IT’S MARCH, so that means it is time for the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournament and all of the suspense, surprise, and excitement connected to it. But March also […]
My agenda for health cost benchmark hearings
Posted inOpinion
Here’s how we define competitiveness
IN RECENT WEEKS, leading business groups in Massachusetts have urged newly-elected Gov. Maura Healey to focus on the state’s economic competitiveness. As current or former leaders of organizations that employ […]
Posted inOpinion
When a discount isn’t a discount
MOST OF US have negotiated a better price for ourselves at one time or another – online, with a local merchant, or as part of our job. Those selling an […]
Posted inOpinion
More renewables, not more gas, is our future
At 4:30 p.m. on a bitter, cold Christmas Eve 2022, New England’s power grid operator ISO-NE declared a capacity deficiency after gas and oil generators used during times of peak […]
Posted inOpinion
Correcting the record on decarbonization
A RECENT COMMENTARY, “Decarbonization road map has some gaping holes” by Arnold J. Wallenstein, argues that Massachusetts must scale back its efforts to decarbonize its energy system. Unfortunately, the piece […]
Posted inGambling
Online sports betting launches in Massachusetts
SIX OPERATORS started taking online sports bets at 10 a.m. Friday, launching a new era of Massachusetts gambling one day after gaming officials and the attorney general worried about how […]
Posted inTransportation
Documentation breakdown blamed in T subway slowdown
MBTA INTERIM General Manager Jeffrey Gonneville said a failure to properly document whether or not track defects identified last month had been addressed prompted him to order a slowdown of […]
Posted inThe Download
Healey’s competitiveness mantra collides with T reality
LIKE A WELL-OILED messaging machine, Maura Healey has had a one-word mantra to frame her early days as governor: competitiveness. It’s become her version of the stern advice given in […]
Posted inTransportation
Healey’s competitiveness mantra collides with T reality
LIKE A WELL-OILED messaging machine, Maura Healey has had a one-word mantra to frame her early days as governor: competitiveness. It’s become her version of the stern advice given in […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA imposes speed restrictions across entire subway system
THE MBTA announced late Thursday night that it was immediately imposing speed restrictions on all of its subway lines following a recent state safety inspection of the Red Line between […]
Posted inTransportation
Biden includes partial funding for new Cape bridges in budget
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS ELECTED officials who for years have been seeking federal funding to help replace the aging bridges across the Cape Cod Canal got a major ally […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA checks off one item on FTA safety list
MBTA OFFICIALS said they have successfully checked off one item on the Federal Transit Administration’s safety checklist by getting two ancient work trains on the Green Line back in operation. […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA leaning toward ‘new normal’ of lower ridership
MBTA OFFICIALS are beginning to assume that ridership will not rise much above current levels, an assumption sharply criticized by the head of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce who […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, State Government
Prysmian seeks assurances before building Somerset plant
THE PRYSMIAN GROUP says it wants to push ahead with plans to open a manufacturing facility at Brayton Point in Somerset to serve the emerging offshore wind industry, but it […]
Posted inOpinion
The dirty truth of Northfield Mountain’s ‘clean’ energy
CLARIFICATION: Northfield Mountain officials raised several issues with this commentary following its publication that prompted clarification and wording tweaks. The pumped storage facility is not powered by natural gas; it […]
Posted inOpinion
DiZoglio’s audit of Legislature seems straight out of Hollywood
THE TIMING is perfect. Our new state auditor, Diana DiZoglio, is making good on a controversial campaign promise to audit the Legislature. Her investigation will not just be about its […]
Posted inCourts, Government
SJC says it’s OK to be ‘rude’ at public meetings
SPEAKERS AT public meetings can feel free to channel their inner revolutionaries now that the state’s highest court has ruled that Massachusetts law protects the right to be “rude, personal, […]
Posted inThe Download
SJC says it’s OK to be ‘rude’ at public meetings
Speakers at public meetings can feel free to channel their inner revolutionaries now that the state’s highest court has ruled that Massachusetts law protects the right to be “rude, personal, […]
Posted inHealth, Health Care, Opinion
Our mental health care worker shortage is taking a toll
MENTAL HEALTH CARE is, like many industries, facing a workforce shortage, as clinicians flee the field in record numbers. But looming alongside that shortage is a second and equally troubling […]
Posted inHousing, Politics
Wu wins two victories at Boston City Council
THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL gave its seal of approval Wednesday to Mayor Michelle Wu’s rent control plan and her pitch to reshuffle the city’s development agency, twin victories for the […]
Posted inTransportation
State toll revenue getting back to pre-COVID levels
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE HIGHWAY system is bringing in nearly as much money from tolls as it did before the COVID-19 pandemic hit three years ago. The Department […]
Posted inThe Download
Reading the tea leaves on new education secretary’s charter vote
IN THE ENDLESS debate over charter schools, there is often a stark line dividing people into the pro-charter or anti-charter camp. Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler insists he occupies different ground. […]
Posted inEducation
Reading the tea leaves on new education secretary’s charter vote
IN THE ENDLESS debate over charter schools, there is often a stark line dividing people into the pro-charter or anti-charter camp. Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler insists he occupies different ground. […]
Posted inOpinion
Breaking the cycle of poverty with affordable housing
DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH, we paused as a nation to reflect on and honor the role Black Americans have had in our country’s history. While this is essential, it is equally […]