1) The Commission fully upheld my initial suspension of Mr. Solomon for three days over the misallocation of the COPS Grant, which resulted in a back charge to taxpayers of the City of Methuen of over $20,000.

2) The Commission, on the second and more substantive matter, overturned the City sanction of termination. They found sufficient wrongdoing however to impose a penalty of a one year unpaid suspension on Mr. Solomon. That is a severe penalty, although it is less than we sought. The finding of mismanagement of grant funds by the Methuen Police Department has resulted in a back charge to the taxpayers of the City of Methuen of over $170,000.

I will have additional comment in the coming days on the political diatribe that constituted a large portion of the 125 page opinion issued by Commissioner Stein. I would like to return the “compliment” of the Commissioner and say that he has demonstrated great skill at “verbal gymnastics”.

The critical (in my opinion) “independent” voter appears to be swinging towards Charlie Baker, with 42% of those voters favoring Baker, 24% for Patrick, and 16% for Cahill. It appears that Baker has widened that lead, which is critical for him. It also calls into question how Cahill thinks he can win this fight when he is not only running dead last, but also dead last amongst independents, the supposed lifeblood of his candidacy.

Each poll result, especially in the summer, comes with the caveat that “there is a long way to go”, which there is. Deval Patrick holds the lead despite an ongoing negative ad bombardment by the Republican Governor’s Association. And the Governor is yet to be up on the air, and Charlie Baker has yet to face the negative ad onslaught you know is coming. So that is a good thing for the Governor. But Charlie Baker has growth potential, and the Governor’s relatively weak position with independents has to be a source of comfort for Baker. Yes, there is a long way to go.

An important political point to be considered here will be the tax situation for those who are not in the wealthiest tax brackets. An across the board tax increase for those folks, including stiff increases in inheritance taxes, will create a backlash against Democrats nationally. The terrain upon which the battle will be fought over the Bush tax cuts being extended will be the key to victory. If the Democrats can define the fight as the President does, they can survive. But if the Republicans can convert the political spin to a tax increase for all (as Rep. Pence does here) then it could spell more trouble for the Dems.

An overhaul of the tax system is needed to deal with this problem, but a deal does not appear likely before the mid-terms. Both sides are digging in and preparing for battle. Read the Washington Post story here.

This project is an excellent example of how Massachusetts has made a significant effort to expand renewables and create jobs. And many of those jobs are right here in the Merrimack Valley. This project had Nexamp of North Andover making the solar panels, and Solectria of Lawrence making the inverters. Governor Deval Patrick and the Legislature deserve great credit for being willing to invest in renewables and begin to make Massachusetts a national leader in an industry that is so vital to our future. This project was made possible by a rebate on the installation by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

This project is not a small one. The panels provide a year-round average of 55 percent of the annual electricity consumed by the warehouse building. (80% in the summer) The panels generate enough electricity (110.7 kilowatts) to power approximately 12 average Massachusetts homes every year. Solar power will offset more than 112,000 lbs of carbon dioxide annually. This is the equivalent of taking 10 cars off the road. Congratulations to General Mills for investing in this project. That plant has been a great asset to Methuen, and we look forward to many years of continued partnership.

Read the Globe story here.

See the Jon Keller report here.