So Boston Mayor Tom Menino will not run for a sixth term.
So the hardbetting staff owes $50 to wagerful reader Michael Pahre’s favorite charity.
So what.
The important thing is: What happens now.
Boston Globe website at 2 am:
Boston Herald website at 2 am:
You tell us: Who’s working this story harder?
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Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Crittenton Women's Union, Michael Pahre, sixth term, Tom Menino | 
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We have a rare tag-team effort today by the local dailies, starting with the lead piece in the Boston Globe:
Helpful Globe graphic:
Even more helpful Boston Herald graphic:
Hey – someone hand me that gold watch there, wouldja?
Originally posted at Campaign Outsider for reasons unclear even to us.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Big Apple Circus, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Campaign Outsider, sixth term, Tom Menino, UNH Survey Center | Permalink
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As with snowflakes, no two Boston Herald high dudgeons are alike.
Exhibit Umpteen: The feisty local tabloid’s snowstorm jihad this past week.
Start with Sunday’s relatively straightforward front page:
Then accelerate into Wednesday’s Page One:
DEFCON 4? Yesterday’s front page:
But wait! There’s more! Today!
From the Herald’s Javertesque Truth Squad:
Bill to shovel out pols $15G
Taxpayers will end up shoveling out at least $15,000 for an army of plows and trucks to remove snow from state lawmakers’ parking spaces and sidewalks on Beacon Hill while the rest of the city was still buried under last week’s historic blizzard, state officials said.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation, which paid for the private plowing effort, yesterday provided the Herald with details of the lightning-fast snow removal operation, which involved two dump trucks, a plow and two loaders to haul away the snow from around the State House last Sunday.
The estimated bill taxpayers will end up paying the private contractor, Valley Crest, is $15,450, according to DCR spokeswoman S.J. Port. The DCR, which maintains the State House, has a contract with Valley Crest to remove the snow within 12 hours after a storm.
That’s some snow job, eh?
3 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Herald, Hillary Chabot, Javertesque, Joe Battenfeld, preferential treatment, snow plow contractors, snowstorm, State House, Tom Menino, Truth Squad | Permalink
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The Boston Herald nails Mistah Mayah on Page One today.
Columnist Joe Battenfeld’s piece has the damning details. (As with snowflakes, no two campaign contributions are alike.)
Mayor $hoveling it in
Review: Plow contractors are big donors
Mayor Thomas M. Menino may have scolded the city’s snow plow contractors for their slow performance in last weekend’s blizzard, but they have done a stellar job at plowing something else — tens of thousands of dollars into Menino’s campaign war chest, the Herald has found.
Menino has raked in more than $60,000 from executives, family members and employees of private companies that have won contracts to clear the city’s streets, according to a Herald review.
But wait – there’s more:
The mayor also has questioned the handling of the blizzard by his Public Works Department, but he shouldn’t be too surprised. His hand-picked commissioner, Joanne Massaro, had no experience in public works or dealing with storms when Menino hired her three years ago. Massaro’s last job was as interim head of the Department of Neighborhood Development.
Ouch. Crosstown at the Boston Globe, the coverage is more City Hall Gazette than the feisty local tabloid’s.
Boston parking ban lifted, schools set to reopen
Boston finally lurched toward normalcy Tuesday after a debilitating blizzard, ending a 102-hour-long parking ban on major streets and announcing that public schools would reopen for the first time since the storm struck.
Near springlike temperatures began melting snow mountains into lakes of slush. Waterlogged and unshoveled sidewalks forced scores of pedestrians into plowed streets, where they walked on black asphalt with briefcases and grocery sacks, slowing traffic.
The end of the parking ban brought a glint of hope for frustrated drivers, who suddenly had thousands of open spaces. The city’s 57,000 public school students were scheduled to return to classrooms Wednesday morning, to the relief of educators eager to return to lessons and parents who had simply lost patience. School officials warned, how ever, that buses may be late.
“We are ready, but we acknowledge there still are some challenges,” said the school district’s transportation director, Carl Allen. “Traffic might still be a bit slow. . . . Streets are narrowed in some places.”
Yeah? Really?
The hardreading staff especially likes the headline above the jump on page 3:
Tom Menino in bed with the business community. That’s what qualifies as normalcy in Mayberry East.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Joe Battenfeld, Mayberry East, Mistah Mayah, snow plow contractors, Tom Menino | Permalink
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If today’s edition is any indication, the Boston Herald will be Stephen Lynch’s in-House organ during his run to replace departing U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Empty Seat).
The feisty local tabloid has one news report (“Some unions already on Lynch’s side”), two columns, and an editorial about Lynch – most all of it positive.
Representative sample: Peter Gelzinis’ column.
Working-class hero Steve Lynch has got the goods
Steve Lynch was exactly where he wanted to be yesterday afternoon — standing in an ironworkers’ hall, around the corner from the housing project where he grew up, and poised to mount an underdog challenge against a fading political relic.
It’s a place Lynch knows all too well.
Almost 20 years before the bishops of the state Democratic Party blessed Ed Markey’s desire to succeed John Kerry, Steve Lynch ended the dynasty of an emperor named William Bulger.
Music – and hearts – swell.
The editorial sounds a similar note:
Defying Beltway dictators
Whatever the future holds for U.S. Rep. Steve Lynch, the people of Massachusetts owe him a huge debt of gratitude for bringing a modicum of small-d democracy back to the Democratic Party.
“All politics is local,” the late U.S. House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill was fond of saying — and so it should always be here.
But when the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee starts dictating from Washington who should be running in the Massachusetts primary, well, it’s time candidates and voters need to push back.
Enter Steve Lynch, representing the people’s wing of the Democratic Party.
Only Wayne Woodlief’s op-ed piece hits a downbeat note.
Lynch faces uphill fight to replace Kerry
South Boston-bred U.S. Rep. Steve Lynch’s entry yesterday into the special Democratic primary for John Kerry’s Senate seat may well give U.S. Rep. Edward Markey of Malden, the odds-on favorite for the April 30 showdown, a sparring partner, not a stumbling block, for the June 25 special election final.
Sure, Lynch, who announced at a union hall in Southie yesterday, is an ex-ironworker (though it’s been a couple of decades since he strapped on those work boots) and is a favorite of many “regular guys.” But there’s no way he can match the money Markey already has raised ($3 million in the till and counting) and find enough to pay for the ads and staff and other costs for an election in just three months.
Then again, if Boston Mayor Tom Menino (D-I’m Still Standing) throws in with Lynch, he could make it interesting. Especially with the Herald already on board.
P.S. Crosstown at the Globe, op-ed columnist Scott Lehigh takes Lynch down a peg:
Lynch . . . is someone who goes small on big votes. Take, for example, Obamacare. He voted for the original House legislation, against the final bill on the crucial vote, then in favor of the reconciliation legislation essential to its passage. The explanation Lynch offered for that transparent attempt to have things both ways didn’t just strain credulity, but left it in shreds.
He also went small on the bank bailout. Voting no, as he did, was easy — and yet, many experts will tell you that without the federal infusion of cash, our entire financial system would have frozen up, with devastating consequences.
Expect more of that in the future.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Ed Markey, John Kerry, Peter Gelzinis, Scot Lehigh, Stephen Lynch, Tom Menino, U.S. Senate, Wayne Woodlief | Permalink
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Lots of political prognostication in the local dailies today about who might do what in the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat about to be vacated by John Kerry (D-Am I Secretary of State Now?).
Start with the the Boston Herald, which turns half of Page One over to the prospects of Rep. Stephen (Peek-a-Boo) Lynch (via the Newseum’s Today’s Front Pages).
Lynch earns a split decision inside: Hillary Chabot’s piece has the headline, “Menino Shaping Up As Ace in Hole for Lynch,” while Joe Battenfeld’s column presents a less-optimistic slant:
Botched report spells trouble for pol
Even by Massachusetts political standards, this was one of the worst non-campaign announcements ever.
U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch’s bungled will-he-or-won’t-he drama over his possible entrance into the U.S. Senate fight left voters confused and Democratic leaders shaking their heads — not a great start for a campaign.
If Lynch does announce he’s getting in the Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey — and many Democrats and Lynch supporters are still convinced he will — the first question will be: “When did you decide to run — before or after your advisers prematurely leaked word you were running and you denied it?”
Ouch.
Crosstown-rival Boston Globe gives its conjecturing the power position: Page One (via ditto) upper right above the fold:
The Frank Phillips/Michael Levenson piece indicates that Scott Brown (R-Show Me the Money) might be leaning toward skipping a third Senate bakeoff in three years and running instead for governor in 2014. Enter the Great Mentioner, starting with former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld:
Weld did not return calls seeking comment. But his associates said it is highly unlikely the former governor, who returned to Boston this fall after living in New York for a dozen years, would plunge back into politics.
“He has no interest,’’ said Stephen Tocco, a partner with Weld at ML Strategies, a public affairs consulting firm. “He is too busy growing his practice and settling into Massachusetts.’’
Not to mention Weld has said (as noted by the hardreading staff) that not running for office is a condition of his employment at ML Strategies. Although – yes, yes – contracts are made to be broken.
Regardless, next?
Another high-profile Republican — Kerry Healey, the former lieutenant governor — did not rule out a Senate candidacy, saying only that it is “premature to say’’ if she would be interested in the seat if Brown does not run.
Conspicuous by his absence was Charlie Baker, who ran a credible if largely uninspired campaign for governor in 2010. It will be interesting to see if in the next round of chinstroking, Baker is part of the mix.
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Bill Weld, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Charlie Baker, Ed Markey, Frank Phillips, Hillary Chabot, Joe Battenfeld, John Kerry, Kerry Healey, Michael Levenson, ML Strategies, Scott Brown, Stephen Lynch, Tom Menino | Permalink
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Three little words signal the difference between the local dailies today in their coverage of the new Suffolk County sheriff.
Aide named to replace Cabral as sheriff
Tompkins began inmates program
Governor Deval Patrick appointed a former aide to Andrea J. Cabral to succeed her as Suffolk County sheriff on Tuesday, saying he was not concerned that Steven Tompkins could be seen as a political hire.
“By the way, it’s a political job, so the folks that are criticizing it as a political hire, tell them: they’re right,” Patrick told reporters shortly after administering the oath of office to Tompkins, who will serve until the 2014 general election.
Gov: You’re right, sheriff pick’s ‘political’
Gov. Deval Patrick unabashedly admitted the hiring of new Suffolk Sheriff Steve Tompkins — a career public relations man and former campaign adviser to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren with no law enforcement experience — was a “political hire.”
“It’s a political job,” the governor said with a smirk last night. “So the folks that are criticizing it as a political hire, tell them they’re right.”
With a smirk. How very Herald.
Also very Herald: Howie Carr’s column on who got screwed in the deal (Boston City Council President Steve Murphy) and why (“Andrea Cabral hates Murphy. He ran against her once” and “Mumbles Menino hates ex-city councilor Michael ‘Flats’ Flaherty,’ who would return to the City Council if Murphy exited).
How very Boston.
4 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Andrea Cabral, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Deval Patrick, Michael Flaherty, Steve Murphy, Steven Tompkins, Suffolk sheriff, Tom Menino | Permalink
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The hardreading staff yields to no man in its respect for the journalism at the Boston Globe. But this Sunday’s edition struck us as a bit odd.
Page One, via the Newseum’s Today’s Front Pages:
The Medicare windfall piece? Excellent.
Then there’s the Camp Menino feature, which reads like a really long press release from City Hall.
Not to mention this OCD graphic of Tom Menino’s rehab floor plan at the city-financed Parkman House:
Next up: This takedown of New England Law dean John F. O’Brien, which reads like a really long hit from . . . who knows?
Not too mention this drive-by graphic:
And the icing on the cake: This advertorial for Geoff Edgers’ reality show, Edge of America, which occupied page one of the Sunday Globe Arts section:
How I went from newspaper reporter to host of a TV show
I am standing in the alligator pit. This is not a euphemism. About 10 feet away, a dozen gators slowly swirl around an ankle-deep pool of swamp water. My job: Walk in, haul one of these critters onto a patch of sand, and tackle him before he flips me into the famed “death roll.”
At times like these, I have flashes of my real life — Boston Globe arts reporter, husband, father of two — and I consider the absurdity of the moment. I’ve wrestled with some elusive sources over the years, but never one who could bite my arms off.
What follows is essentially an infomercial for the show Edgers has produced.
The headscratching staff says:
Huh?
3 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Camp Menino, Edge of America, Geoff Edgers, John F. O'Brien, Massachusetts, Medicare windfall, New England Law, Parkman House, The Newseum, Today's front Pages, Tom Menino, Travel Channel | Permalink
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Yesterday’s Boston Globe featured the main course: A front-page piece on the hospital room where Boston Mayor Tom Menino’s been holed up for a month with a Whitman’s Sampler of symptoms from blood clots to spinal cracks.
Hospital room is now Mayor Menino’s office
Top aides help mayor retain links to his city
A black accordion file sits on a desk outside Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s empty office on the fifth floor of Boston City Hall. Most days, city employees stuff paper work into manila folders in the compartments: One sleeve is reserved for documents Menino needs to sign, another for memos the mayor needs to read.
Normally, the bundle goes home with Menino to Readville. But for the past 25 days, the plastic file has been driven the 3½ miles from City Hall to Francis Street, where doctors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital continue to treat Menino for a variety of ailments.
The impersonal shuttling of documents to the Brigham — and verbal orders the mayor shares from his hospital bed through an inner circle of aides — has become the main link between Menino and roughly 20,000 city employees he has closely managed for almost 20 years. It marks a stark change for Menino, who so prides himself on personal connections that he has forbidden voicemail at City Hall.
Another stark change: Today’s slim pickins in the Boston Herald, which feel decidedly warmed-over.
A-list visitors call on ailing Boston mayor
Gov. Deval Patrick and Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley have been among the visitors to Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has been at Brigham and Women’s Hospital for a month and is expected to remain there through Thanksgiving.
Patrick and his wife, Diane, met with Menino for about 30 minutes at the hospital last weekend, while O’Malley, the Boston archbishop, visited on Friday, said Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce.
“He’s able to engage and have conversations,” Joyce said. “They’re not long visits.”
The hardreading staff hopes that soon those visits won’t be necessary, and Mr. Mayah can get back to not checking his voicemail at City Hall.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston City Hall, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dot Joyce, Tom Menino | Permalink
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It’s now three weeks Boston Mayor Tom Menino’s been in the hospital with a Whitman’s Sampler of symptoms, and not surprisingly, political maneuvering is the order of the day (although anyone who bets against Menino running again doesn’t really care about his money).
According to the Boston Herald, it’s all hijinks and shenanigans down at City Hall. Via the Newseum’s Today’s Front Pages:
Seems a bit hyperventilating to the hardreading staff, but that’s nothing new for the feisty local tabloid. Nor is the double coverage from bookend columnists.
For once, the council prez chase matters
It seems that the growing public concern over Mayor Thomas Menino’s indefinite hospitalization has been exceeded only by the simmering political intrigue within the chamber of the Boston City Council.
As one insider put it yesterday, “The long knives are starting to come out.”
With each day the mayor spends at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the presidency of the City Council suddenly looms larger and larger.
“No one will dare admit it right now,” said a council watcher, “but all of them know that thistime, being council president might actually mean something.”
Say – are we zoned for that?
Voters primed to pick black or Latino pol
The stars are aligned for Boston voters — as soon as next year — to make some long overdue history.
Whether Mayor Thomas M. Menino finally decides to retire or not, there’s a good chance his successor will be either black or Hispanic.
That would be ho-hum news in most other major cities, but not in Boston, where every single mayor for the past 190 years has been a white male. That’s an astounding distinction, considering that nearly half of Boston’s registered voters are now minorities.
“Distinction” sounds so positive; maybe we could call it an aberration.
Meanwhile, crosstown at the Boston Globe, the Corner Office Steeplechase gets not two columns, but two paragraphs in Brian McGrory’s piece today.
On to the mayoralty. For years, every time I’ve thought about joining the chorus that says Thomas M. Menino should retire, I do something crazy. I look around this city. And what I see is a waterfront that may be the most booming urban neighborhood in America, clean streets and cranes in Dudley Square, a relatively low crime rate, stable property values, and sections from the North End to the South End that are packed with diners, play-goers, and just plain strollers through the week. Menino may not be fancy, but his effectiveness is indisputable. But today marks his 21st day at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which means that every member of that august legislative body known as the Boston City Council is plotting his or her own mayoral campaign for 2013. It’s a little scary when you consider that whenever anyone calls a recess at a City Council hearing, the entire group runs frantically for the doors to play kickball outside, juiceboxes in hand. Not that kind of recess, guys.
McGrory then turns Great Mentioner, listing a handful of possible candidates from Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley to Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish.
Wait – is that Tom Menino we hear? He says Go Fish.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Boston mayoral race, Brian McGrory, Great Mentioner, Joe Battenfeld, Peter Gelzinis, Tom Menino | Permalink
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It's Good to Live in a Two-Daily Town 