STATE LAWMAKERS WILL CONDUCT an oversight hearing later this month to look into problems at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, where administrative lapses delayed license suspensions for nearly 900 people. […]
Andy Metzger
Andy Metzger is currently studying law at Temple University in Philadelphia. Previously, he joined CommonWealth Magazine as a reporter in January 2019. He has covered news in Massachusetts since 2007. For more than six years starting in May 2012 he wrote about state politics and government for the State House News Service. At the News Service, he followed three criminal trials from opening statements to verdicts, tracked bills through the flumes and eddies of the Legislature, and sounded out the governor’s point of view on a host of issues – from the proposed Olympics bid to federal politics.
Before that, Metzger worked at the Chelmsford Independent, The Arlington Advocate, the Somerville Journal and the Cambridge Chronicle, weekly community newspapers that cover an array of local topics. Metzger graduated from UMass Boston in 2006. In addition to his written journalism, Metzger produced a work of illustrated journalism about Gov. Charlie Baker’s record regarding the MBTA. He lives in Somerville and commutes mainly by bicycle.
Posted inTransportation
Video: Pyrotechnics preceded June derailment
A VIDEO OF the Red Line derailment on June 11 from the vantage point of the JFK/UMass Station shows the Braintree-bound train coming into view around a slight curve when […]
Posted inUncategorized
DeLeo: There will be no budget filed Tuesday
THERE WILL BE no budget agreement filed Tuesday, two days into fiscal 2020, but House and Senate negotiators haven’t reached an impasse and are trading proposals back and forth, according […]
Posted inTransportation
RMV ignored out-of-state violation notices
OFFICIALS LAST WEEK DISCOVERED a giant backlog of paperwork sent to the Registry of Motor Vehicles about infractions committed by Massachusetts drivers in other states that had been sitting untouched […]
Posted inPolitics
Wu and other pols seek to organize T riders
BOSTON CITY COUNCILOR Michelle Wu had a captive audience Monday morning as she tried to mobilize a group of people who spend too much time stuck on MBTA platforms and […]
Posted inTransportation
Kicking the tires on transpo politics
IN A WIDE-RANGING discussion about the Bay State’s transportation problems, former congressman Mike Capuano and Kendall Square Association CEO C.A. Webb made their case for new revenue and bold new […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Arts agency gets reined in by lawmakers – and a raise
NO STATE AGENCY has taken more of a pounding from the press this year over its spending practices than the Massachusetts Cultural Council, but the agency is poised to emerge […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Interstate finger-pointing after deadly crash
It seems well established that Volodymyr Zhukovskyy drove the truck that killed seven motorcyclists in the White Mountains last weekend, but what is less clear why he still had a […]
Posted inTransportation
Wieland gets nod for Massport CEO post
LISA WIELAND WAS selected to be the next chief executive of the Massachusetts Port Authority, taking over from the longtime stewardship of Tom Glynn, who retired last year. A divided […]
Posted inPolitics
Spilka refers Brady case to Ethics Committee
THE SENATE ON Thursday took a step towards opening an ethics investigation into Sen. Michael Brady, a Brockton Democrat who was arrested for drunk driving last year. Brady admitted to […]
Posted inGambling
Encore gets seal of gaming commission approval
FOUR DAYS AFTER its grand opening, Greater Boston’s first casino won a conditional operating certificate on Thursday morning. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted unanimously to award the certificate that will […]
Posted inTransportation
DeLeo ups T ante, pledges long-term fix
SAYING THE MBTA is “in crisis,” House Speaker Robert DeLeo said the House is willing to work with Gov. Charlie Baker on a short-term fix but remains focused on a […]
Posted inTransportation
After visit to derailment site, Baker changes course on MBTA
ONE NIGHT LAST week, Gov. Charlie Baker saw for himself the damage dealt to the Red Line’s signal system when a train went off the rails at the JFK/UMass Station […]
Posted inGambling
Boston reports moderate traffic from Encore opening
A BIG CROWD turned out for the opening of Encore Boston Harbor on Sunday, but there is no official word yet on how attendance matched up against the casino’s prediction […]
Posted inEconomy
Was Stop & Shop strike a turning point?
THE STOP & SHOP STRIKE earlier this year cost the company about $100 million and resulted in a contract the workers could agree to, but whether the power on display […]
Posted inGambling
Wynn Resorts formally opens for business
WITH AN AUDACIOUS midmorning fireworks display, an emotional speech from the mayor of Everett, and a crowd of thousands lined up in the hot sun, Encore Boston Harbor threw open […]
Posted inTransportation
Red Line delays to last through summer
IT WILL BE a summer of frustratingly long commutes for Red Line riders. Ten days after a Red Line train derailed and crashed into three bungalows of signal equipment, MBTA […]
Posted inPolitics
Wu plans to press fare issue in July 1 system-wide canvass
LEANING INTO THE political potential of MBTA rider outrage, Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu plans to organize volunteers to canvass straphangers on July 1, the day a roughly 6 percent […]
Posted inTransportation
Massport narrows CEO field to 2
This story has been updated. THE MASSACHUSETTS PORT AUTHORITY will decide between finalists Brian Golden and Lisa Wieland as the next chief executive of the quasi-public agency that oversees three […]
Posted inEnvironment
House aims to pass Greenworks bill this summer
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S bill to fund climate change adaptation would allow the state to assist private property owners and it includes a revenue source – two features that are not […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA GM apologizes, says ‘tangible benefits’ near
MBTA GENERAL MANAGER STEVE POFTAK stressed Friday that T officials are working as quickly and safely as possible to assess and fix the damage to the Red Line, and he […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Ortiz case showcases Dominican justice system
THE MEDICAL CARE DAVID ORTIZ is receiving in Boston as he recovers from a gunshot wound is some of the best in the world, but the same superlatives cannot be […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker: Repairs to T must not shut out riders
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER says the MBTA faces real constraints on how quickly it can repair and upgrade the region’s transit system, but Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu says a historic […]
Posted inGambling
Wynn has plan for traffic, but yachts could be problem
ENCORE BOSTON HARBOR, which won approval Wednesday to open for testing next week, is plunking down big bucks to try to avoid exacerbating the region’s notorious gridlock when it opens […]