:00

How much did the Daily News of Newburyport resist using a variation of that famous NY Daily News headline?Rep. Mike Costello gave city leaders a harsh dose of reality Wednesday night: The state is unlikely to bail the city out of its school funding crisis this year, so they had better find solutions from within.At a public forum organized to discuss local education funding at the Nock Middle

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-88430463768204985442007-10-19T14:55:00.000-04:002007-10-19T15:00:09.235-04:00

I missed this earlier in the week: A must-read from Banker and Tradesman (yes, really).Sunshine is still in short supply at the Turnpike Authority, apparently.

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-85535441095963814752007-10-10T21:33:00.000-04:002007-10-10T22:19:23.533-04:00

It seems there's one every 18 months or so. Maybe it's the long hair, his worship of a sock puppet snake, or the multiple rings on each longer finger.Anyway, novelist Susanna Clarke interviews Moore, who's written V for Vendetta, From Hell, and Watchmen and pretty much every other influential comic in the last twenty years.Oh, and he also sings. That's him in "The March of the Sinister Ducks." (

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-29777388247092942382007-10-10T21:28:00.000-04:002007-10-10T21:30:01.749-04:00

From the Berkshire Eagle: "The non-binding referendum asks voters if they approve of legalized casino gambling in Massachusetts; the question will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot for the general election. It is the only ballot question on the warrant, which the City Council approved last night. Since the measure is non-binding, the city is not bound by its results."

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-32658554007154206752007-10-10T21:21:00.000-04:002007-10-10T21:28:28.624-04:00

Or most of them, at least, on the casino bill.The bill would require bidders to own land and put up a minimum investment of $1 billion, the second source said, ensuring the proposals would be resort-style casinos. License auctions would be staggered, likely over a period of nine months...Daniel O’Connell, state secretary of housing and economic development, told Taunton area business leaders on

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-43043523026152407002007-10-09T23:07:00.000-04:002007-10-09T23:08:26.731-04:00

Oh yes.

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-45126520983686843722007-10-08T12:23:00.000-04:002007-10-08T12:55:47.997-04:00

For free on the internets. Forget downloading it. It's right under the MySpace entry. And the writer's note:Comics are made for moms to take them away from us. Maybe it's the mobbed-up history comics have, maybe it's residual legacy from Kefauver and Wertham, or maybe it's that comics are small enough and invisible enough to fly under the radar of the Common Culture and have managed, in a lot of

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-6199006229536241982007-10-08T12:04:00.000-04:002007-10-08T12:23:12.180-04:00

One top one, whose six-month anniversary is coming up. And a former top aide, who's under a State Ethics Commission investigation.Meanwhile, NY looks to get its own biotech legislation jumpstarted.

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-24135698355728184842007-10-05T00:47:00.000-04:002007-10-05T00:49:24.585-04:00

...after state officials leave town following an announcement involving a big check:But before an actual design of the estimated $50-million-to-$55-million interchange and surrounding development is finalized, officials from Andover, Tewksbury and Wilmington will wait for early environmental and engineering work to get under way in the area, which is located in the southern-most portion of town

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-91723291888132074522007-10-05T00:24:00.000-04:002007-10-05T00:43:19.511-04:00

See, gambling is providing economic development. Albeit the very, very targeted kind.UPDATE: A Rhode Island state senator, citing Massachusetts' moves, proposes round-the-clock gambling.

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-92173031865871333162007-10-05T00:20:00.000-04:002007-10-05T00:21:49.425-04:00

A Sox fan is assaulted in New York.

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-29509638405871010282007-09-25T00:14:00.000-04:002007-09-25T00:18:44.903-04:00

The downside of YouTube: Things come down almost as quickly as they go up. Blink and you'll miss it.Such is the way with the BBC documentary, "In Search of Steve Ditko."Bah. Looks like I'll have to wait until it comes to BBC America:Stan Lee is famous as the author of the Spider-Man stories, but the man who designed the characters, illustrated the comics and came up with many of the storylines,

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-22820407251786833862007-09-24T18:49:00.000-04:002007-09-24T19:22:34.596-04:00

That'd be UMass Amherst. Maybe. (The Dartmouth campus is already involved, through one professor unabashedly touting the economic benefits of casinos.)According to Amherst's student paper, the university's Hospitality and Tourism Management department is looking into launching a "casino management program," setting up the university as the only one on the east cost to offer that kind of

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-12814994638552362462007-09-23T14:22:00.000-04:002007-09-23T14:32:11.319-04:00

In the NYTimes today. First a profile of Justice John Paul Stevens.And next, a review of Jeffrey Toobin's book on the "Secret World of the Supreme Court."Hats off to the artist who did up the illustrations for the review in the style of the Ocean's Eleven posters. If only they were for sale.

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-17797115982732239872007-09-21T23:08:00.000-04:002007-09-21T23:29:06.633-04:00

And these!This is how you fight a fire:These are from the National Library of France's collection of prints from 1910 showing life in the year 2000.[via paleo-future]

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-55103623453445412432007-09-21T22:59:00.000-04:002007-09-21T23:05:54.792-04:00

This is way old, internet time-wise, but still: They Might Be Giants have a new video out.My favorite will always remain "Istanbul." Yeah, that links to a Tiny Toons version, but it's the one I prefer.

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-69616194059812534102007-09-20T22:16:00.000-04:002007-09-20T22:26:38.069-04:00

Back in June, Gov. Patrick held a big rally in the hall right outside the House speaker's office, exhorting the Legislature to pass all of his so-called Municipal Partnership Act. Lawmakers and local officials crowded the stage behind him, and about 250 activists filled the hall in front of him.But afterwards, as Patrick made his way through the crowd, one supporter grabbed a Patrick aide behind

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-19757703224021049212007-09-17T23:08:00.000-04:002007-09-17T23:10:21.584-04:00

...for the Municipal Partnership Act if this keeps happening across the state:Swampscott’s town employee unions walked out of what was supposed to be a bargaining session to discuss health insurance last week.Adam Forman, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, says he is disappointed with the actions of the union in dealing with a plan, unanimously endorsed by selectmen, to have town employees join

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-54303057057677134422007-09-17T22:41:00.000-04:002007-09-17T22:43:33.901-04:00

Or, "A request for comment through a prayer was not immediately returned."This is almost like an Onion article.

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-62106614551924105672007-09-17T22:33:00.000-04:002007-09-17T22:37:15.201-04:00

Awesome photo essay at Foreign Policy magazine. Brendan Corr took pictures of the place tankers go when they're being dissembled.[via warren ellis]

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-40792014138804954742007-09-14T22:43:00.000-04:002007-09-14T23:06:13.069-04:00

One of the more interesting things in the move toward expanded gambling, if that is indeed the direction the state will be headed towards, is the folks who will join together mount the fight to stop it.That includes conservative religious groups and liberal interest groups, who just a few months ago were warring over gay marriage. Such as the League of Women Voters and the Massachusetts Family

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-19407142281209604582007-09-14T22:32:00.000-04:002007-09-14T22:42:59.838-04:00

But was at the back of my mind in the last day or so. Gov. Patrick did make the "failure of human understanding" remarks back at the commencement address for Mt. Wachusett Community College, as Dan Kennedy notes. (As does David Bernstein.)Those remarks were actually made even earlier, at a May 3 bar association dinner that I popped in on and wrote up for the News Service:Condemning the "politics

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-87966007342242773022007-09-13T22:48:00.000-04:002007-09-13T22:52:07.608-04:00

A fortieth anniversary DVD boxset for "The Prisoner."Due for release on October 1, according to this site.

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-55535553580177949612007-09-13T22:28:00.000-04:002007-09-13T22:41:46.395-04:00

First Robert Block left to cover NASA for the Orlando Sentinel.Now Dan Golden, a Pulitzer Prize winner and former Boston Globe reporter. He's leaving to join Portfolio, the Conde Nast business mag headed up by former WSJ editor Joanne Lipman.It goes without saying that this is a huge loss for the WSJ.

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-68155218515503386812007-09-13T22:24:00.000-04:002007-09-13T22:28:24.037-04:00

From Overheard in the Office:Managing editor: Our system's down until 2:50.Reporter: To the bars, then!Other reporters: Yay!Editor-in-chief: Why the hell not?In the field's defense, it's possible to file a story from a bar nowadays. (Though I prefer a Panera.)

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-41654140521049546182007-09-13T21:59:00.000-04:002007-09-13T22:04:40.420-04:00

Won't someone please think of the bingo players?

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-80736333688482390302007-09-10T17:16:00.000-04:002007-09-10T17:28:27.821-04:00

Or does the title of Indiana Jones 4 sound like a piece of fan fiction?(I almost wrote "a really bad piece of fan fiction," but then realized I'd be repeating myself.)Then again, it was George Lucas who named Star Wars I and II "the Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones," respectively.Yes, yes, I know the titles are supposed to evoke the serial feel. But still. "Raiders," "Temple of Doom," "

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-26681191695299218942007-09-09T23:16:00.000-04:002007-09-09T23:26:45.146-04:00

I dunno why. Good show, but it just never caught on with me. (Firefly, on the other hand...if only Fox didn't kick it to the curb like another awesome sci-fi western, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.)Anyway. I still pick up creator Joss Whedon's comics, and that includes the newest one exclusively online: Sugarshock, as part of Dark Horse Comics Presents on MySpace. (First part more easily

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-15966834904997141152007-09-09T23:05:00.000-04:002007-09-09T23:12:43.160-04:00

That's almost as wacky as Kentucky supporting the purchase of a submarine to hunt casino riverboats.But one citizen activist, Vincent Zarrilli, liked the idea, and it made it as far as the Boston City Council:After reading about a shortage of prison space in the late ’70s, Zarrilli proposed converting an aircraft carrier into a prison, and docking it near Deer Island in Boston Harbor. It gained

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-43610556101944671922007-09-03T11:11:00.001-04:002007-09-03T11:47:00.610-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-17849287000126394542007-09-01T10:00:00.000-04:002007-09-01T10:16:46.537-04:00

The creator of the Ventures Bros. toon updated his LiveJournal this week with backgrounds from the show.Season 3 can't come soon enough, lemme tell you.Publick also points us to this delightfully odd website. I'm a fan of "Nobody Wants to Play Sega with Harrison Ford," "Signifier and Signified," and "Two Warriors Come Out of the Sky."I've been due to change my wallpaper on my laptop. I think I

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-74237855574289510562007-09-01T09:15:00.000-04:002007-09-01T09:20:59.252-04:00

Seriously, the Big Dig, and by extension the Turnpike Authority, is just the gift that keeps on giving in the form of news stories. From Bloomberg:The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority faces the possibility of higher borrowing costs because of derivative agreements it made with UBS AG and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. involving $800 million of debt for Boston's `Big Dig' highway project,

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-60927840016918133012007-08-31T21:22:00.000-04:002007-08-31T22:11:20.061-04:00

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]

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-19937770236646135622007-08-31T21:13:00.000-04:002007-08-31T21:22:34.357-04:00

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.

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-27968708640303425592007-08-31T20:35:00.000-04:002007-08-31T21:11:31.735-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-31470263801355698792007-08-31T20:24:00.000-04:002007-08-31T20:35:22.045-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-6848084859487281442007-08-26T16:34:00.000-04:002007-08-26T16:39:53.961-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-38988921533684730952007-08-26T16:16:00.000-04:002007-08-26T16:34:09.685-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-16576328587037430312007-08-26T15:56:00.000-04:002007-08-26T16:14:46.453-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-85731567668966363102007-08-25T21:22:00.000-04:002007-08-25T21:41:25.043-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-61395226437788931112007-08-25T21:15:00.001-04:002007-08-25T21:22:17.560-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-2836114913082493952007-08-25T21:05:00.000-04:002007-08-26T14:47:31.437-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-49793346742263633052007-08-25T20:37:00.000-04:002007-08-25T21:03:06.707-04:00

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 (

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-30391225116082054332007-08-25T20:33:00.000-04:002007-08-25T21:03:41.378-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-69883379130006386862007-08-23T08:23:00.000-04:002007-08-23T08:24:44.468-04:00

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,

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-77270822112787856662007-08-23T08:13:00.000-04:002007-08-23T08:17:05.143-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-17808767663975211142007-08-22T22:26:00.000-04:002007-08-22T22:46:08.802-04:00

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"

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-10343502217346613422007-08-22T21:51:00.000-04:002007-08-22T22:25:03.364-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-5774870141568840222007-08-22T21:47:00.000-04:002007-08-22T21:51:27.669-04:00

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.

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-14049716421381584712007-08-22T21:33:00.000-04:002007-08-22T21:47:22.164-04:00

"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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-72760643169751110992007-08-20T23:30:00.000-04:002007-08-20T23:51:02.066-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-27990596589727768682007-08-20T07:57:00.000-04:002007-08-20T07:59:24.311-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-6137988634382281372007-08-20T07:47:00.000-04:002007-08-20T07:53:29.312-04:00

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."

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-22463906348953465382007-08-20T07:34:00.000-04:002007-08-20T07:45:09.631-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-70546578359527591212007-08-18T11:23:00.000-04:002007-08-18T11:50:19.089-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-50319521273170501632007-08-18T00:06:00.000-04:002007-08-18T00:16:34.983-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-89239726292991306262007-08-17T23:30:00.000-04:002007-08-18T00:15:57.629-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-21667661657425176012007-08-16T12:00:00.002-04:002007-08-17T19:09:54.019-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-90047388210910612412007-08-16T12:00:00.001-04:002007-08-17T19:08:48.840-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-35045080572380395572007-08-16T12:00:00.000-04:002007-08-17T19:07:04.240-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-17292482952725693692007-08-15T12:00:00.000-04:002007-08-17T19:06:11.254-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-80566056827964144462007-08-14T12:00:00.003-04:002007-08-17T19:03:03.297-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-77119444358395731362007-08-14T12:00:00.002-04:002007-08-17T19:01:00.412-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-8899584411737623962007-08-14T12:00:00.001-04:002007-08-17T18:59:16.750-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-16128893595610716272007-08-14T12:00:00.000-04:002007-08-17T18:58:27.534-04:00

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.

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-9181792514621249142007-08-13T12:00:00.003-04:002007-08-17T18:49:56.179-04:00

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.”

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-7687970027080079212007-08-13T12:00:00.002-04:002007-08-17T18:47:24.677-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-78881460584781350512007-08-13T12:00:00.001-04:002007-08-17T18:43:57.614-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-22805642834934390352007-08-13T12:00:00.000-04:002007-08-17T18:43:00.337-04:00

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

Ginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19726241.post-75862700237706390472007-08-10T12:00:00.000-04:002007-08-17T18:41:27.012-04:00

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.

Ginnoreply@blogger.com