A correction has been added to this story. THE LATEST NUMBERS on diversity in state government indicate a positive trend overall with some areas performing better than others. Government agencies […]
Colman M. Herman
Posted inHealth Care
Companion ads stir concerns, pushback
“ADULTS 75 yrs and older — Need a ride to your vaccine?” read the headline of the Craigslist ad. The ad was one of many popping up on websites a […]
Posted inOpinion
Push for as much transparency as possible
UMASS AMHERST political science professor Raymond La Raja argues in an opinion piece for CommonWealth that transparency in the legislative process is often not a good thing. Say what? La […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA offers 2 employees ‘sign-on bonuses’
A correction has been added to this story concerning the information regarding Angel Pena. THE MBTA has begun offering so-called “sign-on bonuses” to attract some employees to join the transit […]
Posted inTransportation
T general manager receives $20,800 bonus
MBTA GENERAL MANAGER Steve Poftak, who receives a base salary of $324,800 a year, recently received a bonus of $20,800 for 2019. Based on pre-established performance goals, Poftak was eligible […]
Posted inTransportation
T far more forgiving than DCR on rents
THE STATE’S TWO largest landowners – the MBTA and the Department of Conservation and Recreation – are both forgiving rent of some of their tenants during the coronavirus pandemic, but […]
Posted inUncategorized
Healey not saying why she didn’t join Apple lawsuit
ATTORNEY GENERAL Maura Healey is refusing to say why she never joined a large coalition of attorneys general who sued Apple and recently won a $113 million legal settlement, which […]
Posted inUncategorized
Ashkenazy settles up with Boston
The game of chess between the city of Boston and the operator of Faneuil Hall Marketplace took an unusual turn Tuesday, as the Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. paid what it owes […]
Posted inEconomy
Faneuil Hall Marketplace operator disputes city’s claim
The operator of Faneuil Hall Marketplace is disputing the city of Boston’s claim that it has failed to provide financial relief to its local merchants. The head of the Boston […]
Posted inEconomy
Boston threatening to evict Faneuil Hall Market landlord
BOSTON OFFICIALS are threatening to evict the company that leases Faneuil Hall Marketplace for failing to make a $2.1 million payment to the city – a hardball move that comes […]
Posted inUncategorized
Nonprofits keep making in-lieu-of-tax payments to Boston
BOSTON’S MEDICAL, educational, and cultural nonprofit institutions have taken a huge financial hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, but most of them continued to make voluntary tax payments to the city […]
Posted inUncategorized
One way of dealing with bad PR
DR. ELAD ANTER, or someone impersonating him, tried to make links to a state medical board disciplinary action against him and a CommonWealth news story about that action disappear from […]
Posted inPolitics
Galvin tones down his name-dropping
IN THE FACE of criticism from the State Ethics Commission, Secretary of State William Galvin has cut down on promoting himself by name in the informational voting material he prepares […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
While BPD investigates, employees collect $2.5m
THE BOSTON POLICE Department has paid out $2.5 million in salary and benefits to the 18 employees who are currently on administrative leave while the agency investigates alleged wrongdoing by […]
Posted inEducation
17 Boston school officials paid $762,000 in settlements
IN AN APPARENT EFFORT to stave off potential lawsuits for wrongful termination or to just cushion departures, Boston Public School officials shelled out $762,000 over a nearly two-year period for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Galvin mixes public service, promotion
AN ELDERLY MAN speaks dispiritedly on a TV public service announcement about having been a victim of financial fraud. But his frown quickly morphs into a big smile as he […]
Posted inEconomy
Faneuil Hall tenants, landlord in standoff
THE LANDLORD AND TENANTS at Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston seem to be at a standoff, with the landlord refusing tenant demands for more modifications of the existing lease agreements […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Boston granting relief to businesses that pay rent to city
WITH THE PANDEMIC shutdown wreaking havoc on hundreds of businesses across Boston, city officials are stepping up to provide relief to one group of enterprises with a direct tie to […]
Posted inEconomy
Faneuil Hall merchants demand more rent relief
MERCHANTS AT Faneuil Hall Marketplace, devastated by months with no income during the coronavirus shutdown and now seeing only a trickle of business return after their July 1 reopening, are […]
Posted inOpinion
Meet the new public records law – same as the old one
OVER THREE YEARS have gone by since the Commonwealth’s much-heralded overhaul of the Public Records Law went into effect in 2017. Regrettably, the old vexing problems nonetheless still persist. That’s […]
Posted inUncategorized
Ureña demands $265 for expense records
FRANCISCO URENA, the state secretary of veterans’ services, is demanding $265 to produce one year of his expense records. The general counsel for the veterans’ agency, Stuart Ivimey, said the […]
Posted inUncategorized
All sorts of reasons for not wearing a mask
JOE BIDEN on Tuesday called President Trump a “fool, an absolute fool” for “stoking deaths” by implying that wearing a mask in public to combat the spread of the COVID-19 […]
Posted inUncategorized
Regulator: Enough is enough with record requests
STATE REGULATORS are starting to say enough is enough when it comes to people who file an unusually large number of public records requests. Rebecca Murray, the state’s supervisor of […]
Posted inUncategorized
Clean Energy Center’s financial woes continue to mount
THE MASSACHUSETTS CLEAN ENERGY CENTER paid two outside law firms $2.3 million to defend it in a lawsuit the agency eventually lost and ultimately settled for $20.8 million. Both the […]