A twofer on Friday from our Two-Daily Town desk
Start with the Tim Murray Experience.
Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr submitted a slapdash slap at the Lt. Governor over his recusing/not recusing himself in the approval of a Massachusetts judicial nominee by the Governor’s Council, which Murray chairs.
The recusal (in the form of a State Ethics Commission form 23(b)(3) – a “disclosure of appearance of conflict of interest):
The hack du jour, or should I say the subject of Crash’s 23(b)(3), is one Maura K. McCarthy of Shrewsbury, who’s going to the Leominster District Court. She’ll be rubber-stamped next week by the Governor’s Council. Crash chairs the Governor’s Council and only votes to break a tie. So at last week’s meeting, Gov.Deval Patrick shows up and announces, “In an abundance of caution, Lt. Gov. Murray will be recusing himself … due to his long-standing friendship (with Maura).”
The non-recusal:
[Murray] has concluded, as he puts it in the 23(b)(3), that “I feel that I can perform my duties objectively and fairly.”
So, business as usual on Beacon Hill.
Carr also tosses in this swipe at Murray:
Could Crash’s conversion to transparency be related to the fact that he has “agreed to talk” to the feds about his dear pal Mike McLaughlin, the $360,000-a-year lifelong hack who is in a photo finish with at least two grand juries and whose son got a $60,000 state job at the behest of Crash?
Murray’s relationship to former (and rapacious) Chelsea Housing Authority executive Michael McLaughlin is an issue that’s actually worth examining in detail, which is exactly what Boston Globe columnist Scot Lehigh did on Friday, especially regarding whether McLaughlin was a significant fundraiser for Murray.
Now investigators probing whether McLaughlin violated fundraising laws have come calling. Any sitdown Murray has with investigators would have to include probing questions on exactly what McLaughlin did for him. So the query to the Murray camp is simple: Will the lieutenant governor share with the public the investigators’ question and his answers?
I put that matter to Scott Ferson, the communications consultant who is helping Murray bumble his way through — ah, make that navigate — this controversy.
“The lieutenant governor is not going to comment on an ongoing investigation except to say that he has pledged to answer any questions that might be asked by investigators,” said Ferson. “If your question is, what are the investigators potentially asking the lieutenant governor, ask the investigators. It is their job, and they have to be allowed to do their job. That is paramount here.”
Now, listening to Ferson, a naif might suppose Murray is somehow legally prevented from disclosing what he was asked by investigators and how he answered. Surely Ferson wouldn’t want to leave that misimpression, so let’s be crystal-clear: That’s not so.
The Tim Murray scorecard: Boston Globe 1, Boston Herald 0.
Now let’s move on to the Bob Kraft Experience.
The Boston Herald’s Inside Track had this regarding the celebrity crowd at Thursday’s Celtics-Heat game at TD Garden:
Kraft’s mystery gal pal
Although the Celtics [team stats] took a 98-79 beating from the Miami Heat, last night was not a total loss for the Track. Because we got to meet the bodacious blond beauty New England Patriots [team stats] boss Bob Kraftbrought to the game!
Kraft, who lost his wife, Myra, last summer, introduced us to his 30-something “pal” Ricki — no last name — who was sporting a Patriots hat, skinny slacks, a Boston Basketball T-shirt and suede high-heeled boots.
Herald update:
Come to find out, Ricki is Hollywood starlet Ricki Noel Lander, who has had bit parts in some big TV shows and movies. She played a stewardess in “Iron Man,” seductively offering Robert Downey Jr. and Terrence Howard “hot sake,” then doing a sexy little dance number for the guys with her fellow flight attendants.
She also played a fairy — actually a “servant faerie” — in an episode of HBO’s “True Blood,” a server in the FOXdrama “Prison Break” and Wanda The Waitress in the Krysten Ritter flick “Life Happens.” Leading us to ask: Is Ricki being typecast???
In fairness, her credits also include roles such as “Hot Girl,” “Stunning Woman,” “Model,” “Dream Girl” and “Cult Member.” Wethinks you get the picture.
The Boston Globe, by contrast, came up empty on the Bob Kraft girlfriend front:
Aubrey O’Day is serious about the Celtics
She may not be the most well-known Celtics fan – that distinction probably goes to Donnie Wahlberg,Maria Menounos, or Dane Cook – but Aubrey O’Day is definitely one of the most enthusiastic. A singer/actress best known as a former member of P. Diddy’s girl group Danity Kane, O’Day took the red-eye from LA to make it to Thursday’s game against the Heat. And being superstitious, she even wore special clothes. “I have all these crazy superstitions,” she told us just before tipoff. “I have a specific pair of panties that I wear.” O’Day grew up on the West Coast but says she became a Celtics supporter after watching a few games with Boston fans. “I’d never seen anyone love basketball with such passion and devotion and loyalty,” she said. Asked to name her favorite player, O’Day had difficulty picking just one. “I love the way [Rajon] Rondo’s been playing, but you can’t deny The Truth,” she said, referring to Paul Pierce. “I love Ray Ray [Allen] being such a good man, and I love [Kevin Garnett] for his emotional outbursts.” Of course, O’Day wasn’t the only familiar face at the Garden Thursday. Also in the stands were Celtics alums Dana Barros, Jim Loscutoff, Walter McCarty, Robert Parish, and Satch Sanders; Patriots coach Bill Belichick, and players Deion Branch, Sergio Brown, Patrick Chung, Julian Edelman, Dane Fletcher, Rob Gronkowski, Devin McCourty, Brandon Lloyd, Jerrod Mayo,Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork, Donte Stallworth, Gerard Warren, and recently retired Matt Light; New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz; Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie; actors Chris Tucker andKenny Wormald; Red Sox owner Tom Werner; ESPN Sports Guy Bill Simmons; TV exec Dick Ebersol; and chef Ken Oringer.
Note: No mention of Bob Kraft and his girlfriend.
The Bob Kraft Girlfriend Scorecard: Boston Herald 1, Boston Globe 0.
Conclusion:
It’s good to live in a two-daily town.
Campaign Outsider 