“Staff are required to work in person Monday to Friday with very few exceptions,” said Karissa Hand, a spokesperson for Gov. Maura Healey’s office. “The governor’s office is a fast-paced, high-demand work environment. We believe that having employees working in-person is beneficial to our efforts to meet these demands.
Colman M. Herman
Posted inCriminal Justice
Putting police officers to the test
Enrique Zuniga, the executive director of the commission, said recurring physical and mental health testing is needed to make sure police officers are up to their job. But he said getting a testing regime in place will be a “big lift.” He is leaning toward making the periodic testing voluntary rather than mandatory.
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook: Super PAC shower in SJC clerk race | Healey’s departure bonus
In filings with state campaign finance regulators, Chinese Progressive Political Action (CPPA) and Ironworkers Local 7’s super PAC reported spending $4,000 and $3,000 on their respective candidates of choice. CPPA, which has money to spend thanks to a $10,000 donation from the health care workers union SEIU 1199, is backing attorney Allison Cartwright, while the South Boston-based ironworkers union is supporting Boston Councilor Erin Murphy.
Posted inEconomy
Boston Common restaurant closing, city seeks new tenant
After spending $1 million in 2013 to transform a long-closed, octagon-shaped bathroom called a “comfort station” into a restaurant and then incurring total losses of $2.2 million over the past 11 years, the Florida-based Earl of Sandwich chain asked the city of Boston to allow it to shut down its Boston Common location at the end of next month, four years before its 15-year lease was due to expire.
Posted inPublic Records
Court orders DiZoglio to remove audit redactions
A judge ordered state Auditor Diana DiZoglio to release unredacted reports on two Massachusetts sheriffs’ departments, ruling that public disclosure of the information that had been blocked would not pose a risk to public safety or cybersecurity.
Posted inGovernment
Abolishing BPDA costing many employees their strong job protections
The loss of the job protections has received no public attention, but it has stirred anxiety among some of the affected employees, all of whom declined to comment for fear of alienating their new city bosses.
Posted inState Government
No evidence Fiandaca did any work during transition
“For the purposes of a smooth transition, it’s important that when there’s a departure of someone so senior that we be able to call upon that person,” Gov. Maura Healey said. “So it’s normal. You see that in a lot of departures.”
Posted inBy The Numbers
How do Mass. academic medical centers stack up?
According to an analysis of the data, the 10 academic medical centers in Massachusetts generally performed poorly compared to 200 other peer institutions around the country when it comes to patient outcomes and patient safety, but fared well in avoiding the overuse of certain “low-value” medical procedures.
Posted inEducation
Boston schools grudgingly release some sexual misconduct data
The numbers, which were released grudgingly after a six-month public records battle, begin to paint a picture of how prevalent sexual misconduct, bullying, and biased-based incidents are in the Boston schools.
Posted inHousing, State Government
Reckoning looms over ‘home equity theft’
IN LATE MAY, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of 94-year-old Geraldine Tyler, a Minnesota woman who did not get the surplus back after her condo was foreclosed on […]
Posted inState Government
State Police escorts sometimes involve political favors
JUST OVER A YEAR AGO, on a busy Monday afternoon around 2 p.m., the State Police shut down the heavily congested southbound lanes of the Southeast Expressway in Boston starting […]
Posted inState Government
DiZoglio defends releasing audits with redactions
THE STATE AUDITOR’S office regularly publishes its audits of state agencies, providing Beacon Hill officials with a review of their performance and giving the general public insight into how Massachusetts […]
Posted inState Government
Healey brings more women into governor’s office
GOV. MAURA HEALEY, the first woman to be elected governor of Massachusetts, is bringing more women into state government with her. According to the state’s diversity dashboard, Healey has 52 […]
Posted inGovernment, Politics, Public Records
Wu got use of MGM Music Hall at no charge
BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu spent $62,000 on her State of the City address at the end of January, but there was no cost to actually rent the venue where she […]
Posted inGovernment
Boston retailers fined total of $92,000 for consumer violations
SEVERAL BOSTON RETAIL CHAINS were hit with a total of $92,000 in fines in 2022 for violating state consumer protection laws, including provisions intended to assure that customers pay no […]
Posted inPublic Records
DAs ignore many requests for public records
A correction has been added to this story. THE STATE’S DISTRICT attorneys are sworn to uphold the law, but when it comes to one particular law – the Massachusetts Public Records […]
Posted inPublic Records, State Government
Healey won’t file legislation subjecting her office to records law
GOV. MAURA HEALEY said on Monday that she will not introduce legislation that would make her office subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. ”I don’t think I need to […]
Posted inPublic Records
Healey unveils new public records policy
GOV. MAURA HEALEY unveiled a new public records policy on her office’s website on Monday, but the wording leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Previous governors going all the way […]
Posted inGovernment
Boston Planning and Development Agency headed by volunteer
MOST PEOPLE do volunteer work at places such as hospitals, food banks, or shelters. But not Arthur Jemison — he takes his volunteer work to a whole new level, volunteering as […]
Posted inHealth Care
Hospitals criticized for ‘low-value’ procedures
THE LOWN INSTITUTE of Needham has long argued that hospitals perform way too many procedures it has identified as being low-value, meaning they offer little to no clinical benefit to […]
Posted inGovernment
Wu dialed back search for fire commissioner
WHEN BOSTON Mayor Michelle Wu went looking for a new police commissioner, the search was extensive. She assembled a five-member search committee headed by former Supreme Judicial Court justice Geraldine Hines. […]
Posted inPolitics
Galvin starts collecting diversity data on staff – and numbers are high
FOR YEARS, Secretary of State William Galvin ignored requests for diversity data on his staff, saying he didn’t collect the information. But this year, facing a primary challenge from Tanisha […]
Posted inEducation
Boston Public Schools withholds 2d part of Mission Hill School investigation
TWO INDEPENDENT reports commissioned by Boston Public Schools figured prominently in the decision to shut down the Mission Hill K-8 Pilot School in Jamaica Plain this summer, but officials are […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Boston police captain cleared of most charges
A BOSTON POLICE captain who was on paid leave for 2½ years for violating the rules of conduct returned to work earlier this year and then scored a major victory […]