As president of the state Senate, Therese Murray of Plymouth has an unusually advantageous view of the issues affecting the suburbs south of Boston. She also understands the political realities that will shape just what, if anything, happens on those issues in the coming year.
Some of the challenges for 2008 are unique to this area; others are broader, affecting suburbs everywhere.
Murray sat down recently with Globe South to discuss the 2008 agenda as she sees it. Topping her list is the need to deliver adequate healthcare to everyone, a task made more pressing by the lack of primary-care doctors in many communities south of Boston.
Murray also talked about the challenges posed by a casino in the region, her concerns about safety at the Plymouth nuclear power plant, the problem of towns' diminishing revenues in a sluggish economy, the need for more affordable housing - and the benefits of a Hollywood studio opening in her hometown.
Here is a summary of what she had to say:
Healthcare
Lawmakers' biggest challenge this year, Murray said, will be finding a way to reduce the cost of healthcare and provide better access to primary care.
Southeastern Massachusetts, along with the Cape and the Berkshires, is suffering from a significant lack of primary-care physicians, Murray said.
"We have a massive healthcare initiative we'll be putting out in February that will increase the workforce capacity for nurses and primary-care physicians," she said. As part of the bill, slots will be increased at state medical schools for doctors who agree to stay in Massachusetts and practice primary care.
"We'll create a larger role for nurse practitioners," Murray said. "We'll also support development of limited-service clinics, so if you have a sore throat or cold, you won't have to wait weeks to see a primary-care doctor - if you can even find one that will take you."
Casinos
Murray favors legalized casino gambling as a revenue source, but she is worried that most communities south of Boston, other than perhaps New Bedford or Fall River, don't have the infrastructure to accommodate such a massive operation.
Murray noted that no such infrastructure exists on a Middleborough property being targeted for an Indian-run casino. "If the Wampanoags are going to have a casino there - and it looks like they are - with or without the state's involvement, there are millions and millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements that would have to be done; not just roads and bridges and interchanges, but utilities. It would be extremely costly."
Murray also voiced concern about the tribe's plans, already on track, to put the Middleborough land into federal trust, since it would virtually eliminate state and local control.
"If the federal government puts that land in trust," she said, "we have no say in whether they go forward or not. And we don't get any money."
Pilgrim nuclear plant
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering whether to renew the power plant's license, set to expire in 2012, for another 20 years. Although that renewal is a federal process, Murray said she believes the state should take steps to make the plant safer.
Nuclear waste is stored at the Pilgrim site, and Murray doubts that situation is going to change any time soon. "It should therefore be stored in the safest way possible," she said. What is known as "dry-cast storage" makes the most sense, she said. That differs from the current storage of spent fuel in special pools at the plant.
She is also concerned about evacuation in the event of an accident.
"If there were an incident at the plant, the current evacuation plan isn't going to work, and everyone knows it," Murray said. "People think the plant will just blow up, but that's not what happens. It would be a release that would happen over a period of time."
Murray said she believes there are ways to evacuate the area effectively, even though the roads in Southeastern Massachusetts back up quickly.
"[The company] should work with the state and all the surrounding towns."
Economy
The clash between diminished revenue and pressing spending needs has become an unhappy way of life for most area towns. It looks like they had better get used to it, because an increase in state aid is not on the horizon, and the prospect for tax overrides is dim.
"There's not going to be any money for new programs or projects, and there may be less money for a lot of things that we pay for now," Murray said. "The economy is bad. We never had a surge from the last recession. And now we're going down again, hopefully not into a recession."
Area homeowners will be feeling the pinch as their own personal expenses rise. Fuel and utility bills continue to climb, along with healthcare costs. Voters, who are already being squeezed in their personal budgets, are not likely to back proposed tax increases, Murray said. "There's just not a lot of discretionary income."
Massachusetts, Murray said, is still better off than most states because there are new companies coming in with emerging technologies. "Biotech companies, medical-device companies - that's our new frontier," she said. "And we have an educated workforce here that companies kill for."
Affordable housing
The state is in dire need of more affordable housing, Murray said. "I understand the frustration, certainly, of people in the towns who feel they are under the gun when 'greedy developers' come in," Murray said. "It's hardest for smaller towns." She noted that two towns in her district, Kingston and Plymouth, are reaching their housing goals through so-called Smart Growth, or 40R plans, located near their commuter rail stations.
In "Cordage Park [in Plymouth], the build-out over 10 years will be extensive and it will end up being absolutely beautiful."
Murray acknowledged the political reality: Town officials are skeptical - and often downright opposed - to 40B housing because, they feel, it robs them of local control. "The new housing secretary has also done some work around the edges of 40B to make it more palatable and allow developers to count more toward affordable housing," Murray said. Those changes are to go into effect in the middle of this month.
According to Murray, the new regulations also will make it more difficult for unscrupulous developers to defraud towns by exceeding their profit allowances.
Hollywood in Plymouth?
Murray - who supported the state tax credits that have drawn West Coast moviemakers to Massachusetts - sees the arrival of the film industry as an opportunity for better jobs. "We've already done four movies this year and we had received $120 million as of November, and we only passed the tax credit in July," Murray said.
Job opportunities relating to the film industry are extensive, she said, which is one reason she is enthusiastic about a proposal by California-based Good News Holdings to open a major production studio on 1,000 acres in south Plymouth.
"If Plymouth is successful in getting this studio, it will mean thousands of well-paying jobs," Murray said. "I know there are concerns about opening up the area, that Plymouth will change, but Plymouth has been changing since the Pilgrims got here, and it's not going to stay the same."
Murray warned that local officials shouldn't stall the project too long, since Connecticut and Rhode Island also have created attractive tax credits for film companies.
"We just have to do this right, and it would be a great plus for Plymouth."
Christine Wallgren can be reached at CLWallgren@aol.com.
