Aquarion wins state water-quality award

For the third time in four years, Aquarion Water Company has received a Public Water System award for outstanding performance and achievement in 2016 from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for its water system that serves Hull, Hingham, and North Cohasset.

For more than two decades, MassDEP has given these awards to acknowledge water professionals whose accomplishments in delivering consistent and safe drinking water to residents are worthy of special recognition.

All of the state’s 1,735 public water systems were eligible for this award, but only a select few were chosen by the regulatory agency.

In its size category, Aquarion is one of six service providers to win the award.

The criteria used to select top performing systems include overall water quality, as well as adherence to state regulatory compliance for more than 90 contaminants. Aquarion had no water violations and performs over 100,000 water quality tests annually, including tap-water lead and copper levels, to ensure water is safe to drink.

Vice President of Operations John Walsh said Aquarion strives to deliver to its customers the highest level of service and water quality. “It’s an honor to see the commitment of our staff recognized by the state drinking water regulatory authority for being among the best in the state,” he said.

SUPERINTENDENT TYRELL WILL RETIRE AUG. 1

By Susan Ovans

Dr. Kathleen Tyrell has given notice of her intention to retire as of Aug. 1.

Tyrell, who has led the schools for a decade, submitted her resignation to Hull School Committee Chairman Eric Hipp Thursday morning.

The superintendent said she wanted to wait until the end of town meeting before announcing her decision so that it wouldn’t be a distraction.

Town meeting ended late Wednesday night, after three sessions.

She informed Hull Public Schools’ staff in an intraschool message this afternoon that ended with a link to the '60s anthem by The Byrds, "Turn, Turn, Turn." Here's her message and the link:

Dear Colleagues,

I send this email with much appreciation for all you do for our children.  I have had the honor of being your superintendent for the past ten years, and I have had the privilege of working with many, many kind and dedicated people. Thank you for taking this journey of continuous progress with me.  I wish the entire staff, all students, and the School Committee every good fortune as I move into retirement mid-summer.  I want you to know that I am committed to working to ensure a smooth transition.  Please take a few minutes to enjoy one of my favorite songs. With appreciation and admiration, Kathleen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKP4cfU28vM

A complete story about Tyrell’s retirement and what it may portend for Hull’s three public schools will be published in the May 11 Hull Times.

Market brisk as home prices rise to 10-year high

The median sale price of homes sold in Massachusetts last month hit its highest point in 10 years. The Warren Group reported Tuesday morning that the median sale price was $335,000 in March, up 6.5 percent from $315,000 in March 2016.

Higher prices didn't curtail activity. The 3,943 single-family homes sold in March represented the highest total since 4,158 home sales were recorded in March 2006. The median home sale price in March 2007, just before the Great Recession, was $340,000.

The Warren Group reported that single-family home sales were up 2.2 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2016, while the median price was up 7.2 percent. Year-to-date condo sales are up 11.8 percent compared to the same period in 2016, while the median price was up 8.5 percent.

"As the spring market ramps up, we're going to see these numbers climb, likely to levels at or even above those of the mid-2000s," Timothy Warren, CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement. 

Local-option transportation tax pitched on Beacon Bill

By Colin A. Young, State House News Service

Pointing to a need for greater investment in transportation infrastructure, state lawmakers and local officials on Monday renewed an effort to allow cities and towns to ask voters to authorize a local tax to pay for transportation projects.

The bill (H 1640 and S 1551) would allow municipalities to join a regional district or act on their own to establish payroll, sales, property, or vehicle excise taxes to fund transportation. Voters in the city or town would need to approve the taxes. The bill would require the authorization for local taxes to expire after 30 years and would allow for an earlier sunset.

"It essentially lays out the procedures and it gives local control to these issues instead of waiting for the process through the state, which sometimes can take decades," Rep. Chris Walsh told the Joint Committee on Revenue. "It is used very effectively in other states ... we feel that this, basically, is a key mechanism to fund these capital projects for transportation." Walsh said the bill establishes a maximum amount that new taxes could be raised and creates a lockbox to ensure that the revenue raised for transportation is spent only on transportation.

Among those who testified in support Monday were the Brookline High School Environmental Action Club, Transportation for Massachusetts, the Conservation Law Foundation, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and MassINC. No one testified in opposition on Monday.

Steve Koczela of MassINC Polling Group said his organization has asked voters five times since 2012 about regional transportation ballot initiatives and has found "a remarkably and widespread and stable level of support for the idea." Across the polls, between 70 and 81 percent supported the concept, he said. 

Pilgrim Nuclear Station begins final scheduled refueling

By Michael P. Norton/State House News Service

Pilgrim Nuclear Station in Plymouth began powering down Sunday morning so that it can refuel for the last time.

According to a station spokesman, Entergy is investing $54 million during the refueling outage and bringing in more than 800 temporary workers to assist the plant's 620 full-time workers.

They plan to "upgrade, replace, and inspect hundreds of pieces of equipment," Pilgrim spokesman Patrick O'Brien said. "Operators at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station have commenced power reduction, marking the start of the facility's biennial and final refueling outage. This is the 21st and final refueling outage at Pilgrim."

It's not clear when the plant will power up. Pilgrim is scheduled to shut down for good on May 31, 2019. Citing the plant's record and rating by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, critics of the plant have been repeatedly calling for it to close down.

High court strips former Speaker's pension

Former House Speaker Thomas Finneran will lose his pension because of false testimony he gave in relation to a redistricting court case, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday.

The high court reversed a decision by the Boston Municipal Court and sided with the state Retirement Board, which found "his crime constitutes a 'violation of the laws applicable to his office or position'" requiring the forfeiture of his pension, according to the decision written by Justice Barbara Lenk.

Finerran pleaded guilty in 2007 to one count of obstruction of justice related to the 2001 redistricting law, according to the decision.

The Supreme Judicial Court case was remanded to the "county court where an order shall enter reversing the judgment of the Boston Municipal Court, affirming the decision of the board, and remanding to the Boston Municipal Court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion." Finneran is a registered lobbyist. He worked in biotech and the media after leaving the Legislature.

– Andy Metzger/State House News Service

Mass. consumers eligible for Santander auto-loan settlement

Santander will pay $22 million in a legal settlement announced Wednesday in connection with its role in funding unfair, unaffordable auto loans to more than 2,000 Massachusetts residents.

The settlement includes $16 million in relief to the 2,000 consumers affected by subprime auto loans that Attorney General Maura Healey's office says were issued by Santander Consumer USA Holdings "without having a reasonable basis to believe that the borrowers could afford them."

The settlement filed in Suffolk Superior Court includes a $6 million payment to Massachusetts, according to Healey's office, which handled its investigation jointly with the Delaware Attorney General's office.

Santander is the largest packager of subprime auto loan securities in the U.S., said Healey's office, which described its review of securitization practices in the subprime auto market as ongoing.

Consumers with questions about settlement eligibility should contact the AG's hotline at 1-888-830-6277.  – Michael P. Norton/State House News Service

The joke's on them: Pols roast Trump, each other at St. Patrick's Day breakfast

By Michael P. Norton
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

.In between name dropping, Irish songs, and conventional messaging, Massachusetts public officials tried their hands at stand-up comedy Sunday, focusing a stream of zingers and duds on recently approved legislative payraises, the immigration debate, and – of course – President Donald Trump at the annual St. Patrick's Day breakfast.

Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, a black Haitian-American who lives in Dorchester, set the tone in welcoming Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and noting that she had not invited Trump.

"We're just going to stick with the one token Republican this year," said Forry, the host. "Ironically, I used to be the token at this breakfast."

Forry mocked Trump's Twitter obsession with her own fake tweet from the president, holding up a sign that read, "Good Luck on yur STUDID breakfast SAD!!"

The governor's devotion to the Republican Party was also a topic, with Forry telling him, "You know you're not really a Republican," and at another point calling Baker "the least favorite governor at the White House."

Baker fed into that thread with his post-election video dubbed "a bipartisan love story" that strung together photos of the governor smiling and laughing with the state's top Democrats as Barbara Streisand sang longingly about memories.

Attorney General Maura Healey tweaked legislative leaders for the hefty payraises they approved for themselves this year, displaying House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Stan Rosenberg riding in "tricked-out Mercedes."

"I thought they told you not to spend that payraise all in one place," Healey said.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh also capitalized on the raises. "What I do love is when elected officials take a stand," Walsh quipped. Singling out Forry and South Boston Rep. Nick Collins, he said, "They are profiles in courage. I mean voting for your own payraise, on a roll call. That takes a lot of guts."

Collins jabbed back at Walsh, of Dorchester, for shortening the route of this year's parade in South Boston.

"Remember that year when Mayor Flynn, a Southie guy, decided to shorten the Dorchester Day Parade?" Collins said. "Me neither. Never happened."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren kept up her focus on the president, describing the Irish as "the immigrants Donald Trump likes."

Referring to the Patriots come-from-behind Super Bowl win in February over the Atlanta Falcons, Warren said, "Wasn't it great to see a victory that wasn't decided by the Russians?" She added, "I am still amazed by Julian Edelman's catch. Those are big hands. Not tiny little presidential hands."

She wrapped it up with: "Any minute the president will declare that when you're famous you can grab someone by the blarney stones."

Sen. Edward Markey also targeted Trump. "It's hard to measure the historic meanspiritedness of this administration," he said. "Saint Patrick was famous for driving the snakes out of Ireland and unfortunately they seem to have all landed jobs inside the White House."

Baker, regretting his resemblance to villainous NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, recalled being mistaken for him by Pats fans at the Super Bowl parade.

"The boos start raining down," the governor said. "This is no joke. So I looked out and I said 'Hey, wait a minute. I'm not Roger Goodell. I'm the governor.' And they booed even louder."

Several speakers riffed off of Trump's orders aimed at blocking entrance into the U.S. of foreign nationals from six majority-Muslim countries.

Congressman Stephen Lynch said he was "worried sick" that his Irish mother-in-law, who lives with him, might be deported.

"It would be so easy for the authorities to pick her up any weekday Monday through Friday at 6:07 p.m., when she gets off the bus at – the Number 9 bus, at G and Broadway," Lynch said.

Breaking into song, Lynch spoofed on Walsh's invitation for undocumented immigrants to stay at City Hall. "Got no visa," he sang. "Have some pizza."

To the tune of Beauty and the Beast's "Be Our Guest" he added:

"If you're human,
just join the union
and you'll find a welcome here;
Better yet,
from Tibet,
just no cheering for the Jets;
Know the Red Sox starting lineup,
that's our test."

Walsh said he was supposed to visit Ireland this year for St. Patrick's Day.

"I was going to go over and go back to the homeland," he said. "But I had to cancel my trip because I wasn't sure that immigration would let me back in the country."

Healey joked about running for governor against Baker next year and the fact that Baker didn't vote for a presidential candidate.

"I backed Hillary," Healey said. "He was backed into a corner."

Clips of the breakfast are posted on the website of the station that broadcast the event, New England Cable News.