Talk about standing up for the little guy. Kudos to Associated Press reporter Jay Lindsay for his story today “Mass. clammers say airport upgrade will harm them:” A gray muck swallows their boots as they dig into it, snatch clams from between cracked shells and sea worms, then crouch low to do it again. It’s unforgiving, often dreary work, and all these Boston-area clammers want is the chance to keep at it. But they say pending safety upgrades to the runways at Logan International Airport will claim important shellfish beds and nursery grounds and kill an industry segment that’s already staggering from a recent die-off of the soft-shell clams they uncover. John Denehy, head of The Boston Clammers Association, said the airport’s manager – the Massachusetts Port Authority – is moving ahead with no regard for whether the 30 or so Logan diggers survive the changes. He said there’s no talk of money to make up for the lost business. And though Massport plans to relocate the soon-to-be-lost wetlands, the areas they’re discussing are either too far away or no good for clamming, Denehy said. “They believe they’re bigger and stronger than we are, and they’re just going to overwhelm [...]
Doing the right thing
According to published reports (I note that the Globe seems to have missed this story), Treasurer Steve Grossman is moving to immediately suspend Sal DiMasi’s pension and begin forfeiture proceedings at the end of the month. I think this is exactly the right thing to do. Continued pension payments to this convicted felon exemplify the culture of corruption in Massachusetts government that is so devastating to our collective ability to do the right thing (such as raising taxes and increasing needed state investments in infrastructure and education). Let’s not forget that taxpayers have already funded the defense of this criminal. Presumably, taxpayers will also foot the bill for his appeals. I note that his defense is the preposterous claim that he didn’t explicitly tie his support for Cognos to the secret payments he admits receiving — in essence, the “I stole it fair and square” argument. The arrogance of this man is staggering. Let’s not forget that codefendant Richard Vitale, acquitted in this prosecution, still faces a June 30 trial on charges that he took $60,000 from ticket brokers in exchange for “influencing” Mr. DiMasi and others on scalping legislation. These are not boy scouts. These criminals belong in jail. [...]
