Cash will no longer be accepted on the Mass. Turnpike as the state switches to all-electronic tolling today, requiring drivers to use EZPassMA transponders or get billed by mail at higher costs. The state officially switches over to all-electronic tolls today on the Mass Turnpike, and workers will immediately start the process of demolishing now obsolete toll booths on the Pike. DOT also has a pretty interesting video on how the demolition and reconstruction process will play out.
MassLive has an excellent info-graphic slide show on why demolishing the old toll booths is far more complicated than you might think. It might get tricky. Democratic leaders have won a minor victory on Beacon Hill: Gov. Charlie Baker, who was urged by House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Stan Rosenberg to slow it down when it comes to budget cuts, is in fact slowing it down when it comes to budget cuts. From Rep. We need to, you know, raise taxes and have a serious discussion about why the gas tax failed a couple of years ago.
Boston Herald. With less than two weeks until the Nov. Meanwhile, supporters of Question 4, which would legalize marijuana in the state, can take heart, with likely voters backing the measure by 49 to 42 percent. Fyi: Question 1, which would authorize a new slots parlor in Revere, is getting croaked, while Question 3, which calls for more humane treatment of farm animals, is way ahead. Boston Globe.
If the possible showdown between U. Elizabeth Warren and ex-Red Sox star Curt Schilling were a baseball game, Curt would have been scratched from the line-up by now. Warren is seen favorably by 56 percent of likely voters and unfavorably by 31 percent, Miller writes.
Child welfare advocates are warning that a provision tucked into Question 4 could make their work harder if voters legalize recreational marijuana next month, Joshua Miller of the Globe reports. The question contains a clause that says marijuana use cannot be used as the primary cause for taking away parental custody. Bloomberg News. Whether the federal judge, Mark Wolf, believes the fed prosecutors is a different story. Wolf, who has questioned whether DiMasi is getting preferential treatment, will decide later on whether DiMasi gets out of prison early.
