New from CommonWealth Beacon POLITICS: In the Political Notebook, CommonWealth Beacon reporters take stock of the campaign significance of a House roll call vote, note the inspector general’s increasing workload, […]
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The Download: Political Notebook: Eager to be counted — on largely symbolic vote
New from CommonWealth Beacon ELECTRICITY: A provision in the House-approved energy affordability bill would crack down on competitive electric suppliers, third-party companies that regulators have long alleged mislead consumers with […]
The Download: Tucked in House energy bill, a ‘big breakthrough’ on competitive energy suppliers
New from CommonWealth Beacon DATA CENTERS: Gov. Maura Healey’s big bet on the tech sector’s artificial intelligence boom is colliding with shifting politics around data centers as a key tax […]
The Download: Shifting politics around data centers scramble Healey AI push
New from CommonWealth Beacon BALLOT: A proposed ballot measure to change the way legislative stipends are doled out seems well-intentioned enough, but could create a host of unintended consequences, Chris […]
The Download: Immigration enforcement and declines in public school enrollment
New from CommonWealth Beacon IMMIGRATION IMPACTS: Schools across Massachusetts are grappling with shrinking enrollment that they say is likely connected to President Donald Trump’s ramped up immigration enforcement push. Hallie […]
Utility bills drive Beacon Hill climate politics and four more stories
The Saturday Send Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from CommonWealth Beacon that you may have missed. This week, Chris Lisinski does a deep dive […]
The Download: Mass. Senate asks top state court to examine constitutionality of legislative reform ballot questions
New from CommonWealth Beacon AFFORDABILITY: Five years ago, fighting climate change had so much momentum that even half of the Legislature’s Republicans voted in favor of ambitious decarbonization requirements. But […]
The Download: Ratepayer revolt: Has the affordability debate soured Mass. on climate commitments?
New from CommonWealth Beacon CHARTER SCHOOLS: The state’s highest court ruled that charter schools must comply with the state’s public records law, rejecting Mystic Valley Regional Charter School’s argument that […]
The Download: Healey’s shift toward nuclear energy raises affordability, feasibility questions
New from CommonWealth Beacon COMPETITIVENESS: Gov. Maura Healey’s top economic development official and state lawmakers musings at a recent budget hearing about affordability in the nation’s second-most expensive state centered […]
‘Frustration’ remains among lawmakers despite shrinking unemployment delays
New from CommonWealth Beacon NEW CODCAST: This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon senior reporter Jordan Wolman hosts a discussion about how rising utility bills became the chief political headache […]
The Download: How energy affordability in Massachusetts reached crisis mode
New from CommonWealth Beacon LAWSUIT: Democratic Party insiders are suing to block a proposed ballot question that would end partisan primaries in Massachusetts. If that measure passed, it could create […]
The Download: Salem, Quincy receiving millions in tax credits for Gateway Cities despite no longer qualifying for the designation
New from CommonWealth Beacon MBTA COMMUNITIES: Did the controversial MBTA Communities housing law impermissibly force towns to shell out money to devise carefully crafted multifamily zoning plans, or were any […]
Were MBTA Communities costs unfair, or a self-imposed expense?
New from CommonWealth Beacon Records: Lawmakers kicked off their review of the massive ballot-question field with trepidation about subjecting themselves to the public records law — plus another round of […]
The Download: Lawmakers and DiZoglio clash again – this time over public records reform
New from CommonWealth Beacon CLEANUP: Communities in western Massachusetts are split on the prospects of a landfill planned to hold sediment contaminated with low levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, […]
Housatonic Valley residents grapple with PCB disposal site planned for construction this spring
New from CommonWealth Beacon New Codcast: This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Hallie Claflin sits down with Department of Early Education and Care commissioner Amy Kershaw and Strategies […]
The Download: How ‘universal’ is universal pre-K?
New from CommonWealth Beacon OPINION: What totally predictable crisis will start in just five years? The doubling of the need for elder care. A dangerous demographic cliff lies just ahead, […]
The Download: ‘Couldn’t come at a better time’: Six Gateway Cities to get economic boost in downtown districts
New from CommonWealth Beacon MASS SAVE: House Democrats have passed a major energy bill that aims to cut rising utility costs that have inflamed an affordability crisis in the state […]
The Download: Often at odds, Mariano and Spilka united by ballot question frustration
New from CommonWealth Beacon LITERACY: Massachusetts is inching toward a major overhaul of literacy instruction that would require districts to use state-approved curricula including phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension, but some […]
The Download: Massachusetts is poised to shake up literacy instruction — and some educators don’t like it
New from CommonWealth Beacon ENERGY: Massachusetts Democrats are poised to vote on a controversial and sweeping energy package in the House on Thursday. The bill, which is intended to respond […]
The Download: House tees up sprawling energy package that would cut $1B from Mass Save
New from CommonWealth Beacon NEW CODCAST: Is the T spending too much or too little? That’s the question Chris Lisinski explores on this week’s episode alongside guests Jim Aloisi, a […]
The Download: ‘Administrative fat’ or ‘amnesia’: How much should we spend on the MBTA?
New from CommonWealth Beacon POLITICS: CommonWealth Beacon relaunches its Political Notebook feature with a trio of eye-catching items from Beacon Hill and beyond, including the next collision course between Boston […]
The Download: Political Notebook: Wu and Rooney on collision course, again
New from CommonWealth Beacon IMMIGRATION: It’s been more than three weeks since both Gov. Maura Healey and the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus each unveiled major legislation to blunt the […]
The Download: It’s anyone’s guess when Beacon Hill will agree on an immigration response
New from CommonWealth Beacon CHILD CARE: Gov. Maura Healey pledged that every family of a 4-year-old in a Gateway City would be able to enroll their child in preschool at […]
The Download: Healey has called for universal pre-K in every Gateway City by the year’s end. Providers say they won’t get there.
New from CommonWealth Beacon CROSS-BORDER CRITIQUES: From taxes to ICE detention, Govs. Maura Healey and Kelly Ayotte are trading cross-border barbs and turning each other into convenient political foils in […]