Today’s Local Headlines

I read the news today…

Schill-ing For Baker

Curt Schilling, former Red Sox hurler, is getting behind Charlie Baker, according to his own blog, 38 Pitches. The Boston Herald picked up the story…

The Medfield Republican and former Sox ace previously campaigned for Red State men President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain.

Admittedly, Schilling hasn’t yet done his “homework” on the conservative candidate.

That doesn’t matter.

“I’ve known Charlie for about five years now, and I’ll state right up front I have not dug into his policies or his agenda,” Schilling wrote of Baker, calling the candidate a “man of integrity” and a “man of his word.”

He added: “I’ll vote for him. I’ll vote for him because he’s someone that has always appealed to me as being out for the greater good above all else. This state is in dire need of exactly that right now.”

This is exactly what I fear is happening on a broader scale.

We are only now getting to know who Charlie Baker is, and he’s getting the blind support of many people without them even knowing what he is all about. Barack Obama was criticized for promoting a health care plan that he admitted to only having glanced at; how is this different?

It’s a lot safer to get to know someone before you put your full support behind him. The last time this happened, we got Deval Patrick.

All I am saying is let’s see what Charlie Baker is all about first, and compare him to Christy Mihos, and make an educated decision. That’s all. Is that so difficult?

Why The Republican Party Needs Christy Mihos

Just over three years ago, Hub Politics urged Christy Mihos to save the Commonwealth and run as a Republican, rather than an Independent in the race for governor. Sadly, he chose the latter, and we all know what happened next.

Today, however, is a different story all together–Christy Mihos is running as a Republican.

The argument in 2006 was that the Republican party would benefit from a good, old fashioned primary election. Christy Mihos is making the same argument today. “It would be awful if the Democrats had a primary and the Republicans had nothing,” Mihos told the Boston Herald. These words are as true today as they were in 2006. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for the change of heart, but the damage is done. Christy, you have damaged your reputation, and face censure from the party you abandoned in 2006.

There is bitterness in the Republican Party, that is without doubt. We are in a tumultuous time here in the Commonwealth. Governor Deval Patrick has been a miserable failure, and the stronger Democratic majority on Beacon Hill leaves little comfort when it comes to protecting the interests of the public.

A Republican primary would do us all good…we know Christy Mihos is up for it, but what of the Republican Party in Massachusetts? I’ve heard the lingering bitterness firsthand, but that has to be pushed aside…it has to be pushed aside. In our warning to Christy Mihos three years ago, Hub Politics pleaded that he not run as an independent and create any ill will because “we Republicans have enough problems in this state to waste energy fighting amongst ourselves.” Today, we issue the same plea to the Massachusetts Republican Party: Let the past be the past. Bury the hatchet. Let bygones be bygones. It’s time for us to band together and get excited about what is perhaps our best chance to take back the Corner Office.

As of this moment, the race for governor is still between Deval Patrick and Christy Mihos. Embrace your party’s only challenger to the governor. If someday, whenever that may be, another Republican stops monkeying around and throws his hat in the ring, then we can enjoy some healthy competition in a Republican Primary.

I met Christy Mihos three years ago–I saw him to be a nice guy with truly good intentions for the Commonwealth. Like many others, I really wanted him to run as a Republican, and would have voted for him in a 2006 Republican Primary. I’ll be the first to admit that after Christy Mihos left the Republican Party (or as Christy would put it, the Republican Party left him), Hub Politics became one of the many who criticized him for it, and used this forum to make those criticisms quite public. We had our differences, and we certainly weren’t fans of each other. Today, those differences are put aside easily and without hesitation, not just because it is what is best for the Republican Party, but because it is what’s best for the Commonwealth, too.

This is no time for sour grapes. We were promised positive change, and we got more of the same, corrupt, politics-as-usual that has long been associated with Beacon Hill. Today, the only candidate in the race that represents change and a true voice for the people is Christy Mihos.

Count Hub Politics as being on the record as supporting the Republican candidacy of Christy Mihos, and agreeing with him that we hope we get to see a well-contested Republican Primary.

How To Handle To Panhandlers

Amidst budget crises, the City of Boston is trying to address the problem with bums–the panhandlers.

Desperate panhandlers scrambling in this tough economy are risking life and limb wading into busy intersections – prompting city councilors to call for a crackdown and even the mayor himself to report dangerous encounters.

The Herald has found several examples in recent weeks of street beggars blatantly violating a city law barring “aggressive solicitation,” including panhandling in traffic.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino “is concerned about pedestrian and driver safety, including people who step in between moving cars in traffic,” said Jim Greene, director of the city’s Emergency Shelter Commission.

“This is a concern. (The mayor) has called me himself when he sees a situation he thinks is unsafe,” Greene added.

The Herald found panhandlers in rush-hour traffic on major roadways, including the Massachusetts Turnpike offramp in Cambridge, Albany and Herald streets near the onramp to Interstate 93, the Jamaicaway, Cambridge Street near the Haymarket MBTA station and I-93 offramps in Dorchester.

The aggressive solicitation law prohibits panhandlers from “intentionally or recklessly blocking or interfering with” vehicles or people. The law also bars beggars from soliciting near banks and ATMs or “in an aggressive manner.” Violators can be fined $100.

Everyone feels the pinch. Now how come the charitable people out know to spend less and give less to the bums, but the bums in the State House (and Capitol Hill for that matter) can’t figure out that the solution is not spend and give away free money?

Atleast the panhandling bums are willing to work a little extra hard to earn their keep–the Beacon Hill bums just vote themselves a pay raise.

So what happens when you fine the panhandlers $100? They aren’t writing checks–that’s for sure. You’d be luck to get anything resembling a wide array of nickels and dimes and cigarette butts. What do you do when they don’t pay? How do you keep track of these bums and go after those who are delinquent in paying their fines? Are you really going to fine a bum $100?

Let’s be realistic; Boston cops are not going to waste their time issuing fines to bums, and quite honestly, they have more important things to worry about then writing fines that won’t be paid. Panhandlers who are creating unsafe traffic conditions or loiter in front of the ATMs need to be dealt with–but fining the people who have nothing is just silly. Can you come up with a better idea?

MBTA $160 Million Deficit = 14% Pay Raise

As if there wasn’t enough cause for ill will towards the MBTA, the Boston Herald is reporting that MBTA enjoyed a 14% raise in their payroll over the past year…all this during budget shortfalls.

The T – which announced a $160 million deficit yesterday – blamed the 14 percent year-over-year payroll jump on raises and back pay awarded by an arbitrator to the carmen’s union.

But critics say the payroll is a runaway wreck.

“A 14 percent hike is ridiculous,” said state Sen. Mark C. Montigny (D-New Bedford). “The first thing the T needs to do before it thinks about increasing fares or taxes is to clean up its own mess.”

T boss Daniel Grabauskas, in announcing the agency’s whopping deficit projected for the coming fiscal year, said he hopes Boston does not end up like New York City, which is contemplating deep cuts to service and fare hikes.

The agency’s payroll, obtained by the Herald, shows inspectors, engineers, foremen and streetcar drivers pulling in $100,000 or more. Some doubled their base pay last year when OT, back pay and raises were added.

It’s great to know that the $2 increase in parking fare at MBTA parking lots is going to pay raises for already overpaid MBTA employees.

Shall we start a pool for when fare increases will go into effect?