WHAT DO YOU call the opposite of a trial balloon? A deep-six signal? Whatever the term for it, it sure looks like legislative leaders are giving it some play when […]
Boston rent control plan on the ropes
Posted inHealth Care
Look behind the pharmacy benefit manager curtain
SECRET TRANSACTIONS, billions of dollars involved, hidden tactics. Sounds like the next big movie mega hit. But it’s not. It’s actually the world of pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. You […]
Posted inEnergy, State Government
Healey playing catch-up with latest offshore wind procurement
THE HEALEY ADMINISTRATION made the best of a bad situation on Tuesday, issuing a draft of the state’s fourth request for offshore wind proposals that reworks the failed third procurement, […]
Posted inThe Download
New Bedford says MBTA is shortchanging the city
The Boston Globe reported on Sunday that New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell could derail the long-awaited South Coast Rail project by threatening to file a lawsuit challenging the legality of […]
Posted inTransportation
New Bedford says MBTA is shortchanging the city
THE BOSTON GLOBE reported on Sunday that New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell could derail the long-awaited South Coast Rail project by threatening to file a lawsuit challenging the legality of an […]
Posted inOpinion
Challenging the relevancy of the health cost benchmark
CLARIFICATION: Soon after this article was published, I heard from Steve Walsh, the president of the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, who said I misrepresented what he said at the […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
High Tech Council calls House move unconstitutional
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AN INFLUENTIAL BUSINESS group warned Monday that a bill the House approved last month features an “unconstitutional provision” to reshape the rebate program that provided nearly […]
Posted inEnergy, Government
Connecticut taking different approach to utility regulation
CONNECTICUT IS CHANGING the way it regulates utilities, and the new approach has the companies and investors scared. The new approach, called performance-based regulation, is intended to compensate utilities based […]
Posted inThe Codcast
The promise and pitfalls of everyday artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is changing the way we think about authorship, art, and white collar work. It may be changing how we think, full stop. CommonWealth Magazine · The promise and […]
Posted inArts and Culture
The promise and pitfalls of relying on artificial intelligence
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS changing the way we think about authorship, art, and white collar work. It may be changing how we think, full stop. As artificial intelligence, or machine learning, […]
Posted inThe Download
The promise and pitfalls of relying on artificial intelligence
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS changing the way we think about authorship, art, and white collar work. It may be changing how we think, full stop. As artificial intelligence, or machine learning, […]
Posted inEducation
Momentum building for removing another barrier for immigrants
THE LEGISLATURE last year approved a new law giving immigrants without legal status the ability to apply for state-issued driver’s licenses. The bill had been kicking around Beacon Hill for […]
Posted inOpinion
Fare debate: Make buses free to all
WHEN IT COMES to fare-free transit, there are endless opinions. The concept is often assumed to be a fringe idea or not viable in the long-term. Detractors question its benefits […]
Posted inOpinion
Fare debate: Give low-income riders a break
EVERY DAY, hardworking Massachusetts residents face a difficult dilemma: pay for transportation to get to work or afford basic necessities. This is an unfair and unnecessary burden on those who […]
Posted inOpinion
End the DPU’s stall on municipal electricity aggregation
AS FOLKS ACROSS Massachusetts confront the consequences of a changing climate and emerge from a winter of extraordinarily high energy costs, it’s clear that we need cleaner, more affordable power. […]
Posted inOpinion
Braintree chemical fire leaves behind a lot of questions
COMMUNITY HEALTH can be a sleepy subject – unless, perhaps, it is your own community that is under fire. Or on fire, as in the case of Braintree, where a […]
Posted inHousing, State Government
Westwood chided for lackluster MBTA Communities plan
THE STATE IS moving to cut Westwood off from several sources of funding – the first municipality to be penalized for submitting a zoning roadmap that doesn’t comply with the requirements […]
Posted inThe Download
Westwood chided for lackluster MBTA Communities plan
THE STATE IS moving to cut Westwood off from several sources of funding – the first municipality to be penalized for submitting a zoning roadmap that doesn’t comply with the […]
Posted inCourts, Opinion, Politics, State Government
Isn’t winning by 1 vote enough?
IN LAST NOVEMBER’S election, Kristin Kassner, a candidate for state representative on the North Shore, flipped a seat from red to blue by a one-vote margin. But it didn’t come […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA addressing slow zones with track replacement
THE MBTA says it expects to replace 10,700 feet of rail by the end of May on portions of the Blue, Red, and Green lines to address slow zones. The raw […]
Posted inHealth Care
SJC allows AG to prosecute ex-Holyoke Soldiers Home officials
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A CRIMINAL TRIAL can proceed against two former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home officials accused of negligence that led to the deaths of elderly veteran residents early in […]
Posted inThe Download
Campbell is wary but OK with online Lottery
The colors are bright, the ads are popping, and promises of free money encourage you to just try out a bit of online gambling. Welcome to a vision of the […]
Posted inGambling, State Government
Campbell is wary but OK with online Lottery
THE COLORS ARE bright, the ads are popping, and promises of free money encourage you to just try out a bit of online gambling. Welcome to a vision of the […]
Posted inOpinion
Partnerships key to addressing student homelessness in Lawrence
AT TIMES the wheels of government move more slowly than we’d like. In the meantime, working families struggle to get by. With so many big, systemic issues to address, even […]