STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE State Republican Party Chairwoman Kirsten Hughes called on Monday for a “thorough” and independent investigation into the campaign finances of Attorney General Martha Coakley following revelations of accounting problems with her federal campaign account and evidence that Coakley improperly used funds from the federal account for state political activities. Hughes told […]
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Against all odds, casino vote in doubt
In the gambling world, the house always wins. In the case of a bid to build a billion dollar casino in East Boston, the house is Suffolk Downs and its well-wired investors. Until recently, it was also Caesars Entertainment, and its bloviating CEO Gary Loveman. And it’s the mayor and the House speaker, a political […]
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It’s John Henry’s Globe and T&G
Red Sox principal owner John Henry officially took ownership of the Boston Globe and Worcester Telegram & Gazette from the New York Times Co. on Thursday, but we still don’t know what he plans to do with them. A Worcester judge cleared the way for a return to local ownership of the publications by lifting […]
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Rendering unto Caesars
Suffolk Downs entered the Massachusetts casino sweepstakes dripping with inevitability . It was the bidder that had the backing of Boston’s mayor. It was the track the House speaker used to hang around as a kid. The combination of gerrymandered-looking casino region boundaries and a special exemption from the state casino law’s municipal referendum requirement […]
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Dookhan sentencing debate
Prosecutors are seeking a five- to seven-year prison sentence for former state chemist Annie Dookhan if she pleads guilty to falsifying evidence. The sentence is far longer than the one to three years recommended under sentencing guidelines and the one year proposed by Dookhan’s attorney. “Given the motives for the defendant’s actions were selfish and […]
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Pundits beware
PolitiFact, the fact-checking website of the Tampa Bay Times , is launching PunditFact, which will check the accuracy of claims made by pundits, columnists, and bloggers. “Pundits on TV and radio, as well as bloggers and columnists, are prominent voices in our political discourse, yet sometimes they blur the lines between opinion and fact,” says Neil […]
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On a mission from God in East Boston
Another front line has opened up in the battle over an East Boston casino: Multifaith coalitions. Friends of East Boston, a group of neighborhood ministers, announced their campaign against the Suffolk Downs/Caesar Entertainment plan to bring a $1 billion casino to the Suffolk Downs racetrack. Their message: “Because we believe God has something better for […]
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Holy See change
This ain’t Pope Benedict’s Catholic Church any more. Benedict’s successor, Pope Francis, signaled he intends to take the church in a very different direction on such issues as abortion, gay marriage, and contraception. In a lengthy interview with an Italian Jesuit magazine that was translated into English by the journal America, the pope said he […]
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West Springfield rocks casino world
Never underestimate the threat of traffic nightmares to doom an $800 million economic development project. West Springfield voters said no in a Big E way to Hard Rock International’s plan to open a casino on the site of the Eastern States Exposition – rejecting the plan 55 percent to 45 percent. The town is the […]
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The future of newspapers – again
Seems every time a newspaper is sold, the prognosticators and print junkies predict – and hope for – a new way forward. Isn’t that the expectation for Jeff Bezos and John Henry? Or what Wellesley’s Aaron Kushner has done with the Orange County Register? The problem is, though, all visions of the grand plan for […]