Weekend Redux: What You Missed

Just because you spent all weekend waiting for May flowers doesn’t mean the world stopped moving. We round up the notable stories you missed.

Saturday
There’s a whole lot of trouble in transportation. The Globe reports that an independent study of the Longfellow Bridge says the structure is in even worse state than originally thought.

The paper also reports that parking lot owners are ignoring the limit on their licenses and are cramming in as many cars as possible. On the positive side, city and federal officials don’t have enough staff to make sure lots aren’t over their limit, so you shouldn’t worry about parking becoming even more scarce any time soon.

The Herald reports that drivers on the Massachusetts Turnpike are getting ticketed for speeding more than ever before.

The Massachusetts Turnpike has turned into the nation’s longest speed trap as state troopers, freed from their Big Dig duties, are gunning for harried commuters and writing tickets at a rate of an additional 4,000 a year[.]

There is some good news, though. The potholes that bang up your car should be filled up faster now that Mayor Tom Menino is cracking down on lazy DPW employees.

Sunday
He may be taking lazy public works employees to task, but Mayor Menino hasn’t done everything he promised.

From projects as small as a park playground, to visions as grand as a new City Hall on the South Boston waterfront, Menino has showered audiences with commitments and promises since his election in 1993. He has delivered on many, but not all.

41 of the mayor’s most clearly stated goals touted in those speeches, 10, including the Boston 400 plan, never materialized. Ten others were fulfilled only in part, or after lengthy delays.

Believing everything a politician says during a high-profile public speech is like believing everything you see in an online dating profile. The whole purpose is to make the person sound good and it is rife with opportunity for disappointment.

House Speaker Sal DiMasi is in trouble again. The Globe reports that Richard Vitale, DiMasi’s personal accountant and former campaign treasurer, told a group of ticket resellers he could help get legislation passed that would lift restrictions on resale profits because of his relationship with the Speaker.

If Vitale was paid more than $5,000 to influence lawmakers – and several brokers briefed on his fee arrangements said he most certainly was – he would have had to register as a lobbyist. And if he was working as a lobbyist, his ongoing financial relationship with DiMasi – namely, the loan -would have run afoul of state conflict of interest laws that prohibit lobbyists from granting anything of value to a public official.

DiMasi says he and Vitale never discussed the legislation, although it did pass the House and is currently languishing in the Senate.

We think college students should live in uncomfortable and ugly dorm rooms. It will inspire them to work hard so they can afford a nice place once they graduate.