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Carlozzi: Tax reform won’t give Mass. competitive edge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:50 GMT

While the 15 years it took to complete the infamous $24.3 billion Big Dig project seemed like a lifetime, Massachusetts lawmakers managed to let an inexcusable 20 years pass before implementing meaningful new tax reforms to help state taxpayers and small businesses. Though that timeframe is not as dramatic as the 75-year wait to witness Haley’s comet whiz past, Beacon Hill’s overdue tax reform effort unfortunately will move the needle very little toward the goal of making the Commonwealth more competitive.In the two years it took Massachusetts lawmakers to finally advance their roughly $1 billion tax package, more than half the nation reduced its income tax rates. Starting in 2021, 26 states opted to lower personal income taxes, including our neighbors in Connecticut, which enacted the largest income tax cut in the state’s history. By contrast, Massachusetts was the only state in the nation to raise income tax rates in 2023, with the newly imposed surcharge on income over $1 million...

Patriots QB Bailey Zappe reflects on worst moment of football career after game-winning drive

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:50 GMT

Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe reached out to the right person at the lowest point of his football career.Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, who was doing color commentary on the Patriots’ 26-23 win over the Broncos for NFL Network on Christmas Eve said Sunday night that Zappe had texted him earlier this season.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots wishlist: Clarity, and a great draft pick New England Patriots | Bailey Zappe leads Patriots on first game-winning drive 26-23 over Broncos New England Patriots | Patriots captain Matthew Slater in list of inactives vs. Broncos New England Patriots | The least-anticipated Patriots game in decades and 3 more NFL thoughts on Christmas Eve New England Patriots | Patriots-Broncos preview: How can New England return home with a victory? “Did you ever have those times where you wondered if you belonged in the league?” Zappe asked W...

‘The Boys in the Boat’ pull together for stellar tale

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:50 GMT

A notably Spielbergian effort from director George Clooney (“The Tender Bar”), the period sports drama “The Boys in the Boat” is “Chariots of Fire” on the water. The film tells the embellished true story of the World War II-era American rowing team that took on adversaries way out of their league and sought not only to to prevail, but to beat everyone, including Adolf Hitler. Based on the best-selling 2013 non-fiction book by Daniel James Brown, the film kicks off in post-Depression Washington state, where young Joe Rantz (Englishman Callum Turner of “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”), whose mother died long before and whose father left him on his own at age 14 to seek work elsewhere, has been living in a Seattle shantytown. The ambitious and resourceful Joe also attends the local university, where he tries out for the school’s rowing team.Passing the Herculean tests to get on the team is only the first hurdle Joe (and we) will face. With membership on the team com...

Khalil Herbert and Justin Fields run all over Arizona Cardinals in Chicago Bears win: ‘There were like highways out there’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:50 GMT

The Arizona Cardinals’ rushing defense stats this season foretold what kind of game it might be for the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Soldier Field, and the first offensive play confirmed it.Bears quarterback Justin Fields handed off the ball to Khalil Herbert, who shot through a huge hole up the left hash for a 13-yard gain, his longest since before he suffered an ankle injury in early October.“After I tossed the ball or handed the ball off, Khalil had a lot of space to run,” Fields said. “There were like highways out there.”Herbert rushed for a season-high 112 yards and the Bears totaled 250 on the ground to fuel a 27-16 victory over the Cardinals, who entered the game with the 31st-ranked run defense. Fields added 97 yards on nine carries, including a 3-yard touchdown run, to help the Bears bounce back from a second-half collapse against the Cleveland Browns in Week 15.It was a big day for Herbert, who hadn’t totaled more than 35 rushing yards in ...

Editorial: US government revenues hit record highs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:50 GMT

In his New York Times newsletter, business reporter Peter Coy in September argued that the only real solution for the nation’s rising debt crisis is “more tax revenue.” In other words, the government needs to take more money from Americans who work for a living.Coy, to his credit, does acknowledge what many of those who hold a similar opinion rarely admit. This would require more than just the “rich” paying their “fair share.” In order to address a problem of such magnitude — the debt now rushes toward $34 trillion — “taxes will have to go up on a sizable chunk of people in the top half of the income distribution.”Not just on the dastardly 1 percenters, mind you. Higher taxes for Americans in the top 50% of wage earners — that would include all individual taxpayers earning more than $40,000 a year.It’s true, as Coy notes, that members of both parties — despite the political rhetoric from budget hawks — are loath to cut entitlements and defense spending for fear of rousing powerful s...

‘The Color Purple’ a soaring musical triumph

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:50 GMT

This new, rousing version of “The Color Purple” based on the 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker is not a remake of the 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg. This new “The Color Purple” is based on the much-revived and revered 2005 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical produced by Oprah Winfrey with a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman (“night, Mother”) and music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.Directed by Grammy-nominated, Ghana-born Blitz Bazawule (“The Burial of Kojo”), the story once again begins in the Deep South in the early 20th century. We meet the oppressed Celie Harris (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi as a girl, Fantasia Barrino as an adult) – the role memorably played by Whoopi Goldberg in the 1985 film. Celie is a young mother of two children with her sexually abusive father Alfonso (a fine Deon Cole). The Cronus-like Alfonso snatches the children after they are born and takes them away, presumably to kill them. C...

Try these strategies to resolve workplace conflicts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:50 GMT

Professionals may spend upwards of 40 hours a week interacting with their coworkers. It’s inevitable that colleagues will not see eye-to-eye every day. Personalities may clash and operational styles could differ from person to person. Conflicts arise that are not resolved could affect the functionality of the business.A CPP Global Human Capital Report found workplace conflict can be costly, contributing to $359 billion in lost revenue if left unaddressed. Disputes among employees can decrease productivity and may even interrupt business. Conflicts among workers also can zap morale.It is in employers’ best interest to nip conflicts in the bud as effectively as possible. Here are some ways to prevent and resolve employee disputes.Establish clear roles and expectationsEmployees who do not know their place in an organization may step on the toes of others. It’s important for employers to clearly spell out which tasks are expected of each person and how he or she should...

Patriots wishlist: Clarity, and a great draft pick

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:50 GMT

As far as performance goes, the Patriots landed firmly on the naughty list this holiday season.They’re 3-11. They were eliminated from the playoffs over a week ago. They’ve been out-played and out-coached on a regular basis, while enduring some poor injury luck along the way.Speculation about Bill Belichick’s future has swirled for weeks. Aside from a few more wins, what would the Pats wish for this year?Start here:1. A top-2 draft pickThe Patriots are currently tracking to clinch the No. 2 overall pick in next year’s draft, but making that selection is no guarantee.What would help their odds is another Carolina win — the Panthers (2-12) still hold the No. 1 overall pick after beating the Falcons last weekend — and strong showings by the Broncos and Bills in their upcoming games. The Pats will not lie down, but in order to pick themselves back up again and contend, they will need a new quarterback. And the only reliable place to find a franchise q...

Dear Abby: Overstretched mom has no time for friends

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:50 GMT

Dear Abby: I’m a married professional woman with three kids, a demanding job and responsibility for my aging parents. I don’t have a lot of downtime. Really, there isn’t ANY downtime. I’m barely balancing the things on my plate and caring for my family.Other than them, I have few people I’m close with because I don’t have the time or capacity to do more. I know I can be the bad friend who asks for more help than I can give, and I’m working on being better.We have a new neighbor I like very much who has been trying very hard to make friends. She’s invited me out twice and stopped by to chat several times, but I’m always busy. It would be lovely to have a friend in the neighborhood, but I truly can’t make time for anyone else.The next free evening I have is five weeks from now, and then only if I can find a babysitter. Is there a way to say to someone, “I’d love to be friends — in two years when things slow ...

Stock market today: Asian shares are mixed, with most markets shut, after Wall St’s 8th winning week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:50 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mixed on Monday after Wall Street capped its eighth straight winning week with a quiet finish following reports showing inflation on the way down and the economy potentially on the way up.Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 0.2% to 33,225.45 and the Taiex in Taiwan gained 0.1%. Bangkok’s SET was up 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.3% to 2,905.79. Most markets in the region and beyond were closed for the Christmas holiday.On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to sit less than 1% below its record set nearly two years ago, at 4,754.63. The Dow slipped less than 0.1% to 37,385.97, and the Nasdaq gained 0.2% to 14,992.97.With its eight straight weekly gains, the S&P 500 is in the midst of its longest winning streak since 2017. Wall Street’s focus was squarely on a suite of economic reports released Friday that led to some swings in Treasury yields.The measure of inflation the Federal Reserve prefers to use slowed by more than economists expe...