“Statement on MBTA Fare Increases & Service Cuts,” read Tuesday’s blast e-mail from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Attached were three pages of talking points from the regional planning agency, along with an offer to provide maps of service cuts, organized by legislative district, so lawmakers could specifically see the effects at the local level.

Activists working to stop a so-called “three-strikes” crime bill, take note.

To be sure, the crime bill – which is actually several crime bills with multiple moving parts – is complex. But the details contained therein demand a more unified and coherent approach by activists who say they’re concerned that the bills are too broad, too harsh, and likely to lead to increased prison costs.

Up to now, their approach has been somewhat scattershot and haphazard. Two recent competing public strategy sessions were clear indications of a split among activists, in particular those who are open to compromise and those who want the bills killed off. For all that, no alternative bill has been proposed.

In the fall, both the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed different versions of a bill meant to crack down on repeat violent offenders. The House signed off on a narrower bill, despite drawing outcry from African-American and Latino lawmakers who say the bill would disproportionately affect majority-minority communities.

Since then, negotiators have been working to send a compromise bill to the governor’s desk that punishes repeat violent offenders while lowering sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and reducing the size of school zones that are used to hit drug offenders with mandatory minimum sentences.

State Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty (D-Chelsea), one of the negotiators, told his Senate counterparts the following, according to the State House News Service: “I think it’s possible that we could convince our House colleagues that in order to create prison space or prison beds for what we considered to be the most violent repeat recidivists that are committing some of the crimes, and we can talk about the recidivist piece as a separate issue, moving forward in our discussion, I think in terms of the minimum mandatory revisions you folks did I’m intrigued by it and I think there’s an opportunity to reach some common ground with what you’ve done there as well as possibly the school zones.”

Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed his own crime package and called on House and Senate lawmakers to deliver a “balanced” bill to his desk.

State Rep. Carlos Henriquez (D-Dorchester), who opposed the House bill, said he is open to compromise legislation. He recalled campaigning in 2010 and the issues residents brought up when he knocked on their doors. “Violence is always in the top three,” he said. “It’s either jobs, violence, or education.”

Dem caucuses set for this weekend

The epic showdown in 2002 between Menino loyalists and state Rep. Marty Walsh over control of party delegates and the 2010 announcement from state Rep. Marie St. Fleur that she was not running for reelection showed that ward committee caucuses can sometimes be head-turning – and news-making – affairs, particularly in election years.

This weekend’s caucuses will choose delegates and alternates to the state party convention, set for June 2 in Springfield. All registered Democrats are eligible to participate at their ward meeting.

Below is a listing of some of the upcoming caucuses:

Ward 7: Feb. 11, 9 a.m., Curley Community Center, 1663 Columbia Rd.

Ward 13: Feb. 14, 6:30 p.m., Cristo Rey, 100 Savin Hill Ave.

Ward 14: Feb. 11, 12 p.m. Anthony Perkins Community Center, 155 Talbot Ave.

Ward 15: Feb. 11, 10 a.m. Savin Hill Apartments, 130 Auckland St., Community Room.

Ward 16: Feb. 13, 6 p.m. McKeon Post, 4 Hilltop St.

Ward 17: Feb. 11, 10 a.m. Sheet Metal Workers 17 Hall, 1157 Adams St.

Ward 18: Feb. 11, 10 a.m., Hyde Park Municipal Building, 1179 River St.

City clerk marriage fees are still on Council’s radar

City councillors met this week to work on a proposal limiting how much money the city clerk is able to pocket from performing marriages. Current state law allows clerks, who can double as justices of the peace, to keep the marriage fees if they perform marriages during the workday. That means the current city clerk and former City Councillor Maureen Feeney could collect some $60,000 annually on top of a six-figure salary, which was the case with her predecessor.

City Councillor Matt O’Malley, who chairs the Government Operations Committee, held a “working session” on Monday to discuss the proposal with colleagues and council staffers, and try to figure out ways to ensure that the fees end up in city coffers instead. “There is a real opportunity for reform that benefits the city,” O’Malley said.

State Rep. Marty Walz filed her own proposal on the matter in December at the State House. The Massachusetts Town Clerks’ Association sent a letter to Walz days later, saying the situation in Boston should be addressed locally. “Most communities see a very [limited] number of marriages occurring at city and town halls,” wrote Laurence Pizer, Plymouth Town Clerk and chair of the association’s legislative committee, noting that Boston conducts more ceremonies than other communities. “In smaller communities in western Massachusetts, part-time clerks rely on Justice of the Peace fees as part of their compensation package,” he wrote.

A bet lost, Pats’ fan Jackson dons Giants’ gear in chamber

District 7 City Councillor Tito Jackson this week gamely held up his part of a Super Bowl bet he made with a councilman in New York with the same last name. The New England Patriots’ loss meant Jackson had to don a New York Giants jersey and a hat highlighting their win. If the Giants had lost, New York City’s District 7 Councilman Robert Jackson would have had to wear Patriots gear.

Councillor Jackson posted a picture of himself on Twitter, standing grimly next to a City Council podium while decked out in a Giants jersey.

“Tito, you look great in Giants gear. I look forward to next year. Great picture,” his New York counterpart wrote in response.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Material from State House News Service was used in this report. Check out updates to Boston’s political scene at The Lit Drop, located at dotnews.com/litdrop. Email us at newseditor@dotnews.com and follow us on Twitter: @LitDrop and @gintautasd.