BLAME-SHIFING AND MICRO-MANAGING

Governor Romney's theory that the financial plight of cities and towns is
the result of weak-kneed local officials giving away the store to greedy
unions in contract negotiations amounts to blame-shifting and
micro-managing. It apparently has nothing to do with the substantial
cutbacks in state aid the last two years. Property tax revenues are rising,
and all would be well if only local officials could hold the line on
spending. Has it occurred to the governor that the reason property tax
revenue has picked up is that local officials are forced to raise rates to
compensate for the loss of state aid? City and town officials need to be
tough as well as fair in negotiating with public employees. The governor's
job is to attract business and industry to the state, which was one of his
campaign promises. A bustling Stanley Business Park would make contract
negotiations much easier for Pittsfield officials.

Disappointing DARE

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program (DARE) has been a
disappointment, if not an outright failure, as a state criminal justice
system report called it earlier this month, and the governor's office is
wise to withhold funding for it, as Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey
indicated it would last week. A study of the DARE program is under way and
funding should await word on whether DARE can be retooled in a useful way.
The lieutenant governor suggested the administration would rather fund
tobacco-prevention programs than DARE (See above). Good idea.