THOSE WHO BELIEVE the region needs another natural gas pipeline are saying they have found a new convert – the same energy analyst who co-authored a 2015 report for Attorney General Maura Healey that was […]
The Back Story
Posted inThe Back Story
Globe’s day to dump news
IT IS KNOWN by reporters as the “Friday news dump,” that time, often in the warm weather months, that officials release bad news late in the afternoon on the verge […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Yawkey Way debate wasn’t really a debate
THE LONG and impassioned debate this spring over whether to change the name of Yawkey Way was largely an exercise in futility. Some of those participating in the four crowded […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Some transportation decisions put off until after election
It may be just a coincidence, but decisions on divisive transportation issues big and small seem to be getting put off until later this year – after the election. The […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Is Baker getting carried away with offshore wind?
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER may have gotten a little carried away on Wednesday talking about the “terrific pricing” the state is going to get for offshore wind power. “People are going […]
Posted inThe Back Story
How Capeless plotted succession plan
DAVID CAPELESS WORKED CLOSELY with Gov. Charlie Baker to choreograph the handoff of his job as Berkshire Country district attorney to a top aide, going so far as to pull […]
Posted inThe Back Story
What’s the best bet on wind?
A clarification was added to this story after its original publication. TWO OF THE THREE COMPANIES vying to build offshore wind farms off the coast of Massachusetts say it would […]
Posted inThe Back Story
More shots fired in pipeline wars
A group of natural gas pipeline opponents released a report on Thursday suggesting the operator of New England’s power grid used “unreasonable assumptions” when it concluded that rolling brownouts were […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Capuano, Pressley tout assets with soft touch
It usually goes without saying that candidates look to play to their strengths and highlight what makes them stand apart from rivals in a race. But sometimes those strengths have […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Ride-hailing apps rule at Logan
RIDE-HAILING APPS such as Uber and Lyft are now the leading way passengers get to and from Logan International Airport, an indication of how rapidly their popularity is growing. According […]
Posted inGambling
Steve Wynn’s residual influence
Steve Wynn is gone from the company that bears his name, but is his influence really gone? It’s a question the members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission are starting to […]
Posted inThe Back Story
The Herald’s phantom editorial page
BY ALL OUTWARD appearances, the Boston Herald continues to chug along under its new ownership, with its hard-working reporters churning out solid stories amidst the demoralizing departure of co-workers from […]
Posted inGambling
Mohegan, Wynn casinos rumble in the background
AS THE MASSACHUSETTS GAMING COMMISSION tries to decide whether Wynn Resorts remains suitable to retain its casino license, the two antagonists in the original battle for the license are sparring […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Spilka followed Rosenberg playbook
Sen. Karen Spilka of Ashland appears to have followed the playbook of the former Senate president, Stan Rosenberg, in pulling together the votes she needed to become the chamber’s next […]
Posted inThe Back Story
CT Lottery taps MA film tax credit
LEAF THROUGH THE LIST of recipients of Massachusetts film tax credits and one name comes up year after year: the Connecticut Lottery. One might think the lottery, created by the […]
Posted inPolitics
Connecting the lobbying dots
THE LEGISLATURE DIDN’T DO a whole lot last year, but the state’s top lobbying firms kept rolling along. ML Strategies, the lobbying arm of the Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Is Mass. shortchanged on clean energy procurement?
IT FELT LIKE CHRISTMAS on Wednesday in New Hampshire. The weather was delightful outside in Manchester, but inside the folks at Eversource Energy were acting like Santa Claus. They weren’t […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Special elections ready-made for insiders
THE CANDIDATES ARE off and running in the short sprint to the April 3 special election primary to fill the state Senate seat vacated in late January by Linda Forry. […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Find Mass. money – and then wait
If you have unclaimed property listed with the state treasurer’s office, don’t make plans to spend it – or even get it – any time soon. After years of urging people to […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Trump makes it easier to not pay interns
The Trump administration just made it a lot easier for for-profit employers to legally benefit from the work of interns and not have to pay them, according to new rules […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
NH regulators give thumbs down to Northern Pass
NORTHERN PASS, the $1.6 billion project selected by Massachusetts last week to bring a massive amount of hydro-electricity into New England from Quebec, failed to win a key permit from […]
Posted inThe Back Story
China says your recyclables don’t measure up
IT’S NOT APPARENT AT THE CURB yet, but recycling programs across Massachusetts are taking a big hit right now because of a new Chinese policy limiting the amount of contaminants […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Is anyone home at Millennium Tower?
WEALTHY PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD have bought condos at the ultra-luxury Millennium Tower in Downtown Crossing, but not many of them live there full time. City of Boston […]
Posted inThe Back Story
How John Henry ended up buying the Globe for nothing
IT TOOK A LITTLE LONGER than he planned, but John Henry managed to purchase the Boston Globe and a new printing facility in Taunton for nothing. Henry, a billionaire who […]
