The Daily Free Press
Year xliii. Volume lxxxiv. Issue V
PAY IT FORWARD Panera Cares Café takes donations as payment, page 3.
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Thursday, January 24, 2013 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
NEPTUNE SPEAR
Delving into criticism of Zero Dark Thirty, page 5.
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MR. CLUTCH
Irving’s late threes result in OT victory for BU, page 8.
WEATHER
Today: Sunny/wind/High 21 Tonight: Clear/wind/Low 7 Tomorrow: 25/18 Data Courtesy of weather.com
T to stay open until 2 a.m. under Gov. Patrick’s plan Patrick’s ‘14 budget
focuses on education as recession subsides
By Zoe Roos Daily Free Press Staff
T riders could experience increased hours of services if lawmakers choose to adapt Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposed transportation reform plan. The transportation plan allocates about $1 billion to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, allowing, among other things, the T to extend its service hours until 2 a.m. on weekends, increasing ridership. The plan is in response to the “Your Vision, Our Future” public meetings with riders that have been occurring throughout the city. Currently, the T makes more than 1.4 million trips on more than 3,000 buses, commuter rail, subway, ferries, and paratransit vehicles everyday, according to a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Department press release. Sara Lavoie, a spokeswoman for the MBTA, said if funds are freed up, longer T hours could become a reality. “The MBTA is investigating providing service beyond 1:00 am on a limited basis,” she said. “If additional operating funds are identified, major bus routes and the most heavily travelled portions of the subway and light rail systems will be considered as part of a pilot program.” The increased service would require substantial additional funding, and the MBTA currently requires about $300 million per year to pay existing debt and operating costs, according to the governor’s plan.
By Kyle Plantz Daily Free Press Staff
MICHELLE JAYDAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
A governor’s transportation proposal for the 21st century suggests keeping the T open until 2 a.m.
Still, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray said transportation is vital for a strong community. “Transportation is the enabling network of our economy, creating and supporting jobs in all regions of the Commonwealth,” Murray said in statement. “The MassDOT Board has outlined how far we’ve come and how far we have to go to ensure a safe, reliable and regionally equitable transportation net-
work. Now we all need is to work together to make this vision a reality.” Kelly Smith, MBTA deputy press secretary, said additional cost would depend upon the expansion of the extra service hours. “The cost of service will be determined once operating schedules and frequencies are identified,” she said. “Costs associated with
MBTA, see page 2
Green Line shut down after smoke, smoldering cables By Kyle Plantz Daily Free Press Staff
Smoldering cables caused hundreds of people to be evacuated from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Green Line at the Arlington Station, and halted services from Kenmore Station to Government Center Station Wednesday morning. “Smoke [was] observed about 100 feet west of Arlington Station’s inbound platform,” said Joe Pesaturo, MBTA spokesman, in an email. The Boston Fire department ordered the power to be shut off at 8:15 a.m, said Steve MacDonald, BFD spokesman. Response teams were sent out early on Wednesday to respond to the reports of smoke. “We were called down to Arlington around 8 a.m,” MacDonald said. “They had an electric junction box adjacent to the track where they had the cable smoldering. The only way to put it out is to shut the
power off and extinguish it.” MacDonald said the track had to be cleared of T-riders in order for the power to be shut off. MBTA personnel escorted more than 100 riders through the tunnels. “They shut the power off and used a dry powder to extinguish the smoldering cable,” he said. “The T’s electricians had to isolate the cable that was causing the problem.” Pesaturo said the cable will be replaced shortly. “Once identified, the cable was disconnected from two points in the tunnel to isolate it,” he said. “All other cables were tested to ensure safety of remaining cables. The old cable will be replaced in the next few nights.” The extreme temperature damaged the MBTA power system, causing the smoke, Pesaturo said. “Extreme cold can cause high loads on the aging MBTA power system,” he said.
“In this case, the bitter cold weakened an old cable which began to smolder and create smoke.” The whole system had to be shut down to deal with the smoke, forcing officials to close major parts of the Green Line, Pesaturo said. “Green Line service between Kenmore and Government Center [was] temporarily suspended,” he said. “Shuttle buses were dispatched.” The MBTA, on its website, announced a shuttle-bus plan to deal with the incident “It is a major inconvenience for the morning commute,” MacDonald said. “But that’s the only way to put out smoldering wires.” Pesaturo said the T resumed normal service at 10:53 a.m. The incident caused issues for many morning commuters.
Green Line, see page 2
After years of decreasing funding for education due to the Great Recession, Gov. Deval Patrick plans to increase support to higher education by $283 million, according to his budget proposal released Wednesday. “We have proposed a balanced, responsible budget that makes investments in education, innovation and infrastructure that will grow jobs and opportunity in the near-term, and strengthen our Commonwealth in the long-term,” Patrick said in a letter Wednesday. Patrick proposed a $34.8 billion budget for the new fiscal year that would increase state spending by 6.9 percent over the current fiscal year and increase the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent. Last week Patrick proposed investing $550 million in education that would reach $1 billion over four years. He wants to make higher education more affordable for students and expand access to educational opportunities, according to a press release Friday. From 2011, higher education spending decreased by more than $7 million. From 2012 to the current fiscal year, higher education spending increased by about $975,000, according to Patrick’s statewide budget summary. Some officials at higher education institutions said state funding to their schools decreased dramatically over the years. “The level of state support that UMass has received from the state has declined by nearly 21 percent since 2001 and it is actually lower than other segments of other state schools,” said Ann Scales, communications director for the University of Massachusetts President’s Office. Scales said the trend in state funding has been declining and students and their families are left to pick up the bill. “The state provided 61 percent of what it costs general education programs and students and families funded 39 percent of it,” she said. “Now that number is upside down and students pay more than the state gives.” UMass had been trimming its budget even before the recession and its officials support Patrick’s proposal, Scales said. “We are grateful to Governor Patrick for this increase in funding, and this is a step in right direction,” she said. “We need to see what happens in the legislature and hopefully this is the year that we can see some budget reform.” Mass. Sen. Stephen Brewer said before Patrick’s plan is passed, the House and Senate must draft their own budgets and compromise on what should be spent for the next fiscal year.
Budget, see page 2
New Balance Field to strengthen BU’s athletic programs, expand facilities By Amira Francis Daily Free Press Staff
The New Balance Field at Boston University, set to open in the fall of 2013, will expand the reputation and quality of BU athletics to be among the best in the country, officials said. “When we finish this, it’s going to be an important asset to not only the campus and athletic facilities, but to this whole area,” said Paul Rinaldi, assistant vice president of Facilities Management and Planning at BU. “It will be much more of an improvement over the building that was there for those who live in Babcock Tower.” BU Operations demolished a building Thursday as the latest step in the construction of the field, Rinaldi said. The building, which stood at 278 Babcock St., was a warehouse for several BU departments, as well as an asset to the ROTC and the BU band, both of which used the building for practice. The New Balance Field’s construction likely will be completed by the fall 2013 semester,
he said. “The field should be ready for our athletes as they return in late August,” Rinaldi said. “We’re expecting that the home schedule of our women’s [field] hockey team is going to be played on the field in September.” Mike Lynch, assistant vice president and director of BU Athletics, said the field will be as important as Agganis Arena to the university’s athletics program. “This field could end up being as significant to our program and to the way the campus looks as the building of Agganis Arena,” Lynch said. “Not only are … teams going to benefit from its construction, but also we’re going to have a new space for all of the thousands of recreational and club athletes.” Rinaldi said, although Nickerson Field and a specialized softball field exist at BU, another field is necessary for logistical and scheduling purposes. “Building this field doubles the number of
New Balance, see page 2
HEATHER GOLDIN/DAILY FREE PRESS FILE
The warehouse at 278 Babcock St. was demolished Thursday, an important step in the construction of New Balance Field.