IT’S THE LONGEST running tragicomedy on the Boston area political stage. We desperately need to build more housing to accommodate growth and temper a price run-up that puts home ownership out of reach for thousands. Everyone seems to agree on that. Yet no one can seem to break the logjam — or jams — that […]
Politics
Posted inThe Download
Housing blues is long-running lament
It’s the longest running tragicomedy on the Boston area political stage. We desperately need to build more housing to accommodate growth and temper a price run-up that puts home ownership out of reach for thousands. Everyone seems to agree on that. Yet no one can seem to break the logjam — or jams — that […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Seth Moulton and the shifting sands of polls
POLLING IS A SNAPSHOT in time. When times change, polls are a time capsule of the way it used to be. Perhaps no one better exemplifies the shifting sands of polls right now than Seth Moulton, who has led the apparently unsuccessful charge to block Nancy Pelosi from returning as Speaker of the House. The North […]
Posted inPolitics
Globe to Warren: Just say no
IF ELIZABETH WARREN wants some encouragement for what has seemed a likely presidential run, she’ll have to look beyond the dominant paper in her home state. The Boston Globe runs out an editorial pouring ice cold water on a would-be Warren campaign. It comes in the wake of former governor Deval Patrick’s announcement that he won’t […]
Posted inPolitics
House, in informal session, passes Grid legislation
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE, in a sparsely attended informal session on Thursday, approved legislation that would extend unemployment assistance for the 1,250 locked-out workers of National Grid or any other utility that locks out its employees. Typically, only noncontroversial issues are taken up in informal sessions. But the Republicans in the House, who held the bill […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Grid hearing had one-sided feel
Legislative hearings are supposed to be fact-finding missions – a bill comes before a committee, proponents and opponents testify, and lawmakers ask questions to understand the implications of the proposed legislation. But hearings can also serve as the backdrop to rally support for a cause, more of a set-piece for impassioned political theater than an effort to understand complicated legislation. The latter role was very much […]
Posted inPolitics
Could Wisc. lame-duck power grab happen here?
The stunning, lame-duck power grab this week by the Wisconsin legislature would be far more difficult to pull off in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Legislature operates under a system of rules that gives lawmakers nearly a half-year off while they campaign for reelection. During that six-month period, the Legislature meets in what it calls informal sessions, where […]
Posted inThe Download
Could Wisc. lame-duck power grab happen here?
The stunning, lame-duck power grab this week by the Wisconsin legislature would be far more difficult to pull off in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Legislature operates under a system of rules that gives lawmakers nearly a half-year off while they campaign for reelection. During that six-month period, the Legislature meets in what it calls informal sessions, where […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Big question for lawmakers: When will downturn come?
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE DESPITE A STRONG ECONOMY, last year’s $1 billion budget surplus, and revenue collections that are outperforming expectations so far this year, the potential for an economic slowdown and future recession loomed as the budget-writing process for next fiscal year kicked off on Wednesday. At an annual Ways and Means Committee hearing, […]
Posted inOpinion
Paul Tsongas showed way to civility
FORTY YEARS AGO, Paul Tsongas was elected United States senator from Massachusetts. It was a time before laptops or cell phones. This was a time of only three national news networks, cable news was yet to be born, news cycles lasted a week, or at least several days, the only way you could read the […]