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Week In Review: Marathon Bomber, MBTA, Charter Schools, Boston 2024

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This week we saw riveting testimony in the trial of admitted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

"Do you know the Boston Marathon explosion?" said WBUR's David Boeri, describing an interaction recounted by Dun Meng, the Chinese businessman who testified that he was carjacked by the late Tamerlan Tsarnaev. "I said, 'Yes, I know.' He asked, 'Do you know who did it?' He said, 'I did it, and I just killed a policeman in Cambridge.'"

Also — a watchdog group is calling for a stop to all expansion of the MBTA, until the underlying problems are solved.

"The operating budget is very much out of line," says Eileen McAnneny with the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "Expenses are outpacing revenues by two and a half times."

The T is also offering a day of free rides to atone for the service disruptions this winter.

In the meantime, lawyers plan to sue the state to lift the cap on charter schools.

"There is an enforceable constitutional right to such an adequate education and not to a two-tiered educational system, which is frankly, what we have in the inner cities," says attorney Michael Keating.

Pressure is also building on Boston 2024 to open its books.

"I think it's a big, huge mistake that plays into the perception that they've not been transparent with people," says Rep. Michael Capuano.

The group released its payroll and the numbers have many people stunned.

Guests

Jim Stergios, executive director of Pioneer Institute. He tweets @JimStergios.

Shannon O’Brien, former state treasurer and candidate for governor.

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Radio Boston: Tsarnaev Trial Focuses On Alleged Carjacking

  • "Testimony on day six of the trial of admitted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev focused on the autopsy of MIT police officer Sean Collier, killed three days after the bombings, and from Dun Meng, the Chinese man who was allegedly carjacked by the Tsarnaev brothers until he escaped outside a Shell gas station in Cambridge."

Commonwealth Magazine: Keolis Accused MBTA Of Meddling In Hiring

  • "The top official at the state’s commuter rail operator raised concerns in a December letter to the MBTA that agency officials were undermining efforts to hire an experienced executive to oversee train repair and maintenance."

Radio Boston: Civil Rights Battle Begins In Massachusetts Over Charter Schools

  • "Here in Massachusetts, education could be the next frontier in a civil rights battle — and it’s over charter schools."

WBUR: Group Behind Boston’s Olympic Bid Releases Salary Information

  • "Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick will be paid $7,500 per day for his part-time contractual work on behalf of the group aiming to host the 2024 Summer Olympics in Boston."

This segment aired on March 13, 2015.

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