UNLIKE MOST INTRIGUE-FILLED capers, this one came with the ultimate question that’s usually answered at the end of the story – whodunit? – already settled. When two plane loads of […]
Filling in the blanks on Martha’s Vineyard migrant tale
Posted inThe Codcast
Two takes on MCAS and its value
CommonWealth Magazine · Two takes on MCAS and its value in driving school improvement
Posted inHealth, Opinion
An epidemiologist’s advice for living with COVID
IT SEEMS LIKE a pretty simple question: Have we reached the point where COVID-19 has become less lethal than the flu? But if you ask a group of public health/infectious […]
Posted inMarijuana
Worker dies at Holyoke cannabis cultivation facility
LORNA MCMURREY, a 27-year-old West Springfield woman, died in January after a shift working at a Holyoke cannabis cultivation facility. The company, Trulieve, was fined $35,200 by the Occupational Safety […]
Posted inThe Download
Putting MCAS to the test
SCORES RELEASED LAST WEEK from the spring 2022 MCAS paint a pretty worrisome picture, showing that student achievement in the state still lags below levels seen on the 2019 test, […]
Posted inEducation
Putting MCAS to the test
SCORES RELEASED LAST WEEK from the spring 2022 MCAS paint a pretty worrisome picture, showing that student achievement in the state still lags below levels seen on the 2019 test, […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t be an outlier, reform the estate tax
SOMETIMES TAX policy is hard and sometimes it is not. Voting to modernize the Massachusetts estate tax as part of the Legislature’s economic development bill is an easy decision – […]
Posted inOpinion
A roadmap for fixing the MBTA
THERE’S NOTHING complicated, surprising, or even new about what ails our metro Boston public transportation system. The task may seem daunting (it is), and the troubles may seem to be […]
Posted inOpinion
New fed law offers big clean energy incentives
THE INFLATION REDUCTION Act has over $300 billion in incentives for clean energy–solar and wind, geothermal and green hydrogen, batteries, and heat pumps–incentives that mean businesses that invest in clean […]
Posted inHealth Care
Home care providers looking for permanent rate boost
Boston University Statehouse Program HOME HEALTH AIDES and other support personnel are the often unsung key to older people being able to remain in their homes as they age. But […]
Posted inEducation
Here’s how we retain our 4,000 ’emergency’ teachers
THE STUDENT at our virtual open house had a lot of questions. “I am working under an emergency license,” she told us, “and I want to keep teaching. How soon […]
Posted inThe Download
Business versus business in millionaire’s tax fight?
THE BATTLE LINES in the debate over passing the so-called millionaire’s tax have generally pitted organized labor, which supports the tax hike, against organized business groups, which oppose it. But […]
Posted inPolitics, State Government
Business versus business in millionaire’s tax fight?
THE BATTLE LINES in the debate over passing the so-called millionaire’s tax have generally pitted organized labor, which supports the tax hike, against organized business groups, which oppose it. But […]
Posted inTransportation
More delays for new Orange and Red line cars
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE OUTLOOK FOR the already-delayed transition to entirely new Orange and Red line fleets continues to grow worse. After previously delaying the project’s targeted end date […]
Posted inEducation
MCAS scores show major drop since 2019
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT REMAINS well below where it was in 2019, indicating a steep loss in learning during the pandemic that has yet to be made up, according to statewide MCAS […]
Posted inEducation
A tipping point for school accountability?
THIS FALL BROUGHT the first opportunity since 2019 for students in Massachusetts to enjoy a “normal” first day of school. The joy of learning is returning to Commonwealth classrooms, and […]
Posted inEducation
Union leader blasted for dismissing focus on college and careers
THE SUCCESSION OF state legislators and teachers who testified before the state board of education last month came with detailed arguments against a proposal to raise the minimum passing score […]
Posted inThe Download
Polito praises Driscoll’s experience – but won’t endorse
WHEN THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION created a Seaport Economic Council in 2015, chaired by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, one of its first appointed members was Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll. In 2019, […]
Posted inPolitics, State Government
Polito praises Driscoll’s experience – but won’t endorse
WHEN THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION created a Seaport Economic Council in 2015, chaired by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, one of its first appointed members was Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll. In 2019, […]
Posted inPolitics
AG candidates agree to debate
AFTER WEEKS OF deflecting calls to debate her Republican opponent, Andrea Campbell, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, has agreed to face-off with Jay McMahon in a debate hosted by […]
Posted inOpinion
Overextended MBTA is moving in right direction
ONLY A GOVERNOR not seeking re-election could close the Orange Line for a month. We need further bold steps like that — further bold steps to simplify the challenges that […]
Posted inHealth
Medicaid waiver makes money available for housing, nutrition
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT on Wednesday approved a five-year, $67 billion agreement with the state of Massachusetts that will govern how the state administers its Medicaid program. Gov. Charlie Baker said […]
Posted inThe Download
Some ballot questions could draw blank stares
ALONG WITH ELECTING candidates to statewide and local offices, voters will be asked to decide four ballot questions in November. Two of them – whether to raise income tax rates on […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Government, Politics
Some ballot questions could draw blank stares
ALONG WITH ELECTING candidates to statewide and local offices, voters will be asked to decide four ballot questions in November. Two of them – whether to raise income tax rates […]