Milford Police Chief Thomas O’Loughlin has voiced support for issuing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, but CommonWealth magazine’s Bellwether project indicates residents of his own town are split on the […]
Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl oversees the production of content and edits reports, along with carrying out his own reporting with a particular focus on transportation, energy, and climate issues.
He previously worked at the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper.
Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Posted inEconomy
A ballpark assessment
can you believe it? Fenway Park, America’s most beloved ballpark, home to the Green Monster and Pesky’s Pole, and sacred ground to Red Sox Nation, is worth less than some […]
Posted inPolitics
Stop pushing paper
More than 4,500 state and local officials file statements of financial interest each year with the State Ethics Commission. The ethics forms are supposed to be readily available to the […]
Posted inEconomy
Feds taking aim at real estate fees; BRA seeks guidance
A novel real estate fee long collected by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and more recently by some private developers, is coming under fire from the federal government.The Federal Housing Finance […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Is open space in danger?
Mass Audubon knows how to grab your attention. In a recent fundraising letter, the state’s largest conservation group says the state is losing more than 8,000 acres of open space […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Movie mystery
Each year the Massachusetts Department of Revenue is required to release a report analyzing the financial impact of the state’s film tax credit. The first report, covering 2006 and 2007, […]
Posted inPolitics
Probation chief kept detailed records on who backed job applicants
The patronage probe at the state’s Probation Department has taken a startling new turn, with agency officials disclosing to investigators that they maintain a database of people who contact the […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Uncategorized
Parks crisis leads to ballot question
California’s budget crisis has taken a terrible toll on the state’s park system, with more than half of the state’s parks partially closed or struggling with deep service cuts. But […]
Posted inEnvironment
Net metering windfall in works?
A state program designed to help homeowners and municipalities launch renewable energy projects is getting a makeover on Beacon Hill that could give private wind power developers a financial bonanza. […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Uncategorized
Convention center tries hand at banking
The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority jumped into the banking business this week, offering an unusual $18 million loan to a private company seeking to build a new Boston Tea Party […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Download
Wind subsidy tucked inside spending bill
By Bruce Mohl A special interest wind power subsidy is tucked inside a spending bill that is the focus of a power struggle between Democrats and Republicans on Beacon Hill. […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Wind bill aids Kingston project
The push and pull over wind turbine siting legislation in the Massachusetts Senate revolves around issues of policy and politics, but it’s also about money. A little-noticed section of the […]
Posted inPolitics
New probation officer donated to senator
The state’s probation commissioner was suspended in May for allegedly handing out jobs and promotions to people who donated money to politicians on Beacon Hill, but his replacement is doing […]
Posted inPolitics
SJC denies bid to quash subpoena
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court today denied a motion by a high-ranking House lawmaker to quash an independent counsel’s subpoena in connection with an investigation into patronage at the state’s […]
Posted inPolitics
SJC hears arguments on Petrolati subpoena
The attorney for Rep. Thomas Petrolati said there has been no decision on whether his client will testify under oath if the Supreme Judicial Court rejects his bid to quash […]
Posted inPolitics
Petrolati renews bid to quash subpoena
Rep. Thomas Petrolati today renewed his efforts to quash a subpoena issued by the independent counsel investigating patronage at the Probation Department, saying it raises “delicate separation of powers and […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Gordon defends Cape Wind
It’s taken 10 years, but Jim Gordon, the president of Cape Wind, says the 130-turbine offshore wind project is about to clear its final regulatory hurdle. A supremely confident Gordon […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Uncategorized
Fore your eyes only
A nonprofit arm of the city of Boston is continuing to lose money operating two municipal golf courses.In the past, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and other city officials have insisted […]
Posted inPolitics
Gubernatorial debate not very informative
The first televised debate of the governor’s race was a triumph of sound bites over substance. The format of the debate on WBZ-TV (Channel 4) was designed to get the […]
Posted inPolitics
Rep. Petrolati, Ware in probation standoff
The court-ordered probe into patronage practices at the state’s Probation Department has spawned a tense legal standoff over a subpoena issued to a top House leader and raised fears of […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
State probes likely on Winn-financed donations
The federal investigation of illegal campaign contributions to four Massachusetts congressmen arranged by a top executive at WinnCompanies is likely to trigger probes by state officials into similar donations made […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Back Story
The ins and outs of the Cape Wind debate
The story line from Monday’s gubernatorial debate was Gov. Deval Patrick defending Cape Wind in the face of strong opposition from his three rivals, including, surprisingly, the candidate of the […]
Posted inPolitics
Ethics OK’d hiring of O’Brien’s daughter
The state Ethics Commission issued an advisory opinion in 2006 that said a subordinate of Probation Commissioner Jack O’Brien could hire O’Brien’s daughter as long as he fully disclosed the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Coakley, auto insurers headed for a nasty fight
Trouble is brewing in the state’s auto insurance industry.Two years ago insurance company officials convinced the Patrick administration to let each firm set its own rates rather than having state […]