Beacon Hill pay raise tab could reach $18M in next fiscal year | House Speaker Robert DeLeo said he’s been hearing for years from legislators and constitutional officers about the need to address the pay scale for public officials, pushing back against the notion that the plan was hatched in secret by top legislative Democrats to boost their own pay. “This wasn’t myself just thinking during the Christmas holiday this would be a good thing to do.”
Sam Doran / State House News Service
“Did you hear about the pay raises?!”
Sun Spots with Hitch [Vol. 131]: Beacon Hill leaders raise a ruckus | You don’t get to be Bob DeLeo without knowing how to, ahem, “play the game.” The longtime Speaker of the House, for sure, has powerful influence well beyond his vote. No fan of the Fight for $15, DeLeo, though — along with Senate President Stan Rosenberg — seems ready to exercise his considerable sway by asking taxpayers to kick in millions of dollars annually to raise the salaries of all state lawmakers, constitutional officers and judges, including his own by nearly 50 percent. Hitch, not surprisingly, has some thoughts.
Wikimedia Commons/Mark Dixon
The Women’s March on Washington
Editorial: Marches send a message | “Bizarrely, the White House press secretary Saturday night all but ignored the global marches and rallies, while taking the media to task for supposedly underrepresenting attendance at the previous day’s inauguration. There was so much wrong with Sean Spicer’s first official appearance that it felt a little like a ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit.” Undeniable then that although Trump won the election, women won the weekend.
Free to read!
Sloane M. Perron / For Worcester Sun
Wanda Tepper, left, Billy Riley and Kelvin Graves at St. Francis Xavier Center.
Sun Shine: A full helping of dignity with every visit to St. John’s Food for the Poor
“ ‘This place is a blessing to me and all the people who come here,’ said Wanda Tepper, 46, who stops by the St. Francis Xavier Center every day.” The growing program on Temple Street has been filling a need for 12 years, and it does so with a care and respect for every person it serves that sets it apart. Sloane M. Perron talks with director Billy Riley and some of his regulars.
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Giselle Rivera-Flores / For Worcester Sun
Stephen Jones, the intensely private, always-learning one-man-band behind Belmont Vegetarian.
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Antonio Caban / State House News Service
Attoney General Maura Healey
Healey intends to stand ground vs. gun owners in assault weapon battle | “My actions have never been about taking away guns from people. I respect the Second Amendment, but we have a law on the books, and it’s an important law. It says that civilians can’t walk around with or be in possession of military-style assault weapons, weapons that were made for military use to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible. That’s appropriate.”
Courtesy of Imperial Lion Dance Team
The Worcester Imperial Lion Dance Team will perform at the opening of the new MGM resort
Inbox [Jan. 25]: Worcester State celebrates $1M gift, Jericho Road Worcester trumpets nonprofit training, Clark art exhibit opens, Worcester lion dancers perform at resort fete | Interesting and worthwhile things happen every day in our community. Alas, we can’t cover them all. That’s where Inbox comes in, to offer readers an easily digestible compilation of interesting and noteworthy items you and your neighbors keep telling us about. Have a release or a photo you or your group would like to share? Let us know by emailing it to info@worcester.ma. Be sure to include a link to the full release on your site or Facebook page so we can include it and send Sun members your way.