THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE paid $262,000 to a Boston law firm in 2013 and 2014 for work on ethics investigations. House officials are declining further comment on how the money was […]
The Back Story
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
The price of leadership
CORRECTION: Several corrections were made to the original version of this story, all of them dealing with the pay of leadership positions in the House. Specifically, Rep. Jonathan Hecht’s leadership […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Should electric ratepayers pay for gas pipelines?
THERE SOON MAY be a new charge on your electric bill for natural gas pipeline construction. The novel idea first surfaced last summer as the six New England states began […]
Posted inOpinion, The Back Story, Transportation
Five takes on the T
EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT the collapse of the T and wondering whether, to borrow a phrase from departing GM Beverly Scott, even God Jr. could get the trains running on time […]
Posted inEducation, The Back Story
Is state takeover of Holyoke schools coming?
IN 2012, THE chronically low-performing Lawrence school system became the first district put into state receivership under a 2010 education law that gives the state sweeping new powers over struggling […]
Posted inThe Back Story
No good deed goes unpunished
Good deeds, they say, are their own rewards and a Dorchester charter school teacher may soon have to settle for that. Nicole Bollerman, a third-grade teacher at UP Academy Dorchester, […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Back Story
Steward rules
STEWARD HEALTH CARE is changing the rules of hospital oversight in Massachusetts and there is little state regulators are doing about it. In November, Steward announced it was closing the […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, The Back Story
A warning on natural gas
JUST MINUTES BEFORE Charlie Baker became governor, the Patrick administration released a $250,000 study suggesting winter electricity prices are likely to remain very high for the next four years and […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
From Lottery games to Olympic Games
One of the biggest areas of concern when it comes to the potential of an Olympics in Boston, among both proponents and opponents of a Hub Games, is where to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
How pay reflects power on Beacon Hill
If anyone has doubts about the centralization of power in the Legislature, take a look at the special advisory commission’s recommendations on the pay of top elected officials. The commission […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, The Back Story
Patrick’s education-policy split personality
When the Boston Globe reported on its front page earlier this month on a brewing backlash against what critics say is an overemphasis on standardized testing in Massachusetts schools, the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Sweetheart deals?
The state Department of Conservation and Recreation is coming under fire yet again for leasing state land to private entities at below-market rates, but this time even one of the […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
DOT’s asphalt nightmare
State transportation officials are scrambling to justify a potentially costly flip-flop that could end up leaving the state with mile after mile of crumbling roads. Frank DePaola, the state’s highway […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Electricity impasse
Electricity prices are going to skyrocket this winter, and state officials are discovering it’s too late to do anything about it. National Grid, which purchases electricity for many of its […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Bottle bill debate misses big picture
Massachusetts is battling over an expanded bottle deposit law (Question 2 on the November ballot) while ignoring the much bigger recycling crisis looming on the horizon. The state is quickly […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Back Story
Connector cost debate
The state’s health care exchange website is about to return from the dead, but the cost of resuscitation remains far from clear. Gov. Deval Patrick earlier this week said the […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Look who’s getting tax credits
The amount of film tax credits issued by the state plummeted in 2013. Some of the decline is undoubtedly due to paperwork timing issues, but the drop off is so […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
Modal shift is answer to reducing congestion
Second of four parts I remember sitting in the audience in a ballroom at the Copley Plaza Hotel in October 1999, listening to remarks from then-Turnpike Authority Chairman and Big […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
Time to get serious
First of four parts We have a transportation funding crisis in America, a crisis that gets played out on both the federal stage and in each of the 50 states. […]
Posted inGambling, The Back Story
Running the casino numbers
Judging from this week’s deliberations by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the high-stakes battle for a Greater Boston casino license may hinge on which company can give the greatest boost to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Checking Bump’s mileage
Every St. Patrick’s Day the state’s leading politicians flock to South Boston for a roast that features jokes, songs, and lots of laughs. Most of the pols view the event […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Brennan settlement not black and white
As Martha Coakley runs for governor, every decision she makes as attorney general seems to become campaign fodder for her opponents. Her defense of the Department of Children and Families, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
MA political fundraising plummets
The outside super PAC money now pouring into the Massachusetts governor’s race is only half of a rapidly changing equation behind how state elections are financed. The recent rise in […]
Posted inGambling, The Back Story
Tallying up the casino handouts
Casino handouts to local communities are becoming a hot issue in the competition between Mohegan Sun and Wynn Resorts for the Greater Boston casino license. Mohegan Sun is promising to […]
