THE MBTA’S subway operations control center is a microcosm of the challenges facing the transit authority. Last June, the Federal Transit Administration issued an initial safety report that said the […]
Hiring may be the MBTA’s biggest challenge
Posted inOpinion
HDIP addresses need for market-rate housing
WE ALL KNOW that New Bedford is facing a housing crisis that involves not only rising rents and home prices, but a severe shortage in housing options across all income […]
Posted inOpinion
The dirty secret about ‘clean’ electric vehicles
AUTOMOBILES EMIT tailpipe carbon emissions, we all know that, and these emissions in the aggregate are now the largest single source of carbon emissions in Massachusetts and many other states, […]
Posted inOpinion
ARPA is giving local officials the tools they need
LIKE MANY MAYORS, I am often faced with the choice of investing taxpayer dollars to address immediate needs or to make investments whose benefits will be realized only in the long […]
Posted inOpinion
Unions are answer to state’s labor shortage
MASSACHUSETTS HAS a crisis on its hands. The Commonwealth faces an alarming labor shortage, with fewer people participating in the workforce and more of the Commonwealth’s residents choosing to move […]
Posted inThe Download
MBTA subway ridership takes hit with slow zones
The bottom fell out of the public transit industry at the start of COVID, and it’s been a slow slog back for every agency – not just the MBTA. According […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA subway ridership takes hit with slow zones
THE BOTTOM FELL out of the public transit industry at the start of COVID, and it’s been a slow slog back for every agency – not just the MBTA. According […]
Posted inOpinion
Striking shouldn’t be against the law for teachers
EARLIER THIS YEAR, Woburn educators, addressing the grossly unfair pay offered to highly valued paraprofessionals, won a 40 percent starting-pay increase for the district’s paras. The Woburn Teachers Association further […]
Posted inUncategorized
New Census numbers underscore competitiveness issues
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE POPULATION of Massachusetts shrunk by nearly 8,000 people between July 2021 and July 2022, a drop of about 0.1 percent, but the newest estimate released […]
Posted inPolitics
King was idealist with an eye for political pragmatism
MEL KING’S name surfaced in Marty Walsh’s kitchen very early on a sunny Wednesday morning, a day after a bruising preliminary election squabble for mayor of Boston. Walsh was one […]
Posted inThe Download
Markey in DC, moms in Mass. push anti-gun violence efforts
Another year, another mounting tally of mass shootings, and US Sen. Ed Markey was once again standing outside the Capitol arguing for funding to study gun violence. In 1996, a […]
Posted inGuns
Markey in DC, moms in Mass. push anti-gun violence efforts
ANOTHER YEAR, another mounting tally of mass shootings, and US Sen. Ed Markey was once again standing outside the Capitol arguing for funding to study gun violence. In 1996, a […]
Posted inState Government
Mariano says state can afford another tax cut package
THE PROSPECTS for passage of a new tax reform package gained momentum on Thursday as House Speaker Ron Mariano said the chamber will soon unveil a series of tax cuts, […]
Posted inHealth Care
Travel nurses fill a gap but also create problems
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AN INCREASING RELIANCE on travel nurses is contributing to high turnover rates among nurses in Massachusetts, as health care remains strapped by labor shortages here and […]
Posted inHousing, Opinion
Who will fill the vital role Silicon Valley Bank played in affordable housing?
BY NOW, the world has an opinion on what went wrong at Silicon Valley Bank. Banking and regulatory experts have, of course, weighed in. Venture capitalists quickly called for government […]
Posted inThe Download
Mel King: A singular Boston sensation
MEL KING looms as the iconic figure above all others of Black Boston’s last 50 years, but it’s not because he fit any archetypal picture of an outspoken activist or outsized […]
Posted inPolitics
Mel King: A singular Boston sensation
MEL KING looms as the iconic figure above all others of Black Boston’s last 50 years, but it’s not because he fit any archetypal picture of an outspoken activist or […]
Posted inOpinion
Talking about decarbonization? Think nuclear
AN INTERESTING DEBATE is taking place on the pages of CommonWealth about decarbonization. One commentary by Arnold Wallenstein suggested Massachusetts should scale back its decarbonization efforts, which prompted a sharp response […]
Posted inHealth Care
State braces for MassHealth dislocation
AS THE STATE prepares to drop hundreds of thousands of people from the MassHealth insurance program, government and community leaders are hoping for a smooth year-long process – but bracing […]
Posted inThe Download
Is scrapping of bus service bad sign for South Coast rail?
THE SOUTH COAST’S only bus link to Boston is shutting down next month because ridership is so low, which is raising questions about the viability of commuter rail service to […]
Posted inTransportation
Is scrapping of bus service bad sign for South Coast rail?
THE SOUTH COAST’S only bus link to Boston is shutting down next month because ridership is so low, which is raising questions about the viability of commuter rail service to […]
Posted inOpinion
Criticism of green hydrogen misses the mark
A YEAR AGO, President Biden signed into law the single most sweeping climate bill in American history. Supported by virtually the entire Democratic Party and environmental leaders like the Environmental […]
Posted inTransportation
Eng will be one of highest-paid transit execs in country
PHILLIP ENG, the new general manager and CEO at the MBTA, will be one of the highest paid transit authority executives in the country. Eng, who is starting his new […]
Posted inHousing, State Government
Should state dollars be used to jumpstart market-rate housing construction?
THERE IS BROAD agreement that Massachusetts desperately needs to build more housing, but should state government be subsidizing the construction of market-rate units? That question is at the heart of […]