local government

As former Norton Selectman Bill Gouveia points out in his Attleborough Sun Chronicle column, elected officials in local cities and towns are facing tough challenges with costs of health care, heating oil, and transportation increasing faster than the revenues the towns rely on to cover their costs.

The challenge for local officials is to bring this point home, adjust their governmental systems accordingly, and survive the inevitable wrath of the voters. Pay more taxes or get less services - it's that simple.
It is no secret what the voters want. They want more services and lower taxes.
Someone needs to tell them that ain't happening.

Danvers factory had double amount of flammable chemicals And who was supposed to be guarding the chicken coop? I know there are a lot of enviornmental health folks who have been worried about underfunded federal agencies lacking the resources to regularly inspect factories that work with and store dangerous chemicals.   

Since the explosion, tensions have grown between Coan’s office and the US Chemical Safety Board as each side has accused the other of refusing to cooperatively investigate one of the largest industrial accidents in the state’s history. The mutual frustration surfaced again today as Coan insisted in the report that the federal investigators have not shared their conclusions with him in a timely way.