Published March 21, 2011
"Not Quite Night. Not Quite Day. Boston." (Harry Lipson/Flickr)
Photographer Harry Lipson captured this beautiful moment just after sunrise from Arlington and submitted the photo to WBUR’s Flickr group.
“There was a weather front (the blue color) hanging over the city,” Lipson said in an email. “The yellow is the sunlight of a beautiful morning rising from behind.”
Lipson has some great shots on his Flickr page, including another in the same series.
Published March 21, 2011
A pair of recent New York Times columns has put the potential job prospects of Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law School professor and consumer advocate, back in the public eye.
An adviser to President Obama, Warren is currently setting up the newly established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. When the agency officially begins its work in July, Obama can nominate Warren to become its first director — a widely-watched decision.
Elizabeth Warren on Capitol Hill Wednesday (AP)
Recapping her Capitol Hill testimony last week, the Times’ Joe Nocera on Friday wrote that Warren should be nominated, even if her confirmation faces staunch opposition from Republican lawmakers. “Let’s face it: there isn’t anybody in Washington more fearless about standing up to the big banks,” Nocera said. “No wonder they don’t like her.”
Echoing his colleague, Paul Krugman today wrote in favor of Warren’s nomination, in part because it’s “a perfect opportunity to revive the debate over financial reform.”
But will Obama nominate Warren? One of the two architects of financial reform legislation, Rep. Barney Frank, isn’t sure the president wants to. Speaking on NBC this morning (as noted by The Hill) Frank said, “I think the president is too unwilling to make the kind of fights that don’t necessarily win. And I’m not sure she couldn’t be [confirmed].”
The Newton Democrat also said “the fight over Elizabeth Warren would be worth having.”
Of course, the consumer board directorship is not the only job some Massachusetts residents are eyeing for Warren. Many Democrats see her as a coveted challenger for Scott Brown’s Senate seat — an idea she hasn’t “slammed shut.”
Earlier this month, Warren was a candidate on a WNEC telephone survey polling Brown against potential opponents. The very early survey found Brown with a large lead — 51-34 — over Warren.
Published March 21, 2011
Authorities are ignoring the grave risks of spent radioactive nuclear fuel currently stored at the Pilgrim and Vermont Yankee nuclear power plants, according to the the state’s attorney general.
The state, led by Attorney General Martha Coakley, has waged a long legal battle in an effort to force the Nuclear Regulatory commission to examine the risks spent nuclear fuel poses to New England. With the crisis in Japan focusing attention on nuclear safety, the state is asking the federal government to take a more active role in policing nuclear fuel.
Local economies are feeling the pinch caused by the world’s other crisis, military action in Libya. Gas prices continue to climb (Update: Gas prices are level this week), forcing the prices of goods ever-higher. The price of gasoline climbed 35 cents over the past month and almost 90 cents since September.
Revelers in Southie yesterday had double the fun as a second parade joined the traditional St. Patty’s Day parade and marched through the streets. Long a contentious affair because organizers have blocked GLBTQ and anti-war groups from participating, Veterans For Peace this year organized a second parade along the original parade’s route.
Surgeons at Brigham and Women’s Hospital performed the first full face transplant in the US last week. A spokesman told the Globe that a team of over 30 medical providers worked for more than 15 hours to replace the face of a Texas man who’d been horrible burned in an accident.
What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on the local nuclear power plants and the state’s political leaders weighing in on the military action in Libya and Japan’s recovery efforts. Radio Boston will speak with futurist Ray Kurzweil.