The Hiller Instinct: Praise for State Government

I’ve got to give our state government props for its performance and competence repairing the broken water main in Weston.

The news that we're now just a day or two away from water as we knew it before the break is a tribute to the people putting the giant pipe back together.

And as we get ready to once again have safe water in our homes and businesses, don't forget: on Saturday, it didn't sound like we'd get it back so soon:

“I have declared a state of emergency,” Governor Patrick said.

“We have a catastrophic failure in a 10 foot diameter pipe,” MWRA Executive Director, Frederick Lasker stated. He then called it the worst nightmare, but it’s turning out to be just a brief bad dream.

And Beacon Hill is ending some other bad dreams by enacting one of the toughest anti-bullying laws in the nation. It's a tragedy it took the suicides of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince and 11-year-old Carl Walker-Hoover to get the bill passed, but it would be worse if their deaths changed nothing.

Soon, schools will have to report and investigate all incidents of suspected bullying.

Teachers, students and school employees will be on alert--and some lives will be better.

So I'd like to propose a toast--to state government -- which rarely gets any credit, but which deserves plenty today.

And I'm happy to drink to you, even if it's just water and I still have to boil it.

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