MBTA OFFICIALS GATHERED in public on Friday to brainstorm a strategic plan for the future, and they quickly concluded that new revenue to fund capital improvements is not the answer […]
Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl oversees the production of content and edits reports, along with carrying out his own reporting with a particular focus on transportation, energy, and climate issues.
He previously worked at the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper.
Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Posted inEnvironment
Gas pipeline dealt possibly fatal blow
THE PUSH FOR A NEW PIPELINE into New England may have been dealt a fatal blow when Connecticut officials called off a process to procure more natural gas largely because […]
Posted inEnvironment
MA, CT, and RI to negotiate wind, solar deals
MASSACHUSETTS, CONNECTICUT, AND RHODE ISLAND announced on Tuesday that they intend to negotiate seven power purchase contracts with wind and solar developers selected through an unusual three-state bidding process. The […]
Posted inTransportation
Walsh talking with Baker on T privatization
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH appears to be working behind the scenes to find common ground between MBTA unions and Gov. Charlie Baker on privatization efforts at the transit agency. At […]
Posted inEnvironment
3 Boston institutions finance NC solar farm
THREE BOSTON-AREA INSTITUTIONS are financing the construction of one of the largest renewable energy projects in the United States, a 60-megawatt solar farm in North Carolina. MIT, Boston Medical Center, […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Warren redistributes solar income
NEWTON MAYOR SETTI WARREN announced a small solar project on Wednesday that will slightly trim the city’s electric bill and funnel the bulk of the savings to about 1,250 low-income […]
Posted inHealth Care
State agency examines pricing of drugs
FOUR EXPERTS on prescribing, paying for, and manufacturing pharmaceuticals on Tuesday offered the state’s Health Policy Commission a series of recommendations on how to curb rising drug costs, but first […]
Posted inTransportation
Union: T overstates privatization savings
THE UNION REPRESENTING EMPLOYEES in the MBTA’s cash collection and counting operation said on Monday that privatization of the work will yield savings of $330,000 in the first year, not […]
Posted inTransportation
T officials target Green Line derailments
MBTA OFFICIALS ON MONDAY said they are taking a number of steps to reduce Green Line derailments, of which there have been 10 since the beginning of 2015. Jeff Gonneville, […]
Posted inTransportation
T board green-lights fare collection bid process
THE MBTA’S OVERSIGHT BOARD on Monday gave the transit agency’s staff a green light to put out a request for proposals for companies to design, build, finance, operate, maintain, and […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
Which way on VMT?
MAYBE THE STATE Department of Transportation didn’t get the memo. In August, Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed a provision in a transportation bond bill directing the Transportation Department to seek federal […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA privatization comes with tradeoffs
MORE THAN 20 state, federal, and Boston lawmakers rallied with MBTA union leaders at Faneuil Hall on Wednesday to protest privatization, with several officials lamenting the transit agency’s decision to […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, Politics
Dysfunctional DCR tries to be smarter landlord
Photographs by Michael Manning THE HEAD OF THE CHARLES Regatta is a major draw for Massachusetts. Attracting more than 11,000 athletes and tens of thousands of spectators from all over […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Turning around New Bedford
Photographs by Frank Curran JON MITCHELL WALKS a fine line as the mayor of New Bedford. On the one hand, he is the self-professed squeaky wheel, constantly pressing state and […]
Posted inOpinion
We’re turning 20
MASSINC, THE PARENT of CommonWealth magazine, turns 20 this year. We’re planning a birthday party on December 1 that we’re calling Serious Fun II and we’re starting to think about […]
Posted inTransportation
Green Line extension getting close
THE $2.3 BILLION GREEN LINE EXTENSION project is not quite a go yet, but it’s getting close, MBTA officials reported to the agency’s oversight board on Thursday. Andrew Brennan, director […]
Posted inTransportation
T board privatizes money collection work
UNRUFFLED BY MOUNTING UNION ANGER, the MBTA’s oversight board on Thursday swiftly approved a contract to dismantle the transit agency’s cash collection and money counting operations and turn the work […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
September tax revenues remain sluggish
REVENUE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS on Wednesday said collections in September were 1 percent above the monthly benchmark target, but cautioned that the state is hardly out of the woods financially because […]
Posted inTransportation
T says hiring Brink’s would save millions
THE MBTA IS PREPARING to turn over its cash collection and money-counting operations to Brink’s Inc., the first major privatization move at the agency under special authorization granted by a 2015 […]
Posted inTransportation
T cleaning contract creates political divide
THE MBTA’S CURRENT CLEANING CONTRACT with two private vendors illustrates how the administrations of Gov. Charlie Baker and former governor Deval Patrick are both alike and different when it comes […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Boston Pops to produce July 4 events
THE BOSTON POPS announced on Monday that it is going to take over production of the July 4 Esplanande events next year. In a press release, the Pops also said […]
Posted inHealth Care
Cerberus begins recouping Steward investment
CERBERUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT started recouping its investment in Steward Health Care on Monday as the Massachusetts-based hospital system announced it was raising $1.25 billion through a deal with an Alabama […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker rolling out new solar incentives
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is preparing to roll out the draft of a new solar incentive program on Friday that sets a ceiling on subsidies and is expected to reduce their […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA signs lucrative ad contract
THE MBTA’S OVERSIGHT BOARD approved a new advertising contract on Monday that is expected to generate at least $136 million over the next five years with no cash outlay required […]