PATRICK ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS unveiled a snazzy new dashboard this week showcasing their efforts to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, but a group of Democratic senators say much more needs […]
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 inEconomy
Cap on film tax credit voted down by House
The Massachusetts House rejected a bid to cap film tax credit expenditures at $40 million a year, with a top House leader saying a cap would end up killing the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Economy
Court budget falls short, but reaction is muted
THE STATE’S COURT SYSTEM did not get a lot of loving in the House budget. The state’s trial court is asking for what it calls a “maintenance budget” of $589.5 […]
Posted inUncategorized
Tips, questions, and unexpected surprises
PEOPLE ASK ME all the time where we get our story ideas. There’s no easy answer. Sometimes they come from a tip, sometimes they spring from a question that needs […]
Posted inEnvironment
Natural gas dependence creates close calls
THE REGION’S POWER GRID had a close call during the February blizzard. Six power plants running on natural gas ran out of fuel and couldn’t obtain any more. Several oil-fired […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Back Story
What’s Malloy up to?
CONNECTICUT AND MASSACHUSETTS have nearly identical regulatory schemes for the promotion of renewable energy, but that may be about to change. Gov. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut, concerned his state’s residents […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
House rejects cap on film tax credits
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE released a budget proposal on Wednesday that relies on far less new tax revenue than Gov. Deval Patrick’s plan, but the House initiative continues fully funding the […]
Posted inEnvironment
William Koch
CommonWealth’s Bruce Mohl interviewed William Koch by phone from his office in West Palm Beach on Feb. 20. Koch was with Brad Goldstein, his media representative. What follows is a […]
Posted inEnvironment
Jim Gordon
This slightly edited interview with Cape Wind’s James Gordon took place at his office at the Park Plaza Office Building in Boston on Feb. 28 at 10 a.m. in the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Look who’s talking
AFTER SPENDING 12 YEARS and $65 million trying to bring wind turbines to Nantucket Sound, Jim Gordon thinks the end of his struggle is in sight. “This is the year,” […]
Posted inEnvironment
One on One
Your report on rising sea levels suggests Boston dodged a bullet with Hurricane Sandy. The report says if Sandy had come ashore five hours earlier, at high tide, 6.6 percent […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Tax battle joined
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE late Monday night approved a $500 million transportation tax plan by a 97-55 margin, eight votes shy of being able to override Gov. Deval Patrick’s promised veto. […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Big disparity on teen births
The state’s teen birth rate hit its lowest recorded level ever and analysts are crediting the use of contraception rather than a change in behavior for the decline. In 2010, […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Shaky job findings in Life Sciences Center study
Barry Bluestone and Alan Clayton-Matthews are respected economists at Northeastern University, but their just-released report on the Massachusetts Life Sciences Institute, and particularly the tax credits the agency hands out, […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
The Phoenix’s Web goodbye
Last week the Boston Phoenix published its last print edition. This week brings the last online edition, featuring interesting stories by David Bernstein on Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s emerging profile in […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Targeting the stars
Keeping tabs on Hollywood stars is becoming a favorite pastime in Massachusetts (Was that Bradley Cooper on the Common?), but some officials on Beacon Hill are starting to wonder whether […]
Posted inEconomy
Film spending rebounds
FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCTION spending in Massachusetts rebounded in 2011 and is starting to experience rapid growth, but most of the money is continuing to flow to out-of-state residents […]
Posted inUncategorized
Warren: Gateway Cities liked my vision of future
The state’s Gateway Cities were the key to Elizabeth Warren’s election victory last fall, and Warren thinks she knows why.In an interview with editors and reporters from the Gateway Cities […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
The failed Phoenix strategy
Coverage of The Boston Phoenix’s demise tended to focus on the glory days of the alternative weekly and the long list of reporters who got their start there before moving […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Goodbye coal
The Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset was sold at a fire sale this week, another indicator of just how quickly the energy market is changing in New England.Brayton runs […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Touching moment at Fujita trial
One of the most touching moments in a courtroom occurred on Thursday when Malcolm Astley walked over and embraced the parents of the Wayland High football star who had just […]
Posted inPolitics
Cellucci joins Weld at ML Strategies
ML STRATEGIES, a government relations consulting group, added another former Massachusetts governor to its ranks, reuniting Paul Cellucci with his old running mate and political partner William Weld. The website […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Insurers oppose gun liability insurance
TWO GROUPS REPRESENTING most of the companies selling insurance in Massachusetts say they oppose a legislative proposal requiring gun owners to purchase special liability insurance. The two groups, the Property […]