A lot of firefighters lost their jobs when Proposition 2 1/2 became law in Massachusetts in 1980.

Ed O'Reilly was one of them.

But, unlike most firefighters who were laid off because of the tax-limitation law, O'Reilly's own father was the person who put the ax to him

O'Reilly, who is running for U.S. Senate against John Kerry, was a Watertown firefighter early in his professional career and his father was chief of the department.

When the rolls had to be trimmed, O'Reilly was one of the first to go. The experience was just one of many in his life that he says makes him more understanding of Massachusetts workers than Kerry.

He also worked as a fisherman, a prison guard and a bank teller before going to law school nights and becoming a criminal defense attorney.

A Democrat who is attacking Kerry from the left on issues like the war and health care, O'Reilly said that he also served as a volunteer on American Indian issues in the 1970s, spending a few months with a legal defense group at Wounded Knee.

O'Reilly scored a bit of an upset win at the Democratic State Convention last weekend when he passed the 15 percent threshold of delegate votes needed to qualify for the state primary election ballot in September.

But even the once laid-off firefighter acknowledges his chances of adding John Kerry to the unemployment rolls are slight.

Twin River trouble

While Massachusetts starts to look at expanded gambling as a source of economic development and state revenue, the Twin River gambling facility in Lincoln, R.I., is in danger of going bust.

Reports indicate the slot machine parlor is struggling under the weight of the debt it took on to undergo a $225 million construction project to expand and modernize the facility.

Twin River reportedly is asking the state of Rhode Island to renegotiate a deal that gives the state 61.45 percent of receipts from slot machines. Twin River wants the take lowered to 25 percent in exchange for a one-time $500 million payment.

The hard times are not, according to reports, the result of a slump in gambling. Slot machine revenue is up, but not enough to pay off the debt. Favorite son?

As Sen. John McCain looks for a running mate for his presidential campaign, some conservatives are encouraging him to pick former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Romney, the thinking goes, could help McCain in Michigan because Romney's father was once governor there, and in Utah, where Romney ran the Olympics.

One state that never gets mentioned as a Romney stronghold is Massachusetts, his home state.

That is a reflection of the strength of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts, but it may also be an indication of the underwhelming regard voters have for the job he did as governor.