Man About Canton: Keating Sworn into Office

DID YOU KNOW…

Newly elected Bill Keating has been sworn in as our representative for the Massachusetts 10^th Congressional District. He took the oath of office in Washington, DC, along with the rest of the congressional representatives. The gallery was jam-packed with witnesses, who included Bill’s family and several friends and supporters, including Attorney Glen Hannington and Selectman John Connolly of Canton.

When it comes to congressional office space, seniority determines who gets what, and freshman congressmen who come into office at the same time, like Keating, participate in an office lottery. Keating drew a number low enough (16 out of 85 new congressmen) to entitle him to a larger office, some with outstanding views of the Capitol. However, history buff Keating chose instead the smaller office that was occupied by the late John F. Kennedy when he served in Congress in 1946 before he became a senator and president.

The Canton DPW facilities on Bolivar Street will soon undergo a $1.7 million reconstruction and renovation project, which will include a new truck port to protect their vehicles, a separate one-story office building, and reconstruction of the garage and salt shed. The work is slated to begin in the spring.

The Boston Globe recently reported that NStar is proposing a 13 percent cut in electric supply prices for the first six months of 2011.

The state Department of Revenue has estimated that the last sales tax holiday on August 14 and 15, 2010, saved shoppers $19.5 million. Of course, state tax income decreased by $19.5 million at the same time.

The next time you drive down Route 138, take a look at the new sign that was installed a couple of weeks ago in front of Queen Anne’s Restaurant. It cost owner Frank Sampson $5,000, and the electrical permits cost him another $250. Frank opened Queen Anne’s back in 1960, and in addition to their popular breakfast and lunch menus, they also run a great catering business.

The 2010 federal census has determined that Massachusetts must lose one of its ten congressional seats, and the state legislature must now create new congressional districts in 2011 to reflect the reduction.

If you would like to do something for Canton by running for a town office in the upcoming April town election, you can pick up your nomination papers at the town clerk’s office from January 19 at 9 a.m. through February 2 at 5 p.m. You must file your papers with at least 50 signatures of Canton registered voters no later than February 4 at 5 p.m.

Officials from the state Division of Banks says that in random inspections they found more than 300 unauthorized ATM’s in places such as convenience stores and gas stations.  They also found 101 properly registered ATM’s that failed to post information on ownership and a toll-free, 24-hour contact number for complaints.  There are a total of 5,600 non-bank ATM’s registered to conduct business in Massachusetts. Businesses where errant ATM’s were located were ordered to take them out of service until they are registered or comply with the disclosure requirements.

You may not realize it, but the popular winter song “Jingle Bells,” which is about 150 years old, never mentions Christmas and is instead about old-fashioned winter fun. Most people know and sing it, and it has been recorded by hundreds of singers.

The federal government says 2.5 million “baby boomers” will be retiring this year at a rate of 7,000 per day. Meanwhile, the vast majority of present retirees who retired prior to January 2010 will continue to pay what they now pay, $96.40, for Medicare Part B premium, and they will continue to pay their Part B premium through their monthly Social Security check. Incidentally, there is a longstanding federal law that says Medicare Part B premiums cannot rise in a year in which no Social Security COLA is paid. And since no COLA was paid in 2010 and none is going to be paid in 2011, the premium will stay the same.

The new Little Caesars pizza restaurant at the corner of Route 138 and Central Street in Stoughton, where a Zoots dry cleaning store was formerly located, has something unique to the area: a drive-up window where you can order or pick up your pizza while remaining in your car.

Finally, the retrial of former Stoughton police sergeant David M. Cohen has been postponed until February 7, 2011. Cohen was originally convicted in August of 2007 in superior court of four counts of public corruption, including attempted extortion, witness intimidation, and making a false police report. However, legal errors in his trial necessitated a re-trial.

If you need help, get it. If you can help, offer it.

This is all for now folks; see you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

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Posted by Joe DeFelice on Jan 20 2011. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.