Pols & Politics: MBTA pulls over OT train, Water and Sewer freezes up, Legislature walking on eggshells around auditor
The MBTA was once a bottomless pit of overtime. That’s changed.
Related Articles
2024 MBTA complete payroll: ‘Your Tax Dollars at Work’ database
Phillip Eng, the T’s general manager, is the highest-paid employee at the Transit agency. He pulled down $546,683 last year. Nice pay, but he’s the boss. Nobody earned more than he did in 2024 and that’s a change in the T’s culture.
Three Transit Police officers came in next and that’s big pay driven by OT. Let’s see how Eng addresses that in the coming year. – Joe Dwinell
Something fishy at Water & Sewer
It’s radio silence at Boston Water & Sewer Commission.
They refuse to respond to the Herald’s request for comment on the status of Chief Counsel Michael Flaherty, a former City Counselor, or HR Director Marie Theodat, who is embroiled in a few lawsuits. (As we reported, Theodat is paid $202,873, according to city records which show a nearly 27% increase in her pay from 2023.) Are they on the job? Taxpayers have a right to know.
It appears Water & Sewer officials hope the Herald will just go away. We won’t. We’re appealing. – Joe Dwinell
Tension on Beacon Hill
A bill signing on Beacon Hill this past week for hospital oversight and prescription drug cost bills drew a flock of lawmakers to the State House’s Grand Staircase and saw top Democrats offer up a handful of jokes and jabs during their speeches.
After passing the two bills in the final days of the 2023-2024 legislative session — long after the Legislature blew past their deadline to complete major work for the term — Gov. Maura Healey signed the measures meant to react to the Steward Health Care meltdown and bring down the cost of crucial drugs.
House Speaker Ron Mariano appeared to be in a particularly good mood — likely because he has long been trying to push through major healthcare reform bills. At the start of his speech, he mistakenly messed up Healey’s resume.
“She was the lieutenant governor for a big part, I mean, the attorney general. I forget what … we’re all somebody up here so it doesn’t matter,” he said.
Healey was quick to point out that “we think we are.”
“We think we are, that’s right,” Mariano said.
That was followed by Mariano, who is well-known for speaking off the cuff, calling out his communications director, Ana Vivas.
“And I’m going to say to Ana, I actually read some off the first page,” he said. “And with that I will turn it over to … I don’t know who. I’ll turn it back to the governor. You can’t go wrong giving it back to the governor.”
Healey came back to the podium to point out she had sworn-in representatives and senators earlier this month.
“We had the privilege of administering the oath to new senators and new representatives, and like me, isn’t it nice to come in and take credit for something that you didn’t actually do,” she said. “We do that all the time. Welcome. Welcome. We look forward to working with all of you.”
But it was not necessarily all laughs at the event.
Earlier on, Mariano threw an apparent jab at State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who is locked in a war with top legislative Democrats over an effort to audit the Legislature following the successful passage of a ballot question.
As he described how Steward Health Care’s uncooperativeness “was lost in the debate,” he shouted out DiZoglio.
“And I read about our dear friend with the audit pencil making comments about a lack of veal and vigor. Yet, if you look at every state agency, everyone cooperates with their numbers. The only one that didn’t was Steward,” Mariano said.
Spilka landed a few her own not-so-subtle blows at the media, who she has bashed this month for critical coverage of Beacon Hill and allegedly not covering the fine details of policies that make it through each chamber.
“I’m not going to ask you to raise your hand, but I would bet that nine out of 10 of you never thought we’d be here. Surprise,” the Ashland Democrat said.
Spilka then reverted back to a talking point she has used consistently this session — that lawmakers completed work on all major bills before the end of the year.
The Legislature is supposed to wrap major business before July 31 in the second year of their term but the House and Senate blew past that deadline last year.
“We said, at the end, well, I hate to even call it the end of session, because it wasn’t. July 31 is not the end of session. And that’s what the speaker and I both independently said, we will continue to work because some of this work is too critically important to not finish it before the end of session, meaning Dec. 31 and that’s exactly what we did.” – Chris Van Buskirk
Nancy Lane/Boston Herald
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio speaks at a press conference after voters approved the legislative audit question. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald
City Councilor Michael Flaherty speaks during the voter redistricting meeting. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
Pols & Politics: MBTA pulls over OT train, Water and Sewer freezes up, Legislature walking on eggshells around auditor
The MBTA was once a bottomless pit of overtime. That’s changed.
Related Articles
2024 MBTA complete payroll: ‘Your Tax Dollars at Work’ database
Phillip Eng, the T’s general manager, is the highest-paid employee at the Transit agency. He pulled down $546,683 last year. Nice pay, but he’s the boss. Nobody earned more than he did in 2024 and that’s a change in the T’s culture.
Three Transit Police officers came in next and that’s big pay driven by OT. Let’s see how Eng addresses that in the coming year. – Joe Dwinell
Something fishy at Water & Sewer
It’s radio silence at Boston Water & Sewer Commission.
They refuse to respond to the Herald’s request for comment on the status of Chief Counsel Michael Flaherty, a former City Counselor, or HR Director Marie Theodat, who is embroiled in a few lawsuits. (As we reported, Theodat is paid $202,873, according to city records which show a nearly 27% increase in her pay from 2023.) Are they on the job? Taxpayers have a right to know.
It appears Water & Sewer officials hope the Herald will just go away. We won’t. We’re appealing. – Joe Dwinell
Tension on Beacon Hill
A bill signing on Beacon Hill this past week for hospital oversight and prescription drug cost bills drew a flock of lawmakers to the State House’s Grand Staircase and saw top Democrats offer up a handful of jokes and jabs during their speeches.
After passing the two bills in the final days of the 2023-2024 legislative session — long after the Legislature blew past their deadline to complete major work for the term — Gov. Maura Healey signed the measures meant to react to the Steward Health Care meltdown and bring down the cost of crucial drugs.
House Speaker Ron Mariano appeared to be in a particularly good mood — likely because he has long been trying to push through major healthcare reform bills. At the start of his speech, he mistakenly messed up Healey’s resume.
“She was the lieutenant governor for a big part, I mean, the attorney general. I forget what … we’re all somebody up here so it doesn’t matter,” he said.
Healey was quick to point out that “we think we are.”
“We think we are, that’s right,” Mariano said.
That was followed by Mariano, who is well-known for speaking off the cuff, calling out his communications director, Ana Vivas.
“And I’m going to say to Ana, I actually read some off the first page,” he said. “And with that I will turn it over to … I don’t know who. I’ll turn it back to the governor. You can’t go wrong giving it back to the governor.”
Healey came back to the podium to point out she had sworn-in representatives and senators earlier this month.
“We had the privilege of administering the oath to new senators and new representatives, and like me, isn’t it nice to come in and take credit for something that you didn’t actually do,” she said. “We do that all the time. Welcome. Welcome. We look forward to working with all of you.”
But it was not necessarily all laughs at the event.
Earlier on, Mariano threw an apparent jab at State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who is locked in a war with top legislative Democrats over an effort to audit the Legislature following the successful passage of a ballot question.
As he described how Steward Health Care’s uncooperativeness “was lost in the debate,” he shouted out DiZoglio.
“And I read about our dear friend with the audit pencil making comments about a lack of veal and vigor. Yet, if you look at every state agency, everyone cooperates with their numbers. The only one that didn’t was Steward,” Mariano said.
Spilka landed a few her own not-so-subtle blows at the media, who she has bashed this month for critical coverage of Beacon Hill and allegedly not covering the fine details of policies that make it through each chamber.
“I’m not going to ask you to raise your hand, but I would bet that nine out of 10 of you never thought we’d be here. Surprise,” the Ashland Democrat said.
Spilka then reverted back to a talking point she has used consistently this session — that lawmakers completed work on all major bills before the end of the year.
The Legislature is supposed to wrap major business before July 31 in the second year of their term but the House and Senate blew past that deadline last year.
“We said, at the end, well, I hate to even call it the end of session, because it wasn’t. July 31 is not the end of session. And that’s what the speaker and I both independently said, we will continue to work because some of this work is too critically important to not finish it before the end of session, meaning Dec. 31 and that’s exactly what we did.” – Chris Van Buskirk
Nancy Lane/Boston Herald
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio speaks at a press conference after voters approved the legislative audit question. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald
City Councilor Michael Flaherty speaks during the voter redistricting meeting. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
Leave a Reply
Pols & Politics: MBTA pulls over OT train, Water and Sewer freezes up, Legislature walking on eggshells around auditor
The MBTA was once a bottomless pit of overtime. That’s changed.
Related Articles
2024 MBTA complete payroll: ‘Your Tax Dollars at Work’ database
Phillip Eng, the T’s general manager, is the highest-paid employee at the Transit agency. He pulled down $546,683 last year. Nice pay, but he’s the boss. Nobody earned more than he did in 2024 and that’s a change in the T’s culture.
Three Transit Police officers came in next and that’s big pay driven by OT. Let’s see how Eng addresses that in the coming year. – Joe Dwinell
Something fishy at Water & Sewer
It’s radio silence at Boston Water & Sewer Commission.
They refuse to respond to the Herald’s request for comment on the status of Chief Counsel Michael Flaherty, a former City Counselor, or HR Director Marie Theodat, who is embroiled in a few lawsuits. (As we reported, Theodat is paid $202,873, according to city records which show a nearly 27% increase in her pay from 2023.) Are they on the job? Taxpayers have a right to know.
It appears Water & Sewer officials hope the Herald will just go away. We won’t. We’re appealing. – Joe Dwinell
Tension on Beacon Hill
A bill signing on Beacon Hill this past week for hospital oversight and prescription drug cost bills drew a flock of lawmakers to the State House’s Grand Staircase and saw top Democrats offer up a handful of jokes and jabs during their speeches.
After passing the two bills in the final days of the 2023-2024 legislative session — long after the Legislature blew past their deadline to complete major work for the term — Gov. Maura Healey signed the measures meant to react to the Steward Health Care meltdown and bring down the cost of crucial drugs.
House Speaker Ron Mariano appeared to be in a particularly good mood — likely because he has long been trying to push through major healthcare reform bills. At the start of his speech, he mistakenly messed up Healey’s resume.
“She was the lieutenant governor for a big part, I mean, the attorney general. I forget what … we’re all somebody up here so it doesn’t matter,” he said.
Healey was quick to point out that “we think we are.”
“We think we are, that’s right,” Mariano said.
That was followed by Mariano, who is well-known for speaking off the cuff, calling out his communications director, Ana Vivas.
“And I’m going to say to Ana, I actually read some off the first page,” he said. “And with that I will turn it over to … I don’t know who. I’ll turn it back to the governor. You can’t go wrong giving it back to the governor.”
Healey came back to the podium to point out she had sworn-in representatives and senators earlier this month.
“We had the privilege of administering the oath to new senators and new representatives, and like me, isn’t it nice to come in and take credit for something that you didn’t actually do,” she said. “We do that all the time. Welcome. Welcome. We look forward to working with all of you.”
But it was not necessarily all laughs at the event.
Earlier on, Mariano threw an apparent jab at State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who is locked in a war with top legislative Democrats over an effort to audit the Legislature following the successful passage of a ballot question.
As he described how Steward Health Care’s uncooperativeness “was lost in the debate,” he shouted out DiZoglio.
“And I read about our dear friend with the audit pencil making comments about a lack of veal and vigor. Yet, if you look at every state agency, everyone cooperates with their numbers. The only one that didn’t was Steward,” Mariano said.
Spilka landed a few her own not-so-subtle blows at the media, who she has bashed this month for critical coverage of Beacon Hill and allegedly not covering the fine details of policies that make it through each chamber.
“I’m not going to ask you to raise your hand, but I would bet that nine out of 10 of you never thought we’d be here. Surprise,” the Ashland Democrat said.
Spilka then reverted back to a talking point she has used consistently this session — that lawmakers completed work on all major bills before the end of the year.
The Legislature is supposed to wrap major business before July 31 in the second year of their term but the House and Senate blew past that deadline last year.
“We said, at the end, well, I hate to even call it the end of session, because it wasn’t. July 31 is not the end of session. And that’s what the speaker and I both independently said, we will continue to work because some of this work is too critically important to not finish it before the end of session, meaning Dec. 31 and that’s exactly what we did.” – Chris Van Buskirk
Nancy Lane/Boston Herald
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio speaks at a press conference after voters approved the legislative audit question. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald
City Councilor Michael Flaherty speaks during the voter redistricting meeting. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
Leave a Reply
Pols & Politics: MBTA pulls over OT train, Water and Sewer freezes up, Legislature walking on eggshells around auditor
The MBTA was once a bottomless pit of overtime. That’s changed.
Related Articles
2024 MBTA complete payroll: ‘Your Tax Dollars at Work’ database
Phillip Eng, the T’s general manager, is the highest-paid employee at the Transit agency. He pulled down $546,683 last year. Nice pay, but he’s the boss. Nobody earned more than he did in 2024 and that’s a change in the T’s culture.
Three Transit Police officers came in next and that’s big pay driven by OT. Let’s see how Eng addresses that in the coming year. – Joe Dwinell
Something fishy at Water & Sewer
It’s radio silence at Boston Water & Sewer Commission.
They refuse to respond to the Herald’s request for comment on the status of Chief Counsel Michael Flaherty, a former City Counselor, or HR Director Marie Theodat, who is embroiled in a few lawsuits. (As we reported, Theodat is paid $202,873, according to city records which show a nearly 27% increase in her pay from 2023.) Are they on the job? Taxpayers have a right to know.
It appears Water & Sewer officials hope the Herald will just go away. We won’t. We’re appealing. – Joe Dwinell
Tension on Beacon Hill
A bill signing on Beacon Hill this past week for hospital oversight and prescription drug cost bills drew a flock of lawmakers to the State House’s Grand Staircase and saw top Democrats offer up a handful of jokes and jabs during their speeches.
After passing the two bills in the final days of the 2023-2024 legislative session — long after the Legislature blew past their deadline to complete major work for the term — Gov. Maura Healey signed the measures meant to react to the Steward Health Care meltdown and bring down the cost of crucial drugs.
House Speaker Ron Mariano appeared to be in a particularly good mood — likely because he has long been trying to push through major healthcare reform bills. At the start of his speech, he mistakenly messed up Healey’s resume.
“She was the lieutenant governor for a big part, I mean, the attorney general. I forget what … we’re all somebody up here so it doesn’t matter,” he said.
Healey was quick to point out that “we think we are.”
“We think we are, that’s right,” Mariano said.
That was followed by Mariano, who is well-known for speaking off the cuff, calling out his communications director, Ana Vivas.
“And I’m going to say to Ana, I actually read some off the first page,” he said. “And with that I will turn it over to … I don’t know who. I’ll turn it back to the governor. You can’t go wrong giving it back to the governor.”
Healey came back to the podium to point out she had sworn-in representatives and senators earlier this month.
“We had the privilege of administering the oath to new senators and new representatives, and like me, isn’t it nice to come in and take credit for something that you didn’t actually do,” she said. “We do that all the time. Welcome. Welcome. We look forward to working with all of you.”
But it was not necessarily all laughs at the event.
Earlier on, Mariano threw an apparent jab at State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who is locked in a war with top legislative Democrats over an effort to audit the Legislature following the successful passage of a ballot question.
As he described how Steward Health Care’s uncooperativeness “was lost in the debate,” he shouted out DiZoglio.
“And I read about our dear friend with the audit pencil making comments about a lack of veal and vigor. Yet, if you look at every state agency, everyone cooperates with their numbers. The only one that didn’t was Steward,” Mariano said.
Spilka landed a few her own not-so-subtle blows at the media, who she has bashed this month for critical coverage of Beacon Hill and allegedly not covering the fine details of policies that make it through each chamber.
“I’m not going to ask you to raise your hand, but I would bet that nine out of 10 of you never thought we’d be here. Surprise,” the Ashland Democrat said.
Spilka then reverted back to a talking point she has used consistently this session — that lawmakers completed work on all major bills before the end of the year.
The Legislature is supposed to wrap major business before July 31 in the second year of their term but the House and Senate blew past that deadline last year.
“We said, at the end, well, I hate to even call it the end of session, because it wasn’t. July 31 is not the end of session. And that’s what the speaker and I both independently said, we will continue to work because some of this work is too critically important to not finish it before the end of session, meaning Dec. 31 and that’s exactly what we did.” – Chris Van Buskirk
Nancy Lane/Boston Herald
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio speaks at a press conference after voters approved the legislative audit question. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald
City Councilor Michael Flaherty speaks during the voter redistricting meeting. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
Leave a Reply
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