Patrick: Judiciary Missed Chance On Probation

Gov. Deval Patrick says he wants control of the state Probation Department because it foundered while under control of the judicial branch.

He says in light of a report suggesting lawmakers traded an expanded departmental budget for jobs within Probation, he wants the authority to make changes if he's going to get criticized for the problems.

Nonetheless, Patrick says he "blew it" when he tried to offer a $175,000 job to Sen. Marian Walsh. He still thinks she was qualified to consolidate state development activities, but he says no one else saw it that way.

Patrick made the remarks while addressing the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association on Thursday.

The Democrat also told the group he would try to create jobs, improve achievement for underprivileged students and rein in rising health care costs.