politicians and politics are like fish and water. It’s what they constantly swim in, a choice they made, and it can sometimes be suffocating for them and their families.
Gintautas Dumcius
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook: Healey’s evolution, Ryan’s slow probe, Wu train
Gov. Maura Healey isn’t the first politician to flip-flop on a policy issue, and voters are typically less inclined to punish a pol if the flop is in the direction they agree with.
Posted inTransportation
Wu in talks with MBTA on city-funded commuter rail stop
Talks with the MBTA continued even as the O’Bryant plan fell apart. Appearing on WBUR and GBH Radio in the last week, Wu said there is a commitment from the T on the new station, though based on a statement from the MBTA, the agreement does not yet appear to be finalized.
Posted inBallot Questions
Ballot question opponents warn tipping will go away
The ballot question, which must still clear several hurdles before it goes before voters in November, would raise the state’s minimum wage for tipped workers from $6.75 to $15, while allowing them to keep tips but revamping the system by allowing cooks and restaurant office workers to share the tip revenue.
Posted inEducation
Rachael Rollins lands job at Roxbury Community College
Rachael Rollins is working on a new program geared towards formerly incarcerated people, with a focus on women of color.
Posted inEconomy
Nonprofit led by Californian behind tipped wage ballot question
One Fair Wage is organizing in more than a dozen states to eliminate what it calls the sub-minimum wage. The organization’s website says its members include nearly 300,000 restaurant and service workers and nearly 3,000 restaurant employers.
Posted inPolitics
Political notebook: ‘Java with Jimmy’ now Uber mouthpiece…Point person Peisch…Murphy’s law quest…Cain for Senate
‘Java with Jimmy’ now an Uber cheerleader Jimmy Hills, host of the online show “Java with Jimmy,” sits somewhere between a journalist and a talk show host. His episodes feature […]
Posted inPolitics
The bomb-tossing bean counter
Not even halfway through her first term as auditor, Diana DiZoglio has essentially returned to the campaign trail. She is lobbying voters, and emptying her own campaign coffers, to support an initiative she wants to put before voters this November.
Posted inCourts
Healey’s former romantic partner poised to ascend to SJC
The Governor’s Council paid relatively little attention to Supreme Judicial Court nominee Gabrielle Wolohojian’s past romantic relationship with Gov. Maura Healey, focusing instead on artificial intelligence’s threat to the judiciary and a court case involving a dog named Peppermint.
Posted inState Government
Short takes: The House departure lounge fills up
Several of the lawmakers hold leadership positions and committee chairmanships, prompting some musing inside the building, and out, about what the departures mean in the context of House Speaker Ron Mariano’s future.
Posted inGovernment
Drop in office values, caused by remote work, is ‘eroding’ Boston’s tax base, report says
Boston could be facing a huge revenue hole over the next five years if it doesn’t respond to the cratering value of office buildings from the rise of remote work, according to a new report.
Posted inHousing
Is a motel room affordable housing? This city is arguing yes.
In a case that shows the lengths communities will go to stop a housing project from getting built, Methuen officials are trying to leverage the state’s use of a Days Inn motel as an emergency shelter for homeless families to block a development proposal to build 300 units of rental housing on parcel straddling its border with Dracut.
Posted inState Government
Short takes: Everett soccer stadium in legislative limbo
A bid to ease the way for The Kraft Group to build a professional soccer stadium in Everett for the New England Revolution is caught in legislative limbo on Beacon Hill.
Posted inCourts
Former alderman gets two years in federal bribery case that rocked Somerville and Medford
An attempt to bribe Medford’s police chief –- part of a scheme to obtain approvals for a marijuana company that would earn him a six-figure yearly payout – earned former Somerville attorney and alderman Sean O’Donovan a two-year federal prison sentence
Posted inCourts
Healey nominates former partner for state’s highest court
A New York native, Gabrielle Wolohojian was appointed to the Appeals Court by Gov. Deval Patrick, and has authored 900 decisions while sitting on 2,700 appeals since 2008.
Posted inEducation
Short takes: Newton lawmakers silent on teachers strike
One might think the Newton teachers strike is the kind of pressing issue that the city’s state lawmakers would speak out about. Think again.
Posted inEducation
Teachers union’s MCAS ballot question draws opponents
The Massachusetts Teachers Association, which is leading a ballot question campaign to end the MCAS graduation requirement for high schools students, has drawn an opponent, as an official with a Boston education reform nonprofit recently formed a ballot committee to oppose ending the requirement.
Posted inHealth Care
Shovels out for secretive Steward
Troubles at Steward Health Care, the state’s third-largest hospital system, have set off alarm bells among health care regulators and elected officials
Posted inPolitics
The last of Somerville’s old guard
Corruption cases, and attempted prosecutions, were once regular headlines in Somerville. The recent bribery conviction of a one-time local power broker, with echoes of another era, came and went without much fanfare.
Posted inTransportation
Short takes: Developing a new system of transportation financing
“We’re not going to be dodging potential options just for political reasons. That’s what’s going to be different this time,” said Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt.
Posted inTransportation
Wu backs bill cutting commuter rail fares in Boston
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu called the proposed commuter rail fare cuts “low-hanging fruit that is there to get more people onto reliable public transportation, ease congestion, and help the flow of traffic as we continue to fix the larger system.”
Posted inPolitics
Donors to DiZoglio ballot campaign mostly hail from business sector
The ballot question is championed by state Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who is in effect launching another statewide campaign after jumping from a state Senate seat to the auditor’s office in 2022.
Posted inGovernment
Healey pitches new revenue source for cities and towns: vehicle surcharge
Cities and towns would be given the ability to levy a new surcharge atop the motor vehicle excise tax and bypass Beacon Hill on issuing liquor licenses.
Posted inEconomy
Short takes: Healey backs Everett soccer stadium
The New England Revolution’s bid to bring a soccer stadium to Everett’s waterfront appears to have a new center forward who could help them score a win: Gov. Maura Healey.