By Colman M. Herman THE CALL CAME late at night a few weeks ago. It was my niece. Given the hour, the news was bad of course. Her mother — […]
Colman M. Herman
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Franklin Cty. reports 3 more deaths
THREE MORE COVID-19 deaths were reported on Wednesday in tiny Franklin County, bringing its total to seven and solidifying its position as the Massachusetts county with the most deaths per […]
Posted inTransportation
Virus notes: MBTA fare revenue off $35m in March
MBTA OFFICIALS SAID on Wednesday that they expect fare revenue to fall as much as $35 million short of budget targets in March, but the transit authority is also being […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Boston construction grinds to halt
IN THE LATEST chapter in the near-total shutdown of the region, Mayor Marty Walsh announced that all construction projects in Boston would be halted as part of the all-out effort to […]
Posted inTransportation
T forgot raises for top 2 officials
THE MBTA FAILED to give its top two officials pay raises they were owed and no one, including the officials themselves, noticed the error until a reporter asked about them. […]
Posted inEducation
UMass’s Collins lists $67,743 in expenses for one year
THE CHANCELLOR of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester racked up $67,743 in expenses over the course of a year, much of it for air travel for himself […]
Posted inTransportation
Shuffle proposed for 4 of Boston’s parkways
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION wants to transfer four major parkways currently under the control of the Department of Conservation and Recreation over to the Department of Transportation. In an outside section […]
Posted inHealth Care
Ablow continues counseling despite license suspension
KEITH ABLOW, whose Massachusetts license to practice psychiatry was suspended last year by a state medical board that regarded him as “an immediate and serious threat to the public,” is […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Should private colleges open libraries to public?
LOCAL PRIVATE COLLEGES are divided on whether to open or close their libraries to the public. Harvard University, Northeastern University, and Emerson College don’t allow members of the public to […]
Posted inHealth Care
Board admonishes Beth Israel cardiologist
THE STATE MEDICAL BOARD recently disciplined a prominent cardiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for losing his temper and using disrespectful language while performing a complex procedure. The state […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Aquarium not making in-lieu-of-tax cash payments to Boston
THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM, suggesting nonprofit cultural institutions like itself are already contributing enough, says it won’t be making any in-lieu-of-tax cash payments to the city of Boston this fiscal […]
Posted inArts and Culture
DCR begins charging Community Boating rent
COMMUNITY BOATING INC., the nonprofit public sailing center located on the banks of the Charles River in Boston, is now paying rent to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. […]
Posted inTransportation
MetroWest RTA official spent $5,000 on lunches
THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE of the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority spent more than $5,000 on working lunches in fiscal 2019 – a level of expenditure that far exceeds what his counterparts […]
Posted inUncategorized
At Boston.gov, you don’t always get an answer
Boston.gov, the city of Boston’s official website, has the potential to make it quick and easy for citizens to get answers to questions, file complaints, and make requests for help […]
Posted inUncategorized
Overdue rents continue to rise at DCR
DEBT COLLECTION is becoming an even bigger problem at the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the agency has failed to follow through on a pledge to hire a […]
Posted inEducation
Boston paid $3.6M to winnow teachers from ‘excess pool’
IN A MOVE to cut costs and rid the school district of tenured teachers not getting hired for standard classroom positions, Boston quietly paid out about $3.6 million between 2013 […]
Posted inUncategorized
Bump lagging on required audits
STATE AUDITOR SUZANNE BUMP is way behind in conducting legally mandated audits of state agencies. The auditor is required by state law to audit 210 state agencies every three years […]
Posted inEducation
Boston superintendent gets super relocation allowance
INCOMING BOSTON school superintendent Brenda Cassellius signed a three-year contract with the city that provides some of the standard perks for a top-level hire, including reimbursement for moving expenses involved […]
Posted inUncategorized
Severance agreement turns into consulting contract
JOHN CHAPMAN, the former undersecretary of consumer affairs and business regulation in the Baker administration, seems to live a charmed life. The Republican landed his job in 2015, shortly after […]
Posted inUncategorized
DCR’s lax oversight of leases causing problems
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION’S lax oversight of Department of Conservation and Recreation property is costing the state money and wreaking havoc on one leaseholder trying to keep a carousel running in […]
Posted inUncategorized
Government gadfly extraordinaire
RONALD ALEXANDER of Wellesley says he files open meeting law complaints and public records requests as a hobby, but some think that hobby has morphed into an obsession. Alexander has […]
Posted inHealth Care
Prominent North Shore psychiatrist has medical license suspended
THE MEDICAL LICENSE of prominent North Shore psychiatrist Keith Ablow was suspended on Wednesday by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine based on multiple allegations of inappropriate sexual activity […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Ex-trooper reprimanded for CORI violations
MICHAEL SZYMANSKI, who was reprimanded this month by the state Board of Bar Overseers for improperly accessing criminal records when he was a state trooper, said many of his colleagues […]
Posted inGambling
Wynn Resorts on hook for $1.3m in legal fees
THE MASSACHUSETTS GAMING COMMISSION paid about $1.25 million to five outside law firms defending the agency and one of its top employees in a lawsuit brought by Steve Wynn, but […]