STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE REVIVING AN EFFORT that stalled under his predecessor, Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday proposed legislation that would give local officials control over the number of liquor licenses that can be handed out to bars and restaurants in their communities. The liquor license proposal, an economic development idea that faltered in the […]
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Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
The trauma of everyday terror
It’s the sheer randomness of the violence that sends such shivers. One minute people are blithely going about their business without a care; the next they are in the grip of utter terror, wondering as bullets fly if these are their final moments. That undoubtedly captures the feelings of those trapped at a San Bernardino […]
Posted inGambling, Uncategorized
Walsh body language: Time to move on
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH sounded on Friday morning like someone who was about to give up his nasty court fight against the Wynn Resorts casino in Everett, but he said he needed more time before making a final decision. In a brief meeting with reporters in his office lobby, the mayor said he had not […]
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Net metering is not a subsidy
CONTRARY TO UTILITY ASSERTIONS, net metering is not a subsidy. It’s mechanism that allows solar owners to receive credit, similar to rollover minutes on a cell phone plan, for power they feed into the grid. In Massachusetts, the Department of Public Utilities has determined the value of solar power to be near retail electricity rates. S […]
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Freedom’s just another word for sponsorship
What do you get when you mix patriotism with the free market? A whole lot of outrage. Those heart-tugging moments when a soldier in fatigues stands on the Fenway dugout between innings and waves, or in Foxborough before a Patriots game when a Marine in full uniform is shown on the giant screen in Gillette Stadium […]
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Is Grand Prix of Boston about to hit the wall?
If it feels like we’ve seen this movie before. Mayor Marty Walsh gets out in front in support of the idea of a big sports event coming to Boston. Other government officials, whose buy-in is needed, seem cool to the idea. The blowback starts about the lack of any public vetting of the idea, with […]
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Letters, Fall 2015
INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING NOT WORKING IN CAMBRIDGE James Sutherland’s article on Instant Runoff Voting (“A Democracy Worth Paying For,” Summer ’15) points out that turnouts in Cambridge run higher than in Boston, but that’s not particularly useful information. A comparison with teeth is Cambridge’s 72-year history of IRV-style voting, where you will find decades-long, steadily […]
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Patrick Kennedy comes clean
Patrick Kennedy wears his heart on his sleeve, his manner far more confessional than calculating. That said, his timing couldn’t be better. The youngest child of Ted Kennedy has written a book that pulls back the curtain on the painful damage done by addiction in his family at a time when the scourge of drug […]
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Watching Teamsters reruns
Federal charges of strong-arming film producers to force them to hire local Teamster drivers. Threats of violence and vandalism to send a message to nonunion production companies. Ties to an incumbent administration that allegedly intervenes on behalf of Local 25. The current indictment of members of Charlestown-based Teamsters Local 25? Yes, but also echoes of the […]
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DCF continues to struggle
Ten years ago, Haleigh Poutre arrived at a Westfield hospital with grievous injuries inflicted by her aunt (who was also her adoptive mother) and stepfather. The 11-year-old was nearly removed from life support but rallied and recovered. The Worcester Telegram recently followed up on the Poutre case. Now 21 and living with her adoptive family in western […]