Post Tagged with: "Gov. Deval Patrick"

Stimulus rules may stymie transportation projects; State recipients worry

March 26, 2009 at 6:10 pm

(Source: Boston Globe)

Mass. officials say public works that would have the biggest impact – and create the most jobs – may be left out

Governor Deval Patrick’s administration has determined that dozens of worthy projects are not eligible for federal stimulus money because the US government has dictated that only certain types of public improvements can be funded, even if they have limited economic potential.

That means the initial round of stimulus spending may generate fewer jobs than Massachusetts officials had expected.

When it approved the stimulus package, Congress restricted the use of about $800 million of transportation funds to projects that have been included on a list of public improvements states put together annually. It often takes years for a project to work its way onto that list.

In Massachusetts, many of those projects are simple jobs – paving roads or fixing sidewalks – and usually do not trigger another round of associated development that would employ a larger number of people. The congressional restriction prevents Patrick from using the money for some larger highway and transit upgrades that aren’t on the list but that would spur development of homes, office parks, and retail stores.

Click here to read the entire article.

Read more Comments Off

Editorial: Reform and revenue for transportation

February 21, 2009 at 5:22 pm

(Source:  EnterpriseNews.com)

For more than a year, Gov. Deval Patrick has been promising a response to the state’s ever-worsening transportation woes. Friday he delivered a proposal that includes most of what the situation requires.

Patrick starts with reform, as he should. His plan would finally put the much-despised Mass. Turnpike Authority out of business, merging it, along with the MBTA, MassPort and the Registry of Motor Vehicles, into a single, more accountable, transportation agency.

Patrick also vows to do away with the administrative redundancy and unjustifiable perks that have grown over the decades in these transportation fiefdoms. The MBTA contract, for instance, allows union workers to retire after just 23 years on the job and immediately begin collecting healthy pensions, with the state providing health insurance for the rest of their lives. With the “T” burdened by more than $5 billion in debt, such excesses are inexcusable.

Click here to read the full article.
Read more Comments Off