LIKE MANY MAYORS, I am often faced with the choice of investing taxpayer dollars to address immediate needs or to make investments whose benefits will be realized only in the long […]
Government
Posted inGuns
Markey in DC, moms in Mass. push anti-gun violence efforts
ANOTHER YEAR, another mounting tally of mass shootings, and US Sen. Ed Markey was once again standing outside the Capitol arguing for funding to study gun violence. In 1996, a […]
Posted inState Government
Mariano says state can afford another tax cut package
THE PROSPECTS for passage of a new tax reform package gained momentum on Thursday as House Speaker Ron Mariano said the chamber will soon unveil a series of tax cuts, […]
Posted inHealth Care
State braces for MassHealth dislocation
AS THE STATE prepares to drop hundreds of thousands of people from the MassHealth insurance program, government and community leaders are hoping for a smooth year-long process – but bracing […]
Posted inHousing, State Government
Should state dollars be used to jumpstart market-rate housing construction?
THERE IS BROAD agreement that Massachusetts desperately needs to build more housing, but should state government be subsidizing the construction of market-rate units? That question is at the heart of […]
Posted inPolitics, State Government
Mariano to DiZoglio: pound sand
IN A SHARPLY WORDED letter, Speaker Ron Mariano told state Auditor Diana DiZoglio her plan to audit the House of Representatives is “entirely without legal support or precedent” and that […]
Posted inHealth Care
For Affordable Care Act at 13, reversals of fortune
TODAY MARKS THE Affordable Care Act’s 13th birthday since its signing by President Obama on March 23, 2020, a landmark moment that our current president famously noted at the time with […]
Posted inHealth Care
Healey warns pharmacies to keep abortion meds stocked
WITH ACCESS TO a widely-used abortion medication on the line, Massachusetts is trying to walk and chew gum at the same time – warning local pharmacies that they must continue supplying […]
Posted inHealth Care, State Government
Santiago vows to ‘rebuild trust’ in veterans’ services
JON SANTIAGO knows the pandemic left Massachusetts looking askance at its veterans’ services after scores of COVID deaths amid scandals over mismanagement at two long-term care facilities for veterans. Reforming […]
Posted inGovernment
Arroyo wants to ban sale of ‘nips’ in Boston
IT COULD BE the shot ban heard ‘round the state. Fed up with thousands of tiny booze bottles littering his district, and concerned about the public health impact of a product […]
Posted inEconomy
Chambers of commerce fear not being heard, band together
TEN OF THE state’s regional chambers of commerce are concerned they are not being heard on Beacon Hill, so they are banding together to speak with one louder voice. James […]
Posted inOpinion, State Government
Shining some light on state government
COMMON CAUSE MASSACHUSETTS is committed to fighting for a more transparent and open government. That’s why we’re celebrating Sunshine Week, which just concluded, by shining a light on ways Massachusetts […]
Posted inTransportation
For now, slow zones on the T the new normal
ONE-QUARTER OF the entire MBTA subway system will still be subject to more-sluggish-than-usual travel once the agency lifts end-to-end speed restrictions on the Green Line. More than a week after […]
Posted inTransportation
Will Healey go inside or outside for State Police and MBTA hires?
IF LEADERSHIP IS key to righting a listing state agency, nothing Gov. Maura Healey does in the coming weeks may be as important as her selection of new leaders to […]
Posted inEconomy
Mass., California moving in different directions on gig worker issue
MASSACHUSETTS AND CALIFORNIA for now are on very different tracks when it comes to classifying gig workers as independent contractors or employees. Whether the question is tangled in west coast courts […]
Posted inOpinion
Digital access remains a problem
MORE THAN 1 MILLION people in Massachusetts don’t have a fixed broadband internet connection. More than 600,000 don’t have a desktop, laptop, or any computer at home. And many lack […]
Posted inHealth, State Government, State House News Service
Healey walking back vaccine mandate for state workers
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SOME OF THE LAST vestiges of the COVID-19 emergency declaration will end in May when Gov. Maura Healey will lift the modified public health emergency and […]
Posted inEducation
Healey retaining Craven as education board chair
GOV. MAURA HEALEY, who vowed last year in her campaign launch to “continue with what’s working and fix what’s not” if elected, has decided the existing leadership of the state […]
Posted inHousing, State Government
Campbell warns municipalities MBTA zoning law not optional
MASSACHUSSETTS ATTORNEY General Andrea Campbell is wading into the MBTA communities dust-up, releasing an advisory Wednesday morning emphasizing that participating in the transit-oriented housing policy is not optional and raising the prospect […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, State Government
New DPU chair hails from West Virginia
TWO NEW COMMISSIONERS were appointed on Wednesday to the state Department of Public Utilities, one a West Virginia University law professor who wrote a book last year critical of that […]
Posted inEducation, Government, Opinion
Strengthening democracy takes compromise, consensus, and learning
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY is being tested every day. Now more than ever we need Americans to understand that democracy takes work. To strengthen our democracy we need every generation to develop […]
Posted inState Government
Hao dives from private sector into state government
A FEW YEARS after diving into the mosh pit at one of Nirvana’s last US performances, Yvonne Hao joined the high-powered consulting firm McKinsey. Her star shot up from there, […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, State Government
Prysmian seeks assurances before building Somerset plant
THE PRYSMIAN GROUP says it wants to push ahead with plans to open a manufacturing facility at Brayton Point in Somerset to serve the emerging offshore wind industry, but it […]
Posted inOpinion
DiZoglio’s audit of Legislature seems straight out of Hollywood
THE TIMING is perfect. Our new state auditor, Diana DiZoglio, is making good on a controversial campaign promise to audit the Legislature. Her investigation will not just be about its […]
