New England Public Radio

The Short List: MA Transportation, Workers’ Buyout, ‘Vile’ Messages At Amherst College

NEPR'S WEEK IN REVIEW

What made The Short List this week?

  • A transportation conference was held this week at MIT in Cambridge called “Reviving Federal Investment in Public Transit: Build Subways, Not Submarines.” Former Massachusetts Governor Mike Dukakis, and his Secretary of Transportation and current MIT Professor, Fred Salvucci, presented at the conference that panelist Matt Szafranski attended. At first glance, it seemed pretty Boston-centric, but Matt said, they did not forget about Western Massachusetts.
  • Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s voluntary separation program for state workers had 900 takers. Certain branches of government will feel the losses sooner than others.
  • Amherst College joined the ranks of Harvard, Columbia, Yale and Princeton this week, as the men’s cross country team was found to have circulated  messages described by College President Biddy Martin as “vile.”

Click the audio player above to hear New England Public Radio’s Carrie Healy explore these issues with the Springfield Republican’s Ron Chimelis and Matt Szafranski of Western Mass Politics and Insight.

The Week Ahead On Beacon Hill

The deadline has passed to register to vote or change party affiliation ahead of the Massachusetts primary election. That’s only two-and-a-half weeks away, and it’s made for quiet times in the legislature. But there’s still quite a bit of action going on outside the Statehouse.

Click the audio player above to hear New England Public Radio’s Carrie Healy talk with the State House News Service’s Matt Murphy.

The Week Ahead On Beacon Hill

Governors Michael Dukakis and William Weld over nearly five terms in office were unable to advance a project connecting downtown Boston’s two train hubs and closing the broken link in East Coast rail service.  On Wednesday, they plan to meet with Governor Charlie Baker to appeal to him to get the job done.  Rail link supporters promote it as a logical solution to long-term congestion problems and a way to avoid other costly upgrades, like the expansion of South Station.  But the project is in line behind many others, including mega-projects like the Green Line Extension, a commuter rail spur to the South Coast, and needed maintenance upgrades on the MBTA.  And the rail link lives in the haze of the historic Big Dig cost overruns left from the last time the downtown area was dug up to bury the interstate highway.

While they bill themselves as full-time, the House and Senate are in the midst of a weeks-long summer recess and reps and senators are not about to rush back to Beacon Hill the day after Labor Day.  A few committees plan to resume business this week but the House and Senate plan to stick with informal sessions.

Speaker Robert DeLeo plans to be in Springfield on Wednesday and Thursday, though details of his events in the city are still being worked out. Senate President Stanley Rosenberg has events in the Pioneer Valley and in Boston.

To hear Henry Epp’s conversation with State House News Service reporter Matt Murphy, click on the audio player above.