IN THIS PERIOD of discontent with the Republican and Democratic nominees for president, many Massachusetts voters are talking about writing in their own candidate when they enter the voting booth […]
The Back Story
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
What’s Schilling’s game?
Curt Schilling is running. The question is for what. Schilling, the bomb-throwing righty on and off the mound, has made no secret of his desire to be the guy to […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
Which way on VMT?
MAYBE THE STATE Department of Transportation didn’t get the memo. In August, Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed a provision in a transportation bond bill directing the Transportation Department to seek federal […]
Posted inEducation, The Back Story
The charter funding debate
IN THE HIGH-STAKES battle over charter school expansion, the impact of charters on school finances has come front and center. Supporters of Question 2, which would allow up to 12 […]
Posted inGambling, The Back Story
House money
DOES THE NUMBER combination 23, 31, 42, 50, 57 mean anything to you? That was the million-dollar winner in the Powerball game from Sept 26, 2015, purchased at the American Legion […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Plan B for a pipeline
ONE OF THE BIG MYSTERIES on Beacon Hill is how Gov. Charlie Baker is going to accomplish one of his top remaining energy priorities – building a new natural gas […]
Posted inThe Back Story
‘Encampment’ moved off Boston Common
THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT last week evicted from the Boston Common a fairly large group of people who had been sleeping and hanging out for many weeks on the grass […]
Posted inGuns, The Back Story
AG’s gun communications lacking
Two weeks after Attorney General Maura Healey announced her crackdown on assault weapons sales, there is still confusion over how and when she issued her directive, whether she did or […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
MBTA parking probe referred to Healey
The MBTA’s months-long probe into the loss of revenue at T parking lots has been referred to Attorney General Maura Healey, a spokesman for the authority said. It’s unclear whether […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
No layoff clause angers T board
The folks at the MBTA are all about transparency these days, but on some issues they are as secretive as ever. One of those issues is the contract negotiations with […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Airbnb follows Uber playbook
FIRST UBER, NOW AIRBNB. The so-called sharing economy that went from zero to billions of dollars in the blink of an eye caught the State House off-guard, but it now […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Gambling, Politics, The Back Story
The oddball ballot question
One of the four questions certified for the November ballot is a political oddity. Most ballot question proponents are hungry for publicity, eager to get their point of view before […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Clean power will cost more
The push to add clean power resources to the region’s energy mix is going to drive up electricity prices, at least in the short term. Clean energy advocates have hinted that the state […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Utilities seek cut of hydro, wind contracts
Tucked inside the House energy bill is what industry folks call an adder, a special add-on fee paid by electric ratepayers to their utilities to compensate them for carrying out […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, The Back Story
Weld’s views ‘developing’ on criminal justice reform
WHEN HE RAN for governor in Massachusetts 26 years ago, Republican Bill Weld cut a more moderate profile on many social issues than his Democratic opponent, John Silber – a […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Harshbarger says democracy needs a shot in the arm
SCOTT HARSHBARGER MAY have the right diagnosis, but it’s less clear that he’s landed on the cure. The former attorney general and one-time Democratic nominee for governor says democracy is […]
Posted inEducation, The Back Story
The ‘third way’ in education
POLARIZATION AND TRENCH WARFARE, the partisan watchwords these days in Washington, have also come to define education debates. In Massachusetts, as much as $30 million could be spent between now […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Solar cap clamor resurfacing already
It’s starting again. A little over a month ago, Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a bill that lifted the cap on solar net metering credits, making it possible for […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Double-whammy for Gateway Cities
CLARK UNIVERSITY IN WORCESTER this week unveiled a series of new data profiles suggesting Gateway Cities are being hit with a real estate double-whammy: housing prices that are relatively low […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, The Back Story
The gateway debate over marijuana
CHRIS LOWE, A 41-year-old carpenter on Martha’s Vineyard, has smoked pot since his early 20s, both legally and illegally. When he lived in Montana, he had a certificate to grow, sell, […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Hunting the source of leaks
Ralph Gants, the chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, asked the attorney general’s office, the State Ethics Commission, and the US Justice Department on Nov. 9 to investigate whether […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Rent Faneuil Hall for $500 a day
The city of Boston is renting out historical Faneuil Hall at bargain-basement rates of $250 to $500 a day, a fraction of what function halls elsewhere around town charge. Democratic […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
And when we get behind closed doors …
Something highly unusual is happening up on Beacon Hill. A legislative conference committee, a group of six lawmakers tasked with finding common ground between the House and Senate on a […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Inside the solar negotiations
A legislative conference committee trying to bridge a philosophical gap between the House and Senate on solar power is making progress, but some new stumbling blocks are emerging. Sources familiar […]
