Your Arlington, your views

by Bob Sprague

What an Arlington treasure the Regent Theatre is. I encourage you to attend its concerts when you can. That includes the Nov. 30 offering — a fund raiser for the Medford Street venue with comedian Jimmy Tingle.

My wife and I caught Jeffrey Gaines and Vance Gilbert at the Regent Nov. 15 — and a Saturday night treat it was. Few seats remained open in the house. Many were filled with Gilbert’s Arlington friends and neighbors (he lives near the former Symmes Hospital).

They heard a show that was by turns tough, sweet, funny and brimming with skilled musicianship. Gaines has a rough Richie Havens voice and pounding guitar electric-guitar style. (You can hear what I mean on his Web site.)

Gilbert’s voice soars and dips — sometimes like Aaron Neville, at others mixing Billie Holiday and Louie Armstrong in the same jazz riff. His subtle, frenetic guitar work blended remarkably well with sideman-for-the-night Kevin Barry, who accompanied on base and dobro-sounding slide, among other instruments.

In between raucous songs, Gaines, peering from under a wool cap, offered edgy memories of childhood. Gilbert’s patter was more immediate — a stream-of-consciousness about his jogging on the bikepath (”It ain’t pretty”) and hilarious portrait of bouts with personal trainers at Gold’s Gym.

The highlight of the evening was — and is — his music, which you can hear at Vancegilbert.com (the Regent event was a local release party for “Up on Rockfield”).

Check out both men and their music. Gaines has grit — Gilbert lifts.

by Bob Sprague

The legislator who served Arlington with success for 17-plus years has spent some of his time as his Senate term winds down doing what he loves — engaged in addressing environmental issues. In October, J. James Marzilli Jr. spoke at two environmental conferences in Germany, one sponsored by that nation’s Green Party.

YourArlington saw one of the conferences mentioned on a blog and requested comment. Marzilli responded in a recent e-mail:

“Governments, non-governmental organizations and businesses around the world have increasingly turned to state and local governments in the US to find partners to build an environmentally sustainable economy. The Heinrich Boell Foundation, affiliated with the German Green Party, is one of the most active NGOs encouraging a trans-Atlantic approach to sustainability.

“I spoke as a guest of the Boell Foundation at the ‘Greening the Economy’ conference in Berlin on Oct. 8-9, focusing on green buildings and encouraging conservation and renewable resources in electricity markets. [See German link || earlier English link (PDF)]

“Sustainability is about long-term economics. A sustainable economy builds profits through avoided costs and creating competitive advantages in the future instead of depriving future generations of resources.

“Buildings that are constructed according to green design principles reduce the annual cost of their operation and save fuel and construction materials. Energy conservation and the development of renewable resources can reduce costs to consumers and are an essential part of the effort to reduce the threat of catastrophic climate change. Germany and US states have taken different approaches to encourage sustainability, and we are learning from each other’s experiences.

“I also attended a second conference while in Berlin, “New Challenges to Infrastructure Theory and Policy – Markets and Planning, Development and Sustainability” on Oct. 10-11. This conference was oriented more toward academic and business economists.

“These two events were part of a string of events I have participated in with German partners. In 2006, I was invited by the US State Department to travel across Germany and speak about the approach that state and local governments are taking towards climate change, along with two other conferences with the Boell Foundation and the German Marshall Fund, in Berlin.

He added: “All events were privately funded and no state tax dollars were involved.

In an early poem aimed at expressing the power of nature, Dylan Thomas wrote, “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower.” This is a power that those who know Marzilli say he has long pursued in private — through the diverse blooms in the garden that surround his Arlington home — and in public — in “green” issues he has long discussed.

These are aspects of a man, now 50, who had no history of accosting women, as the legal charges against him say — charges that led him to drop his Senate reelection campaign last June. Shortly thereafter, he was treated for an unspecified bipolar disorder at McLean’s Hospital in Belmont.

Nature pulls one way; politics another.

Recently, Gov. Deval Patrick called for the Senate to expel Dianne Wilkerson, accused of taking bribes. In an apparent attempt to keep such accusations racially balanced, Patrick, once a Marzilli supporter, included the Arlington senator among those to be ousted. No matter that the charges targeting Marzilli have nothing to do with his official public duties as a senator, as Wilkerson’s allegedly did.

Nature pulls one way; politics another, and it makes sense here to complete the first stanza of Thomas’s poem:

The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees
Is my destroyer.
And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose
My youth is bent by the same wintry fever.

by Andy Oram

A yes vote would be the second shoe to drop on the nation’s financial crises. A yes vote would be economically irresponsible and reckless. Prior to the economic crises, sales tax revenues were shrinking as internet sales gained popularity and states were unable to collect taxes on these purchases. Gas revenues were shrinking because more people were switching to fuel-efficient automobiles. Finally, capital gains taxes were diminishing as property and equity values had been either level or moving downward. And the jury is still out as to whether tax give-aways to Hollywood and tax-breaks to Corporations will ever increase tax revenues. The only consistent source of revenue has been the income tax and its revenues along with all others have been trending downwards as unemployment takes a stronger hold in the Commonwealth

Despite our decreasing revenues, Massachusetts brings in large revenues. Because of these revenues the state has been able to issue Bonds at very favorable rates. State agencies have taken advantage of the favorable credit ratings and borrowed billions of dollars to our ultimate detriment. In past years the T has spent more money servicing its debts than it has taken in fares. At Mass Highway, daily operations and maintenance such as lawn mowing, are financed through swaptions and bonds. (Swaptions?, yes it is true, Massachusetts has exposure to obscure risky financial instruments.) Even if Massachusetts were to cut all its services and aid to cities and towns it would still be obligated to pay extremely large debt obligations. Just as individual Americans became addicted to cheap credit and found themselves over-leveraged so too did the state.

Because of the economic crises our highly rated state and municipal bonds are now worth less and pay out almost double the interest they did a few years ago. During the past few days the state has held off issuing about a billion dollars in new bonds in hopes that rates will go down and its debt obligations won’t have to go up. This postponement decision could prove to be imprudent. If proposition 1 were to pass, one can be assured that already nervous bond rating agencies would downgrade our bonds. The state would likely have to pay out double-digit interest rates. If the legislature decided not to overturn Proposition 1, state agencies would likely loose their ability to go to the debt market. Without cash infusions from tax revenues these highly leveraged cash strapped agencies could risk insolvency. If such a scenario were to take place this could freeze up the entire nation’s state and credit market. A market in which the nation’s retired folks are extremely dependent.

While this scenario might seem far-fetched, states nationwide are already selling off roads, parks, and land to meet financial obligations. The state has already sold land around the Mass Pike. If we eliminate the state income tax we will sell valuable land to meet our debt obligations and bills. Will we sell treasures like Walden Pond or Cranes Beach? I think supporters of Proposition 1 would be better served to go after runaway costs within state government. For example, even liberal democrats would support a sustainable government pension and benefits referendum. Presently T employees can retire after 23 years of service. 10 percent of new retirees are in there 40’s. According to the Massachusetts Transportation Finance Commission, 2/3’s of the T’s retirement healthcare costs go to retirees under the age of 65. No pension system can sustain itself when a large percentage of its pensioners take more out of its pension than they put into it. Debt is also wasteful and can leave the state vulnerable during trying economic times. A proposition to limit state debt would save taxpayers money and not place a tax burden on future generations.

The state is too leveraged to be able to afford a tax cut. Let’s be rational, Proposition 1 is excessive and could have disastrous consequences. Let’s vote NO and concentrate on eliminating waste that both the Left and Right can agree on.

by Will Brownsberger

A quick update on Alewife traffic issues. Some progress has been made that merits report.

Members of the Central Transportation Planning Staff have, for the last 18 months or so, been conducting a study of traffic through the Route 2 to Route 16 intersection. They published an interim report last year which showed how multidirectional that traffic is — it’s not just people going from western suburbs into Boston.

In a second phase of their work, they have been studying how to improve bus service to Alewife, so as to reduce traffic by taking people of out cars. As part of that, they have been studying some of the traffic issues at the intersection — buses do need to get in and out of the station through the traffic.

Earlier this year, in response to a call from Cambridge Park Drive businesses who were concerned about rush-hour congestion at the egress of the drive next to the T-station, Senator Tolman convened a meeting of state agencies at the offices of Wyeth research. From this meeting, a working group formed and the existing team from CTPS was asked to join and study additional options in the area to improve traffic flow.

For more background on the CTPS study and the Wyeth meeting, see www.willbrownsberger.com, click state policy and search for alewife traffic.

A final report from the CTPS study on bus issues should emerge fairly shortly. In the mean time, the combined working group has held several meetings and the CTPS team has done some very excellent analytic work on the intersection.

They have winnowed improvement options down to two groups of candidates. The first group involves adjusting curb lines in and around the 2/16 intersection to create some additional lane segments without expanding the right of way. These seem like small budget improvements which may materially reduce wait times in the intersection.

The only issue which might limit some of these changes is a small sidewalk segment immediately adjacent to the intersection. It seems to be abandoned, superseded by the Minuteman multiuse path, but that will be confirmed before Mass Highway proceeds.

The other group of changes is more complex, expensive and potentially controversial — these changes involve rerouting the end of Rindge Avenue through the Grace property at the corner of Rindge and Route 16. The goal would be to align it directly with the end of Cambridge Park Drive — making one intersection out of two. There would then be several different scenarios for pedestrians crossing there, one including a pedestrian bridge.

Senator Tolman and I will work to move MassHighway and DCR forward on the Route 2/16 intersection changes. As to the Rindge Avenue changes, if they ever go forward, there will be the need for resolution of many issues and considerable public process.

It also appears that there are some signage and enforcement improvements that may control gridlock on Cambridge Park drive. The City of Cambridge will be working on those.

On the bicycle and pedestrian fronts, the MAPC’s study of access to Alewife station is moving forward, and I’ve been very positively impressed by the knowledgeable staff that they have brought to the table.

Finally, the bicycle path from Brighton Street to Alewife seems to moving forward well. MassHighway has made a strong commitment to getting started on construction next year and seems to be on track for that goal.

As always, I appreciate hearing from you. My cell phone is 617-771-8274.

The following was sent via e-mail on Oct. 17 by Rep. Will Brownsberger, a Democrat of Belmont who represents part of Arlington, and is published with his permission:

You’ve probably been following the news of budget cuts from the governor. Here are some observations about where Massachusetts stands in the crisis, how the state is responding, and how the cuts affects our local communities.

1) The Massachusetts economy, while beginning to weaken, is still relatively strong compared with other states.

* Total employment stands at 3.2905 million in Massachusetts and, in September, was only 5,000 (0.1%) jobs below its 12-month peak which occurred in June. By contrast, national employment peaked in December 2007 and was 0.6% below that peak.

* Unemployment in Massachusetts in August was 5.3% as compared to a national 6.1%. The West and the Midwest regions have the highest unemployment.

2) The state’s budget gap is vast, at $1.4 billion, which is 5% percent of the total budget. Yet, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 21 other states are experiencing midyear shortfalls, many much greater, with New York at 10% and California at 22% of revenues. Massachusetts also has relatively strong financial reserves.

3) It does appear that economic conditions are getting worse and that our budget gap estimates do not reflect the most recent indicators of oncoming recession. The governor’s budget-cut plan was final before the latest report on falling consumer spending, a report which triggered another big sell-off on the stock markets.

4) The governor’s plan makes no cuts in the major local aid accounts. This is a politically safe call and one that all members of the legislature appreciate. Midyear changes in school funding could be very disruptive. The word is out though that municipalities should husband their resources in case a further round of cutting is necessary. The governor does not have the power to make local-aid account cuts without legislative approval. The governor did cut the METCO account and the special education circuit breaker.

5) Within the executive branch, it appears that the Governor was surgical and thoughtful about his cutting. He deserves real credit for attempting to preserve core lifeline services for the most vulnerable, not always politically the easiest choice.

* The total percentage cut within budgetary line items was $655 million or 2.4%.

* The legislative branch itself took a voluntary cut of 10%.

* The executive branch areas that got the largest cuts in percentage terms were housing (15.9%), environment (7.3%) and labor (25.0%). Housing is an area where independent agencies, like the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, can offset some of the cuts, but the cuts in employment training grants are very deep. I was disappointed to see a substantial cut in DCR’s Office of Dam Safety which has responsibilities relevant to controlling flooding in the Alewife area.

* Transportation (2.1%), education (including Chapter 70 which was not cut, 1.6%) and public safety (1.9%) absorbed relatively modest percentage cuts.

* Areas that were untouched include legal services for the poor, food stamp outreach, elder protective services, domestic violence programs, homeless individual assistance. Many human service programs did experience cuts, but many of these cuts were less than the average statewide cuts.

* The areas that got the biggest cuts in dollar terms were healthcare accounts. Over $200 million in Medicaid cuts will mean benefit cuts and provider rate cuts that are just beginning to be explained.

* After the proposed job cuts, the total state government employment will still stand above its recent nadir in 2004 after the last downturn.

6) Apart from the direct cuts of $655 million, the following measures balance out the governor’s budget gap of $1.4 billion:

* $146 million from decisions not to fund to fund projected overruns in selected accounts which were contributing to the gap (this may prove to be a weak area)

* $200 million from reserves

* $168 million from additional revenues (including an increased tax on telecommunications companies)

* $100 million from extending the amortization of the Commonwealth’s unfunded pension liability (this is a cost deferral, not a savings)

* $52 million from “pension reconciliation”

* $64 million in reduced support for the Boston Medical Center

* $15 million from reduced transfers to energy, life sciences and e-health trust funds (cutting back on flagship initiatives from the last session).

7) The governor used the occasion of the budget squeeze to cut most earmarks out of the budget — a mixed bag of decisions, but a move that furthers a perennial executive branch goal of reducing legislative control over the budget. The governor cut several small earmarks that helped Arlington’s town budget. There were no earmarks that directly supported Belmont’s town budget. A Belmont community institution, the Payson Park Music Festival, lost a new 2009 earmark of $10,000.

8) Similarly, the governor is resubmitting a recommendation that state employees pay a larger share of the salaries for healthcare benefits (included in the $655 million of cuts). The employee share was increased in the last down turn, but the Legislature (including me) voted to reject further increases in this budget cycle. It seems likely, however, that we will now vote to accept employee share increases in the new downturn — sacrifice will need to be shared broadly.

9) Watch for additional use of the crisis to make politically difficult cuts in the coming weeks and months. I am hopeful that we will be able to make reforms in the pension plans. Notably, we need to align benefits more closely with lifetime earnings. This will not affect most employees, but will eliminate some of the most common excesses of the system — excesses in which people inflate the last three years of their salary to gain a pension that bears no relation to their lifetime contributions to the system. The governor has signaled an intention to file a reform package shortly.

10) So far, the direct impact on our municipal budgets has been minimal, and the most vulnerable among us have not lost their lifelines, but the cuts in many other areas are real and substantial and diminish the state’s ability to provide services that most voters do value.

P.S. Vote NO on Question One! The cuts forced by Question One would be 10 times greater than the cuts forced so far by the still worsening economic conditions.