And people thought Mitt was an absentee governor.

Governor Deval L. Patrick, who traveled to China last year for his first foreign trade mission, is headed to Israel for his second international excursion, according to several people familiar with the plans.

Nancy Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, said the trip, slated for the week of Nov. 9, will include stops in Haifa, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv and last about four days.

"There are just enormous opportunities that exist," said Kaufman, whose organization is helping plan the trip.

The governor's office acknowledged it has been considering such a trip.

"While no announcements have been made, Israel would be a logical destination," Cyndi Roy, a Patrick spokeswoman, said in a written statement. "Massachusetts and Israel share a common commitment to creating economic opportunities and innovative medical discovery by growing the life sciences industry."

Kaufman and other officials said Patrick is eager to use the visit to build ties to Israel's life sciences and clean energy industries, which Patrick sees as vital to the Bay State's future growth.

In June, Patrick signed a $1 billion life sciences package, which provides money for research facilities, economic incentives for companies to expand and other funding for the life sciences industry. And the state has recently taken a number of steps to promote the alternative energy industries in Massachusetts, including the creation of a Clean Energy Technology Center, which will fund job training, research and start-ups.

Don't forget his planned visit to Washington, D.C. in January 2009!

Gay-marriage opponent Brian Camenker tries to fight Gov. Patrick.

The gay marriage fight in Massachusetts might not be over after all.

Opponents of same-sex marriages are seeking a ballot question that would prevent gay and lesbian couples from getting married here if their union wouldn't be legal in their home state.

Brian Camenker of the group Mass Resistance said Friday lawmakers and Gov. Deval Patrick bowed to the will of the "gay lobby" last month by approving the repeal of a 1913 statute that banned such marriages.

Patrick, the state's first black governor and the father of a daughter who recently announced she's a lesbian, said the 1913 law had racial undertones from a period when interracial marriage was discouraged.

"The Legislature and the governor changed our marriage laws to please the well-connected minority and force a social experiment into other states that's very offensive to a majority of the people, at least the way the votes have been going," Camenker said, referring to recent votes in favor of gay marriage bans in other states.

He was particularly critical of an emergency preamble attached to the repeal. It bypassed a normal 90-day waiting period and made the law effective immediately. Opponents typically use the 90 days to present signatures and delay the law until it can be put to a ballot vote.

"The fact that this happened the way it happened just adds to the sense of sleaziness and underhandedness of the whole process," Camenker said.

The group will need about 32,000 signatures to get their question on the ballot.

I can't see Mr. Camenker's effort succeeding. As I've previously noted, if a majority of Bay Staters had actually opposed gay marriage, then Patrick--who spent a year and a half on the campaign trail defending the 2003 Goodridge ruling as legally and morally sound--would have never won the election.

UPDATE: From the Patriot Ledger.

SECOND UPDATE: More from Howie Carr and the Globe.

Buyer's remorse is hitting the Bay State.

A recent poll is bearing bad news for Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Milton), as a plurality of respondents said he has been a worse governor than they expected.

A recently released 7NEWS/Suffolk University poll showed that 40 percent of respondents, a plurality, said Patrick is a worse governor than they expected. Twenty-nine percent said he has been better governor than they expected and 32 percent was undecided.

The poll also asked respondents which they thought better represent their interests on Beacon Hill: the governor of the legislature. Forty percent of respondents said the legislature does, compared to 20 percent who said the governor does. Twenty-one percent were undecided, while 19 percent said "no one."

Gov. Patrick will speak at the DNC. How long will it be before everyone falls asleep?

In another boost to his national political profile, Gov. Deval Patrick, a key Sen. Barack Obama supporter, will give a prime-time speech at the Democratic National Convention.

“This election offers each of us in every American community an opportunity to make history, and I am honored to play a small part,” Patrick said in a statement about the high-profile appearance in Denver.

The speech is set to air during prime time Aug. 26, the second night of the convention. It could catapult the state’s first black governor into the national spotlight and further fuel whispers that he has his eyes set on a higher political prize.

Patrick will be speaking the same night as Obama’s foiled rival Hillary Clinton takes the stage. Clinton was also Patrick’s former ally when the freshman governor worked for former President Bill Clinton’s administration.

Patrick, named by Democratic officials with other governors such as Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio as “some of America’s strongest leaders on the economy and energy,” will focus on a call for bolstering the middle class, according to the Democratic National Convention Committee.

UPDATE: More from the Globe.

Gov. Patrick actually does something decent?

Governor Deval Patrick last week quietly vetoed a pension increase for retired teachers and state workers that would have boosted benefits by $120 per year, a major stand for a governor to take against unions that helped elect him.

Fiscal watchdogs had warned that the benefit could cost the state more than $3 billion over the next 20 years, but retirees argued that they desperately need a cost-of-living increase as costs for everything from groceries to gas are on the rise.

"I recognize that people across the Commonwealth, particularly retirees on a fixed income, are facing difficult economic times," Patrick wrote in his message informing the Legislature that he had vetoed the bill Friday. "However, I returned an earlier version of this legislation, expressing concern about adding significant costs to the Commonwealth's already large unfunded retirement liability."

The governor had been largely supportive of the pension boosts - and was expected to sign the legislation - but requested that the cost-of-living increases be restricted to workers with pensions less than $40,000. He argued that would make the plan more affordable for the state, while providing pension boosts for those who need it most.

"He was trying to strike a balance between helping the retirees on the truly fixed incomes while also helping the affordability of the Commonwealth," said Leslie Kirwan, secretary of administration and finance.

But supporters of the legislation, who had unanimous backing from the House and Senate, decided not to go along with the governor's plan and gambled that he would not use his veto.

"We rolled the dice and came up empty," said Ralph White, president of the Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association of Massachusetts. "We were taking a certain amount of risk. Hindsight being 20-20, we underestimated the priority the governor placed on his amendment."

UPDATE: From Holly Robichaud, the AP, the Globe and the Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: From Jeff Beatty, the Herald and the Globe.

Mixed news for Gov. Patrick.

An in-depth, state-commissioned study released yesterday said Governor Deval Patrick's proposal to license three resort casinos would improve the state's economy and provide thousands of jobs, but not to the degree the governor asserted in the heat of the divisive debate earlier this year.

The $189,000 study, by New Jersey-based Spectrum Gaming, concludes that several of the governor's estimates were inflated, but also estimates that his plan would allow the state to recapture up to $700 million of the $1.1 billion that Massachusetts residents spend at casinos in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The study comes too late for the original proposal, which is dead, but will add fodder to a debate that is likely to resume in January at the start of a new legislative session. Patrick has not said whether he will file new casino legislation, but many observers expect the casino debate to return in some form as the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe pursues a casino using its rights under federal law.

"This thing never goes away," said Representative Daniel E. Bosley, a North Adams Democrat and leading casino critic. "I've been doing this since 1996, and every spring, the casino lobbyists return and hope springs eternal that this will be the year. We'll see what happens."

The administration hired Spectrum Gaming in February, with hopes that the firm's study would help gain passage of Patrick's proposal to license three resort-style casinos. With a lack of independent statistics, Patrick's numbers came under attack as being excessively optimistic.

UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

THIRD UPDATE: From the Herald and Globe.

FOURTH UPDATE: More from the Herald and Bob Parks.

Gov. Patrick pats himself on the back.

There is a large deficit, falling gas tax revenues, and dire predictions for the State's fiscal health.

But on Tuesday, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick focused on his administration's legislative accomplishments in these tough times.

Patrick is the first to admit we need to be prepared for "troubled times," nonetheless, the governor defends his plan to borrow millions of dollars to fix roads and bridges.

WBZ's Chief Correspondent Joe Shortsleeve sat down with the governor for 15 minutes Tuesday afternoon. Patrick defended the bridge repair plan -- even though Massachusetts has the highest per capita debt in the country.

Shortsleeve asked the Governor, Is this a good time to be borrowing and borrowing?

The Governor responded. "I am comfortable. We have done the homework, we have done the analysis, it's not about a gut feeling, and it's a financial analysis. We have done that work and we have done it in a very transparent way and a smart way as well."

UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Herald and Globe.

THIRD UPDATE: From the Globe and Herald.

FOURTH UPDATE: From Michael Graham and Holly Robichaud.

A second SJC appointment for Gov. Patrick.

Justice John M. Greaney, the longest-serving member of the state Supreme Judicial Court and a pivotal vote in some of its most significant decisions, announced yesterday that he will retire by year's end, creating the potential for a new dynamic on the state's highest court.

Greaney will turn 70 in April of next year, and state law forces him to retire by that age, making his departure somewhat expected.

But the announcement yesterday that he will retire to take a job at Suffolk University created a ripple effect in the state's legal community, prompting reflections on his years on the bench, some of his most critical decisions, and the future of the court.

"He is a justice who will very much be missed," said Joan A. Lukey, a partner with the law firm Ropes & Gray of Boston, who has won and lost verdicts decided by Greaney.

"He's one of those people who is so even-keeled that he brings great balance to the bench when he's part of your panel. He is one of those justices in front of whom it's comfortable to argue."

Greaney was appointed an associate justice in 1989 by then-Governor Michael S. Dukakis. He had served as chief justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court and was a state Superior Court and Housing Court judge.

In his years on the bench, he has helped decide some of the most significant legal cases in recent memory, including the landmark ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health in 2003 that affirmed the rights of gays to marry. In that case, Greaney wrote what is known as a concurrent opinion, a powerful second argument supporting the majority opinion.

He has also authored opinions on complex corporate cases and on at least one case that affirmed the separation of powers and the court's authority.

Greaney is known as one of the court's better writers, one who can articulate a point in a legal decision as clearly as he can on the bench.

UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: Patrick officially tosses the 1913 law that effectively restricted out-of-state gay couples from getting married in Massachusetts. Plus, Matthew Richer on the flaws of Gov. Patrick.

THIRD UPDATE: More from the Globe.

FOURTH UPDATE: From the New York Times, the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald.

FIFTH UPDATE: From the Herald.

Massachusetts moves one step closer to wiping out the 1913 law that effectively bans out-of-state gay couples from marrying in Massachusetts.

The House today voted 118 to 35 to repeal a 1913 state law that prevents gay and lesbian couples from most other states from marrying in Massachusetts.

The measure, which the Senate passed earlier this month, will head to the desk of Governor Deval Patrick, who is expected to sign it into law. The move will clear the way for out-of-state couples to marry in Massachusetts, making it the second state to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry regardless of their place of residence.

"I'm glad that we finally did it," said Representative Byron Rushing, a Boston Democrat, who described the repeal on the House floor as a "question of fairness and … a question of equality."

After the vote, Rushing said he hoped lawmakers or the governor would add an emergency preamble to the bill to speed its effect and allow for September weddings.

Unlike the Senate, which quickly voted to repeal the law on a unanimous voice vote, the House debated the bill for about 45 minutes.

Supporters of the repeal called the law archaic and rooted in racism, urging fellow lawmakers to strip it from the books in the interest of equality. Repeal opponents argued for keeping the law in deference to other states, to prevent legal tangles involving couples who would marry in Massachusetts and want rights in states where gay marriage is outlawed.

It's now a lock that the Republican challenger to Patrick in 2010 (assuming that he doesn't bail out to serve in an Obama administration) will be in favor of same-sex marriage, since the issue has now been rendered moot.

Why does the Boston Globe still feel it's necessary to suck up to Gov. Patrick?

Sweet P Farm is nestled at the top of a winding driveway, hidden from view by 77 acres of gentle woods and meadows, a retreat in the Berkshires where Governor Deval Patrick can swat a few tennis balls on his private court, work on a chapter of his memoir, or stroll through the wildflowers in his backyard.

But during this year's high summer season, Patrick is opening his rural getaway to the Massachusetts political world, transforming it into something like the state's own version of Camp David.

The governor hosted a big ticket fund-raiser at the home last week that drew 150 wealthy Democratic donors from across the state. That gala will be followed on Aug. 3 by a picnic for the Massachusetts Legislature, an event designed to build good will for the governor among lawmakers who have sometimes viewed Patrick with distrust.

"A lot of successful politics, just like a lot of successful professional lives, are about relationships," Patrick said in an interview. "You open your home. That's what you do. It's a very human thing. We intend it to be a very warm thing, and let people put some of their formalities aside and get to know them."

Burnishing one's political fortunes by entertaining in the countryside has a long tradition in US politics.

George H.W. Bush escaped to Walker's Point in Kennebunkport, Maine, and President Bush has his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Bill Clinton vacationed in Martha's Vineyard, and the Kennedys have held legendary parties at the family compound in Hyannis Port.

But when it comes to recent governors of Massachusetts, Patrick's use of his 7,500-square-foot Berkshires home, which he built in 2006, is something new, and his weekend address is bringing rare political cachet to a region of Massachusetts that has long felt ignored by most governors.

UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Globe.

Gov. Patrick drops in.

There were hugs, pecks on the cheek, and belly laughs.

Governor Deval Patrick made a surprise appearance yesterday in the House chamber, bringing proceedings to a halt and shaking hands for nearly 20 minutes with delighted lawmakers who flocked to the governor as if they were at a wedding reception, eager for an audience.

Republicans stood off to the side, looking unsure how to react; Representative Paul Donato, a Medford Democrat who was presiding over the House session when the governor suddenly strode in, also appeared uncertain as to whether he should gavel the chamber to order (he didn't).

As the governor left, the representatives rose in wild applause.

Patrick had little to say about his unusual, impromptu visit. In a building where political calculation underlies almost every move, reporters peppered Patrick afterward about his intentions: What did he want? Why did he visit?

"I was in there thanking people," Patrick said as he walked down two flights of stairs and out to his car to head to an evening fund-raiser at his country estate in the Berkshires. "We've had just a terrific run and just a few more things teed up to get done before the session ends."

UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: From the Herald.

Gov. Patrick says he's not considering a Supreme Court appointment. Thank God!

Gov. Deval Patrick is chuckling at reports he could be nominated to the Supreme Court if Barack Obama was elected president in upcoming elections.

The state's first black governor on Monday said he loves his current job and "intends" to run for re-election in 2010.

He's also campaigning for Obama, a fellow Chicagoan and Harvard Law School graduate trying to become the first black president. Obama is now a Democratic senator from Illinois.

Patrick told reporters Monday talk about him becoming a Supreme Court justice is "speculation turning into a news story."

UPDATE: More from the Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: From Joan Vennochi, the Herald, the Globe and Howie Carr.

Gov. Patrick vs. the Second Amendment.

Gov. Deval Patrick filed a special appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008 that would drastically increase the fees for certain firearm licenses. The cost of the License to Carry Firearms would double under the proposal, jumping from $100 (for six years) to $200 (for six years). The non-resident License to Carry Firearms fee would jump from $100 for one year to $250 for one year.

Licensed firearm dealers will also feel the bite as their license fees would be increased from $100 for three years to $250. The governor then adds a $100 inspection fee in the second and third years of the license, which would turn the current $100 three-year dealer's license into a $450 three-year license.

Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment indeed guarantees American citizens the right to keep and bear arms, and experts predicted that the gun grabbers would try to use other tactics to keep guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens — and they were right. Not even a month has passed and the governor is already trying to tax a constitutional right out of reach.

"In light of the recent Supreme Court ruling, this new proposal from the Governor can only be viewed as an attempt to tax people out of their civil rights," said Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners' Action League. "With this new proposal, the Governor continues to demonstrate his willingness to attack lawful gun owners while doing nothing to reduce violent crime. The highest court in the nation has ruled that citizens have an individual right to possess a firearm and now our Governor is trying to tax us out of that right!"

Other New England states charge the following for a license to carry firearms: New Hampshire: $10 (good for four years); Rhode Island: $40 (good for four years); Connecticut: $35 (five years); and Maine: $35 (four years). So, while other New England residents pay an average of $7 a year for a firearms license, the governor in Mass. wants to gouge us out of $33 per year, almost five times what the residents in neighboring states pay — for a constitutional right. And then a three-year dealer license is jumping $350.

"Gov. Patrick feels he can now try to supplement the budget deficit on the backs of small mom-and-pop businesses and law-abiding gun owners," said Jake McGuigan, the director of government relations for the National Shooting Sports Foundation Director. "Clearly, the goal of this administration is to further restrict the rights of its citizens and businesses through a hefty Second Amendment tax."

UPDATE: More from No Looking Backwards.

The Patrick Administration backs a change that will allow out-of-state same-sex couples to marry in Massachusetts.

Morality, personal liberty, and constitutional law have been the usual battlegrounds in the fight over gay marriage. Now Governor Deval Patrick's administration is injecting something a bit more pedestrian to the debate: economic development.

A study conducted for the state's Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development predicts that an economic boomlet in hotel bookings, banquets, and wedding cakes would result from repealing a 1913 state law that prevents gay and lesbian couples from most other states from marrying in Massachusetts.

Consider these numbers: An estimated 32,200 same-sex couples from elsewhere would travel to the state to get married over the next three years. That would pump $111 million into the economy and yield another $5 million in marriage license fees and sales and occupancy taxes.

Those estimates were produced by the Williams Institute, a nonprofit organization at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law that studies policies, including economic issues, relating to sexual orientation.

The estimates were touted by advocates yesterday on the eve of an expected vote on a Senate bill that would repeal the 1913 law.

"There will be couples who will throw huge weddings in Massachusetts, and there will be couples who just pop into the state, get their license, and leave," said R. Bradley Spears, executive director of the Williams Institute.

This change will go through, proving once again that social conservatives have zero power and zero influence in Massachusetts.

UPDATE: More from Michael Graham, Hub Politics and the Globe.

SECOND UPDATE: From the AP and the Globe.

THIRD UPDATE: From the Globe, Michael Graham, Holly Robichaud and the Herald.

THIRD UPDATE: More from the Herald and Globe.

FOURTH UPDATE: More from the Globe.

Howie Carr on Gov. Patrick's nonsensical "picnic" with state legislators.

So Gov. Deval Patrick is going to have a “picnic” for the Legislature - at his Berkshire County manse. His spread is more than two hours from Boston, or to put it in terms the solons would understand, a $110 per diem.

Forget the Amber Alert. What we’re going to need at the end of this party is the Amber-Colored Fluid Alert.

Mother of God, has the governor forgotten what happens when you give these hacks booze? OK, so it’s only beer and wine, or at least that’s what his flacks were claiming yesterday. Far too many of these solons have already been inducted into the Alcohol of Fame. Am I right, Rep. Dempsey?

I know, Deval is merely trying to keep an old tradition going - the hackerama’s annual Western Mass. summer get-together. For years it was a golf tournament, hosted by Rep. Chris Asselin, with honorary chairman House speaker Tommy Taxes Finneran.

Alas, the tournament is no more. Both Asselin and Finneran went down on heavy-duty felony raps, although - and here’s some good news - Asselin was just released from Club Fed on June 13. Surely he’ll be receiving an invitation to Richmond, for old times’ sake?

But a picnic? Why would Deval invite these boobs to his mansion after the legislative session ends, when he doesn’t need them for anything anymore?

UPDATE: More from the Globe, Herald and AP.

SECOND UPDATE: More from Red Mass Group, the Boston Herald and Boston Globe.

Gov. Patrick, handing out the goodies.

Gov. Deval Patrick has been loading up the state judiciary, and once again he’s tapped a campaign supporter for the bench.

The guv nominated personal injury lawyer Paul Benoit this week to an administrative judge’s post on the Industrial Accidents Board. Benoit gave the governor $400 in campaign donations in 2006.

Benoit’s nomination follows those of other Patrick campaign donors who were appointed to the bench in May: Probate Court pick Maureen Monks and Tim Feeley, who is headed for Superior Court, and former state Sen. Cheryl Jacques, a gay activist and longtime Patrick supporter who was handpicked by the governor for a $127,000-a-year post on the Industrial Accidents Board.

UPDATE: More from the Herald and AP.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Herald and National Review Online.

THIRD UPDATE: From WBZ.com and the Boston Globe.

FOURTH UPDATE: From the AP and the Boston Globe.

Can Christy Mihos succeed Deval Patrick as governor?

Riding high from a string of recent political triumphs, Gov. Deval Patrick apparently isn’t scared of a little competition.

Asked yesterday about former gubernatorial candidate Christy Mihos’ plan to take on the governor in 2010, Patrick was confident, saying: “Look, I’m sure there are others who are thinking about running against me, and I look forward to meeting them in my re-election campaign.”

Mihos, an independent who helped split the vote against Patrick in 2006, already has launched a campaign Web site and says he’s gearing up to take on the governor again.

The convenience store magnate spent $4 million of his own money last time around and likely would need a huge personal loan once again. His state campaign account currently contains just $1,100.

Speculation has swirled in recent weeks that Patrick could be a one-term governor if his friend and ally Barack Obama wins the presidency, but Patrick has flatly rejected any such rumors.

UPDATE: More from Michael Graham, the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Herald and Boston Globe.

Michael Graham on Gov. Patrick's latest stunt.

He's at it again. As part of his "education reform" package, Gov. Patrick wants to reward crimmigrants stealing jobs and government services in Massachusetts with subsidized college tuition.

This is on top of the new program from the Patrick administration to track down crimmigrants and give them taxpayer-funded health insurance. Which means that, once again, we go from "Together, we can" to "I'm going to do what I want, and you're gonna have to pay for it!"

Gov. Patrick, you've already given away $1 billion of our tax dollars, much of it to big drug companies like Wyeth and Genzyme. You're about to raise our taxes by $500 million. Your administration has raised tolls, is probably going to raise them again, and gas is headed towards $5 a gallon.

Could you please, PLEASE cut us a little slack and not force legal Massachusetts residents to pick up the college tab for the crimmigrants?

UPDATE: More from Forbes.com and Matt Margolis.

SECOND UPDATE: Christy Mihos plans to challenge Gov. Patrick in 2010. Plus, more from the Herald and the Boston Globe.

THIRD UPDATE: More from Gov. Patrick, the Boston Herald and Boston Globe.

FOURTH UPDATE: From the New York Times, Boston Herald and Boston Globe.

Gov. Patrick plans to bless the teacher's unions.

Saying that teachers are the keys to great schools, Governor Deval Patrick unveiled proposals yesterday in his education plan aimed at boosting teacher quality and keeping teachers in the classroom longer.

"We must elevate the profession of teaching," he said during a press conference in Hopkinton, where he outlined another round of initiatives included in his upcoming package of education changes. "We have to attract and retain the best and brightest to lead our classrooms."

Among the proposals: implementing financial rewards for schools that show academic improvement, and higher pay for teachers who work in poor schools and for those who teach subjects such as math, science, and special education that have chronic teacher shortages. Patrick also said that the teacher certification process, which has long been criticized as overly complicated, should be simplified.

The initiatives are the latest to be unveiled as Patrick rolls out pieces of his plan, assembled after 18 months of study by a gubernatorial commission of some 200 educators, administrators, lawmakers, and public policy specialists. On Monday, Patrick detailed a first wave of proposals, including universal kindergarten and a drop-out prevention program. He also said he had appointed a commission to come up with options to pay for the reform plan. The full proposal is expected to be announced today.

UPDATE: From Scot Lehigh, the Globe and Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: From the Herald and Globe.

THIRD UPDATE: From Howie Carr, the Herald and the Boston Globe.

Gov. Patrick wants to close the "achievement gap." Good luck, pal.

Early intervention with struggling students, better coordination of student services, and improved professional development for teachers are among the strategies Governor Deval Patrick plans to propose next week in a sweeping package aimed at closing the achievement gap in Massachusetts' public schools.

Administration officials outlined three initiatives this week that they said are emblematic of what the public can expect from the so-called Readiness Plan, set to be released Monday. However, the officials offered no cost estimates for putting the initiatives into practice and gave only a vague suggestion of how and when they hoped the initiatives would be implemented.

"Right now, we're shaping the larger outline of the system," said one administration official briefed on the plan, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "We definitely have to come to grips with questions like cost."

The first initiative would seek to identify children who appear, as early as elementary school, to be at risk of dropping out, and work with them to address areas of weakness, such as chronic absenteeism, academic struggles, and discipline problems. By addressing such issues early, Patrick officials hope to keep more youngsters in school.

A second effort would install student support coordinators in urban schools, who would work with teachers, parents, and social service agencies to develop individualized plans for children whose ability to learn is affected by emotional or physical challenges. The program is modeled after Project Connect, which is run by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

The third initiative, similar to a program offered by the Bay State Reading Institute, would use data-driven professional development to tailor classroom instruction to students' weaknesses, particularly in elementary school literacy.

UPDATE: More from Holly Robichaud, the Herald and Globe.

SECOND UPDATE: From the Globe.

THIRD UPDATE: From the Globe, AP and WCVB.

FOURTH UPDATE: From Aaron Margolis, Matt Margolis, the Globe and Herald.

Gov. Patrick, looking at the front door.

Sen. John McCain has had to deal with liberal, Republican former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney; now Sen. Barack Obama has the current liberal Democrat governor of Massachusetts to deal with.

Gov. Deval Patrick, who early in the primary season spurned his former mentor Bill Clinton and endorsed Obama for the Democrat nomination, is seeking to raise his national profile on Obama's coattails in hopes of a prime position in his administration, say Massachusetts Democrat advisers.

"If he can get a senior post in an Obama administration, he'll take it," says one state party political consultant. "Half of Patrick's state administration is raising money so that they can run to fill his seat."

Patrick has publicly denied an interest in leaving a job he has held for a comparatively brief period of time. And it's -- to say the least -- a remote possibility that he would be in line for a vice presidential nod, as he had some of his advisers touting several months ago.

Patrick, though, will be front and center with Obama on campaign stops and fundraising events, though the governor's track record is one that Obama probably wants to run away from.

UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the MetroWest Daily News, Globe and Herald.

THIRD UPDATE: More from Michael Graham, the AP, the Herald and Globe.

Scot Lehigh trashes Gov. Patrick.

DURING THE 2006 gubernatorial campaign, Deval Patrick said he favored raising the cap on charter schools once the funding formula was reworked to ease tensions between traditional schools and charters.

Here's how candidate Patrick explained his stand in an Oct. 19, 2006, gubernatorial debate: "I think we can lift the cap . . . when we fix the funding formula, and it's broken right now . . . [T]he state has to step up and provide the kind of funding that makes both charter schools and district schools flourish."

Given that the state reimburses the traditional public schools for some share of educational costs for three years after a student leaves for a charter - and that the funding formula was retooled to address district concerns in 2004 - Patrick's assertion that the formula was broken was always more political than analytical.

Still, the public had a right to expect that, if elected, Patrick would propose a new formula and support more Commonwealth charters. But it has now become crystal clear that the governor, elected with the support of the teachers unions, has put that campaign stand into suspended animation.

This week, administration officials are touting Patrick's plan for "readiness schools." But here's an equally telling headline: The governor's signature education initiative - the so-called Readiness Project - will not include any attempt to address the charter-school stalemate.

UPDATE: More from Todd Feinburg, the Globe, the AP and Holly Robichaud.

SECOND UPDATE: More from Red Mass Group, the Globe and Herald.

Gov. Patrick's latest act.

State officials announced a $13.4 million relief package yesterday for the Massachusetts fishing industry, which has been struggling against staggering fuel costs and fishing regulations, but fishermen said it is not enough to permanently keep the fleets afloat. "It's bad right now, but this money will help people meet basic needs," said Angela Sanfilippo, president of the Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association, who was among several advocates at a press conference announcing the plans. The price of oil has made fleets more expensive to operate, an increase that is passed on to customers who buy fish.

"Now you have to make a catch, otherwise you still pay all the cost, and it just keeps adding up," said fisherman Jerry Leeman III, 26, of Oar Island, Maine. Leeman said he came to Massachusetts for work to support his children's healthcare costs. "We'll see how much of the money we get at the end of the day," he said.

Recent restrictions have reduced the days at sea and catch limits for fishermen, "all of which compounded to have a disproportionate impact on Massachusetts vessels compared to fleets elsewhere in the region," Governor Deval Patrick said as he unveiled the relief package yesterday on the Boston Fish Pier.

About $11.3 million will help fish permit holders, usually fishing captains, pay for upkeep on commercial groundfishing vessels across the state, said Robert Keough, spokesman for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Another $750,000 will go directly to qualified crewmembers for personal expenses, such as a home mortgage, and $630,000 will fund a health insurance program for crewmembers and their families, Keough said. The remaining $700,000 will cover administrative fees.

UPDATE: More from the AP, Herald and Cape Cod Today.

SECOND UPDATE: More from Mass. Lawyers Weekly, Hub Politics, Red Mass Group, the Herald and the Globe.

THIRD UPDATE: More from Red Mass Group, the Herald, the Globe, Barbara Anderson and the Beverly Citizen.

Another embarrassment for the future member of the Obama administration?

The Patrick administration has been discussing whether to name an early campaign supporter as head of a state bonding agency, a job that pays as much as $225,000 a year, according to an e-mail written by a Walsh political adviser that outlines the plan.

By installing state Senator Marian Walsh, a West Roxbury Democrat and early supporter of Governor Deval Patrick's 2006 campaign, as executive director of the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority, the administration would be trading down in expertise.

A former Suffolk County prosecutor and longtime legislator, Walsh has no detailed job experience in public bonds and nonprofit debt. The current executive director, Benson T. Caswell, has an extensive background in the field.

A switch also could be expensive, creating a major hurdle for Walsh to get the job: Firing Caswell would cost the state $450,000, according to terms of his severance package.

If Patrick moves ahead with the plan, it would mark a shift for the governor, who declared after his campaign that lawmakers need not apply for administration jobs. At the time, Patrick's statement was in keeping with his campaign promises to reform Beacon Hill culture and reduce political patronage hiring.

The more things change...

UPDATE: More from Red Mass Group, Scott Allen Miller, Howie Carr and the Globe.

SECOND UPDATE: From the Herald.

Will Gov. Patrick be remembered as the Jesse Ventura of Massachusetts politics?

UPDATE: More from the Globe, Herald and Howie Carr.

SECOND UPDATE: More from Red Mass Group, the Globe, Herald and New York Times.