Is Governor Patrick reversing his progressive position on “trees to energy?” An August 31 Boston Phoenix article (http://thephoenix.com/Boston/news/126080-devals-green-blues) says he is. The independent Manomet Report (www.manomet.org/node/322) was unequivocal in its conclusion that large scale forest biomass energy production is not a “carbon neutral energy source.” The only woody biomass, aka trees that should be burned …
Disturbing report on special education collaboratives
One special thing about special education is that it is extremely expensive. State auditor Suzanne Bump has released scathing critiques of three special education collaboratives in Massachusetts, detailing misuse of millions of dollars of funds. I first heard the story reported on WBUR. Now I fear that more shoes may drop. My question to Will: …
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Good News….(for a change)…
OK, it’s late on a friday, and a hurricane is bearing down on us, and no one wants to hear about traffic safety, but here goes anyway. Who’s already got the safest roads in the world? Guess what… WE DO! [The original, more confusing graph has been removed (8/28/2011 ..RC] (US State with the lowest …
Help Control Self-Defense Fees in Massachusetts
You may have read about the recent Massachusetts legal cases involving parking and traffic ticket defense costs. The current system imposes onerous charges simply to defend one’s self in court, and the NMA assisted in two cases to challenge the constitutionality of that system. In one of those cases, Vincent Gillespie was required to pay …
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Report on annual hearing of the Department of HealthCare Finance and Policy
Complex system requires complex changes Consumer involvement needed, perhaps through tiered plans Standardization and transparency in price and quality reporting needed Coordinated care, medical homes, bundled payments—all mean rewarding value and outcomes rather than services IT is critical A slow transition is needed In June, the Department of Healthcare Finance and Policy …
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MA Law unfair to Independent Contractors – needs to be changed
Hi Will – as an intellectual Property worker (software engineer/designer) married to a consulting artist (Powerpoint/photoshop specialist) I’d like to call to your attention the following article and urge you to support reform of this well-meaning-but-misguided piece of legislation. I’m guessing that a fair amount of your constituents fall into the “independent consultant” definition — this potentially …
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