Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt suddenly resigned Thursday, prompting the governor to ask the head of the MBTA and the state’s highway administrator — a pair of trusted veterans — to work two jobs simultaneously.
Tibbits-Nutt out, Eng elevated in abrupt shakeup at MassDOT
Posted inTransportation
‘Contactless’ fares quickly grow popular among T riders
MBTA riders long wanted the agency to catch up with its peers and provide a way to pay fares that didn’t involve CharlieCards or vending machines. After the first year, data show many commuters are embracing the new option.
Posted inState Government
‘Serious questions’ prompt lawmakers to hit the brakes on funding for sheriffs
At a time of intense scrutiny on sheriffs’ offices, the Legislature moved to withhold more than $130 million Gov. Maura Healey proposed for the county law enforcement offices, in the process handing a new talking point to her GOP challengers for the corner office.
Posted inOpinion
Funding was the start – now we need to build out systems to help our immigrant workforce learn English
IN POLITICS, timing can be everything. When the Boston Foundation’s Latino Equity Fund released “The ROI of ESOL,” documenting the economic returns of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Shutdown squeeze ups the odds of a Mass. recession
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Mark Williams, finance lecturer at the Questrom School of Business at Boston University. Now two weeks into the federal shutdown, Williams reviews an already bleak estimate of Massachusetts’s financial health if officials continue on their current spending path. Facing federal cuts, immigration policy changes, and the knock-on effects of the shutdown, Williams warns that the Bay State could be heading for a recession within a year.
Posted inHealth
Trump administration handling of vaccine guidelines causes unnecessary confusion, rift with scientific community
A WEEK AGO, the CDC’s acting director signed off on the recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an external panel that sets US vaccine policy. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Why the Democratic supermajority on Beacon Hill won’t pass Democratic bills
Sooner or later, enough people will learn how democracy in Massachusetts is a lie. When they do, leadership’s iron grip will crack, not because those in power wanted to change, but because voters finally forced them to.
Posted inEnvironment
Planning for wildfire risk a puzzle for homeowners, Mass. officials
Massachusetts summers are expected to experience more variable and severe dry spells due to rising temperatures and less frequent rainfall. Meanwhile, the state is juggling a goal of 220,000 new housing units to beat the crunch while trying to plan for a world with more extreme weather, be it floods or fire.
Posted inOpinion
Because of one bad policy move after another, Massachusetts has been backsliding on education for more than a decade. Will we face up to this reality and change course?
After nearly 15 years of decline, the question is whether things have finally gotten bad enough for state leaders to return to the high standards, accountability, and strategic access to high quality choices that were pillars of the most successful education reform in modern American history.
Posted inEnergy
Massachusetts offered up $35M in offshore wind tax breaks. They’ve gone unclaimed for two straight years.
A state tax program meant to catalyze the offshore wind industry in Massachusetts hasn’t drawn any interest.
Posted inGovernment
Municipalities crank up the heat with report warning of financial ‘perfect storm’
A new report from the Massachusetts Municipal Association could put more pressure on Beacon Hill to reconsider stalled reforms amid bigger-picture economic uncertainty and a persistent “affordability” debate.
Posted inOpinion
DiZoglio misfires in attack on attorney general
MASSACHUSETTS STATE AUDITOR Diana DiZoglio recently called in to Boston Public Radio and accused Attorney General Andrea Campbell of “working with the legislative leaders to block the audit that the […]
Posted inPolitics
Mass. begins 2030 Census prep amid national redistricting fights
With mid-decade redistricting fights erupting elsewhere, Massachusetts officials are ramping up their preparations for the 2030 Census as they grapple with new housing development and concerns about community trust.
Posted inEducation
State school building program favors wealthier districts, leaving lower-income urban students in aging, dilapidated buildings, according to new study
Despite efforts by the Legislature aimed at adequately funding school building projects, “students in Boston and the Gateway Cities continue to learn in buildings that are deteriorating, lacking in basic features, and often cramped and overcrowded,” according to a new report by the MassINC Policy Center.
Posted inState House News Service
Senate president says federal government ‘working against us’
During an interview televised Sunday morning, Spilka echoed comments made earlier in the year by House Speaker Ron Mariano, who said Massachusetts had “lost our federal partner.”