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Guy appointed to figure out how to get the T out of crisis promptly leaves for vacation in Jamaica
By adamg on Thu, 02/26/2015 - 12:43pm
But, his people assure the Globe, they have telephones down there, and it's not like the commission doesn't have an entire month to report back to the governor.
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Jamaica, yes! Jamaica Plain,
Jamaica, yes! Jamaica Plain, no!
At least it's not Jamaica, Queens
Although apart from the LIRR hub & subway station, their public transit also needs some help.
Jamaica Queens
Jamaica Queens has outdoor El and it runs the j m z line you can get where you need to go 24-7, 365 days a year. MBTA should study it.
And that does what if you're not near a subway or EL?
Oh, getting into Jamaica via LIRR or the subway/EL is fine. I work with public schools and the site I had to go to was only reachable via public transit by a bus line of which four coaches didn't stop. I had to order a Lyft to make my meeting. F'ng ridiculous.
Yeah that's SO RIDICULOUS!
Yeah that's SO RIDICULOUS! That's like complaining that there isn't a T stop right outside an elementary school in Needham.
I'd make a terrible executive
If I was put in charge of fixing the T (and god help us all if we ever reach THAT rock bottom) I might...I don't know...ride the T, talk to people to work at and ride the T, call around to other transit systems to see if they don't get paralyzed all the time and why not. Jetting off to the tropics probably would have never even occurred to me. And that is why I would make a terrible executive.
Remember the press conference intoducing the commission?
Someone asked which members of the commission actually used the T.
They awkwardly looked at each other in stark silence.
HAHAHAHHA! But that would
HAHAHAHHA! But that would make too much sense and mean you were working hard to address a MAJOR problem. That's hilarious though, really.
He did. Once.
A Boston Globe reporter and him road the Franklin Line and then the Red Line to Alewife according to a article posted a day or so ago. It was telling and depressing.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/02/25/riding-rails-with-paul-ba...
It's hard to see this guy as coming up with any good ideas about the problem. Things like this reinforce my idea that Baker has no interest in "saving" the T and only wants it out of the news. Plan on lots of service cuts, not real fixes for the core problems.
The Greenbush station
is not on the Franklin line. It's on the South Shore. They never rode the Franklin line. So, maybe this guy does have some good ideas, but you are not the only commenter on Uhub that has Baker dead and buried from a month of storms the month after he's sworn in. Because he's a Republican, he broke the system before Patrick served his two terms and while the Dem legislature ran the show.
Oh, 'Baker saddled the 'T' with a trillion in debt from the Big Dig'. OK, that had nothing to do with environmental lawsuits to mitigate 'car' infrastructure by building 'environmentally friendly' toys like a train to Fall River and leaving the T holding the bag.
My opinion? He'd love to 'save' the 'T'. If you read the article, the only depressing part was the $425 mill a year on $5 bill in debt.
The 'T' is mortgaged to the hilt.
It can't win.
HOLD ON...HOLD ON...If that 425 is P&I, then that's a payback time of about 11-12 years. They're free and clear in a dozen years???
Anybody want to comment on that???
It is P&I
But only about $175 million is P. So payback is probably closer to around 25 years - assuming the $5 billion is correct and they don't borrow any more money.
Bottom line - the debt is not what's killing the T. Debt payments are about 25% of revenue - and can be managed. The big problem is growth in compensation at about 5% a year (not just wages - that includes bennies, pensions and payroll taxes). The T is broke because they have given more money than they can afford to employees - not because they've gone on some wild spending spree buying up new systems and trains - which is what they need - but they can't because 75 cents of every new dollar goes to compensation.
Is anyone surprised
that this commission is now confirmed to be a phony diversion from reality? Also confirmed, Gov. Charlie is a fraud.
and the previous gov wasn't a
and the previous gov wasn't a fraud?
That's like saying
Oh, your bread is stale? So what? The loaf you bought last week was too.
Big fan of gov patrick
-He stayed his full term instead of abandoning mid term
-He was BFFs with POTUS so our state got attention in DC
-He was a level headed and effective manager - we didn't suffer as much or as long as other states as during the Great Recession and financial scandal.
- no major scandals
- liked his cool calm demeanor
- he brought some attention to the western part of the state (west of Worcester)
IMO he will probably run for national if his wife is up for it.
Yes we have debt but except for the disaster that is the MBTA - we have services.
Details?
I somehow doubt that this was a spur-of-the-moment thing, to celebrate his new post. People do plan vacations in advance, and they usually like to take them even if other plans change!
The nerve!
So if he planned the vacation in advance
he shouldn't have accepted the position and the responsibility of producing an important study that's due in a few weeks.
2 scenarios
A)
Baker: Hey, want to run a blue-ribbon panel on why the T doesn't work? We've got a month to come up with something.
Barrett: Sounds great! See you at the press conference!
B)
Baker: Hey, want to run a blue-ribbon panel on why the T doesn't work? We've got a month to come up with something.
Barrett: Gee, I'm going to be away for a big part of the month; maybe I'm not your guy. I'll bring you some seashell necklaces, though.
C)
A week ago:
Baker: I need someone to chair this commission. We estimate it should take a month to accomplish. Can you get us a result by the end of March?
Barrett: Sure, I can be available all of March.
Baker: Great, we're getting hammered on this right now, so I want to schedule the press conference immediately. Can you do it tomorrow?
Barrett: Yes, I'm available tomorrow.
Well, I guess we'll find out
Either his week of fun in the sun won't impact the commission's real potential to suggest and get the ball rolling on some badly-needed changes, or the whole thing was doomed from the beginning and naming the commission just kept the torches and pitchforks put away for another month. Either they expect real results or this was just a stunt to look good. If the latter (and if I were a betting man...) this doesn't look good.
D)
Barrett: Easy gig. Somebody already did the heavy lifting a few years ago. We all know what the problems are - we just have to update the numbers.
Baker: You're right - I'll put a flunky on that immediately. Heard you have a vacation planned we'll have the draft done when you get back - have fun.
Barrett: Thanks. Can't wait to get away from the snow and the traffic.
Let's be serious gang - this laundry's been hanging out to dry for a long time. Unfortunately it kept raining and now it's just frozen. All we have to do is thaw it out.
Not so fast ...
Who is going to shovel out the dryer vent?
Easy
The flunky updating the numbers. Don't you have flunkies at your beck and call?
Binders full of them.
Binders full of them.
And he is going to be back
And he is going to be back Monday, its not like he went on a 2 week vacation backpacking through Europe. If anything, maybe the guy will be relaxed and well rested before spending a whole month figuring out how to get the T back on the right track.
Let's be fair
This vacation was booked months in advance. The committee wasn't booked until a week ago. Could he have cancelled his vacation after being asked to lead the committee or declined a role in the committee? Sure, a total waste of planning and deposits and probably airline tickets.
But more to the point, how many projects do you get to turn down at work just because you had a week vacation booked for when the project needed to start? At some point you just have to book a vacation, take it regardless of the state of your job at the time, and deal with the fallout when you get back.
We don't all have that privilege and THAT'S the real crux of this story. If we all were able to reserve the ability to schedule our vacations around OUR schedule and work just had to deal with it as best as possible, then this wouldn't even be a blip on the news cycle. But because we've "evolved" to allow companies to demand when and when not that we're allowed to use our vacation time based on their needs instead of our own, they get to reduce the number of staff that have to be cross-competent for coverage on aspects of the job that might need covering while someone is scheduled out. They get to benefit from slotting our vacation around their plans instead of vice versa. We are just lucky they still allow us to take vacations.
So, because of our own experiences, his vacation seems like an outrage. "You mean he was asked to chair a commission and he chose to take the vacation he was planning for months FIRST and then come back and get going on the project while others got it kicked off in his absence!? The nerve! *I* would have been forced to stay or never been assigned the work in the first place even though I was the best person for the job and the vacation only would have set me back a few days if at all since the commission was just starting and I'd already asked the members to get their first steps done."
It's wonderful he has an excuse.
Our public transporation system is failing right now. Where's the sense of urgency? People would like to get to work on time and this guy is basking in the sun. So sorry that working on the report may have mucked up his plans, but that's what he should be doing since it's what he agreed to do.
Lack of urgency?
Sounds like how the T runs to me.
Can you show me where you got
Can you show me where you got the info that he was planning this "for months", or are you just speculating. Imagine if Coakley had won, and this happened under her watch, you people would have been rabid with anger!
Very well put
However, I suspect the reason most people are objecting to the vacation, and why the Herald has made such a stink about it, is because the guy in question is heading a government commission. As such, some people would consider him a government employee.
Not that he actually is
He may seem to be since he's appointed to this. But as far as I can tell (I went looking), he hasn't been a part of the government for a decade. He used to chair the BRA, but that was in the mid-90's. The last job I can find him accredited to is Senior VP of the Boston branch of Oak Grove Capital (a real estate firm from MN that opened here in 2012/2013). So, he an established manager with past ties to the city but seems to have been doing private work for years and has been asked to head this commission for a month.
To me, that makes all of this even more of a non-story.
Point taken
I've since revised my post.
I'll give him shit
How else are you suppose to know how bad the system is if you leave mid-way though a short, 6 week review? This isn't a book report you can cram when you get back from the beach. Even without the meltdown it should take at *least* six weeks to do a comprehensive study and recommendation plan. (Particularly if you have no prior expert knowledge about the problem.)
He could have turned Baker down when offered the job or he could have canceled the trip. He did neither. So yes, he deserves all the shit he's being given.
Not an outrage, but stupid
That's a loud defense for hypothetical facts...
Mostly it shows he has a tin ear for politics, as it doesn't make him look like he takes the Commission seriously. Baker tried to convey a sense of urgency to the Commission's task by giving them a short timeline. A vacation doesn't exactly say "urgent." Makes the Gov look foolish too.
Besides, it's not hard to reschedule (didn't say cancel) a vacation.
If you're willing
(or able) to pay the legalized extortion that's know as re-scheduling fees by the airline industry.
I love taking my planned vacations
100%. I work a job that is high stress/incredibly long hours from January to May and September through December. However, if the Governor called me and asked me to chair a commission, for anything, I would cancel or postpone my vacation. Especially if it was for something that was significantly impacting so many people and businesses. Public service is so important, and I wish that more of the people who are involved in it would take it as seriously as it should be taken.
Edited for full disclosure: I did not vote for Baker, but he was elected and I respect the process and the position.
I've never had a paid
I've never had a paid vacation in my entire life.
Ya Mon!, pass the Duchie!
Confirmation that T execs smokin' sumpthin'! Report sure to be good!
My aunt and uncle used to go to Hedonism twice a year. Wonder if that's where he is going, though looks more Round Hill.
And NO POOFTERS!
Yep. Being gay is a crime there, too. Murdering a gay diplomat, not so much.
Heck of a job, Brownie!
How'd ya makin' out on that T report?
You're doing a heckuva job
You're doing a heckuva job Bakey!
Let's be honest.
The commision already knows what will be in the report:
1) Stuff from the Pioneer Institute report
2) No new taxes
3) Raise fares to match other public transportation systems (even though those systems are not comparable)
The whole commision could go to Jamaica for the next 30 days. Doesn't change a thing.
Fine, raise fees
Even if they tied the T to NYC's subway the increase in money won't be enough to solve the deep structural problems.
I'd be happy to pay more if it would honestly solve these problems.
Let's be FAIR?!
Seriously? You know what fair would be? Thinking of the people who pay their fare, and then wait in the snow for hours for a train that never comes. You don't hire the guy that is going on vacation in a week to handle an issue that you want to seem like you're on top of, take very seriously, and can't work fast enough to solve, and if you do, you've got to have a "right hand" person hired as well, who is going to (very) ably handle the project while the big cheese goes on vacation. Let's be fair, my ass.
Non-story
Let the guy have his vacation!
And the first reporter or editor
who dares call this "story" Jamaica-gate should be publiclly flogged.
Kingston, Jamaica - Gate E22
That's the real Jamaica Gate.
Touche'
Touche'
An Old Long Distance Call To Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica KGTNJMXB - Vacant Code Recording
More nonsense journalism
More nonsense journalism based on feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelings, much like the "Baker has not ridden the T for 3 weeks" story.
I'm very disappointed...
That no one made a "jamaican me crazy" pun yet. Truly a low point in the uhub comment section.
I sort of did!
Comedy is hard.
Can we at least spell it D'yer Mak'r?
When I read the report you sent me, it made me mad mad mad
When I tried to board a train to Dedham, it made me sad sad sad
Well I still hate this snow
I got no place to go
I love Uber
OOOOOH BABY I LOVE UBER
Thank you
But you did - thank you :=)
Baker was unaware that this guy was going on vacation?
And this guy did not think it important to tell him?
Hokay.
He and Beverly Scott can have a conference in Jamaica!
She likes to take trips paid by T riders and is on her way out the door, so they can discuss snow issues on the beach.
Scott wasn't going to Jamaica
When they Herald first broke the story, they listed the outrageous places she was going and they all seemed to be things like public-transit conferences. How dare she!
Do we really wonder why we
Do we really wonder why we can't attract high quality talent to these types of jobs? Would you want to put up with the BS of having to deal with politicians and government bureaucracy on one end and a bunch of anonymous internet trolls opining how you could do your job better?
Please. The Congress goes on
Please. The Congress goes on vacations all the freaking time despite impending government shutdowns and govt. employee furloughs.
Let's Be FAIR?! pt 2.
What's funny is I have a feeling the "this isn't a story" comments are being made mostly by conservatives. The liberals who are saying the same are probably of the even tempered sort (which I didn't even know existed!) In any case, were Coakley elected, or if this had happened on Patrick's watch: If (and I'll go into full blown Boston Herald writing mode for this section:)
Under a badly photoshopped picture of Barrett holding a tube of Hawaiian Tropic Suntan Lotion, and the headline: "I'll Be Back After The Snow Melts, Mon!"
Marsha Coakley has decided to name a "blue ribbon" commission to handle the problems at the T. Her "nationwide search" has turned up a hack by the name of Paul Barrett, who's going immediately on a Dreadlock Holiday...
The story would then continue to include if Barrett would call this time as being "on the job" when he eventually retires and gets his "sendoff kiss." If so, they'd say what his salary was, break it down to illustrate how much he's getting on "our dime" for the week.
This is comedy, right?
Don't blame me, I voted for Berwick.
Sheesh
And people thought Baker wasn't serious about fixing the T...