NEW ENGLAND POWER plants are burning a lot more oil to generate electricity, apparently because the cost of natural gas is so high. In January last year, oil accounted for […]
Oil powering a big chunk of power grid
Posted inEducation, Health Care
Baker expands test-and-stay to early childhood centers
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER announced Wednesday that he is expanding the state’s test-and-stay program to early childhood centers, so that children exposed to COVID at daycare do not have to quarantine. The announcement […]
Posted inUncategorized
Supreme Court weighs whether Christian flag can fly at Boston City Hall
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. THERE ARE THREE flagpoles outside Boston City Hall. One flies the United States flag. Another flies the Massachusetts […]
Posted inPolitics
Sullivan frames secretary of state run as ‘unique moment for our democracy’
THE SECRETARY OF STATE position across the 50 states is not normally one that inflames deep passions or draws lots of attention when it comes to electing the person holding […]
Posted inThe Download
Sullivan frames secretary of state run as ‘unique moment for our democracy’
The secretary of state position across the 50 states is not normally one that inflames deep passions or draws lots of attention when it comes to electing the person holding […]
Posted inGambling
Casinos end year with a bang
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GAMING REVENUES were up across the board last month as Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield, and Encore Boston Harbor together generated nearly $100 million in revenue […]
Posted inOpinion
Making room for everyone in the audience
A MUTUAL COLLEAGUE of ours recently recounted for us a personal story of how a situation she would have normally loved – a classical music concert with some of her […]
Posted inEducation
House releases $55m bill for COVID testing, school masks
THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS Committee on Tuesday released a bill that would allocate another $55 million to expanding COVID testing sites, buying masks for schools, and doing vaccine outreach, even as Gov. […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker urges schools to adopt new testing regime
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is urging Massachusetts schools to adopt a new COVID testing regime that relies on at-home testing once a week. Currently, the state operates a pooled testing program […]
Posted inUncategorized
2 mayors explain their ARPA spending strategies
IN THE 1970s, the federal government launched the Community Development Block Grant program and funneled $13 million in largely no-strings-attached money to New Bedford. The mayor at the time, Jack […]
Posted inThe Download
2 mayors explain their ARPA spending strategies
In the 1970s, the federal government launched the Community Development Block Grant program and funneled $13 million in largely no-strings-attached money to New Bedford. The mayor at the time, Jack […]
Posted inOpinion
Pandemic-driven changes to Open Meeting Law should be made permanent
WHEN JOURNALIST ALEX NEWMAN didn’t have time to attend a Medford City Council meeting last February, he was able to view an official recording and learn about plans for a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
The crisis of missing Black women and girls in Massachusetts
“If Black women were free it, would mean everyone else would have to be free” – Combahee River Collective Statement I START WITH this line taken from the Combahee River […]
Posted inPolitics
Gloucester Mayor Greg Verga promises reset of City Hall
One in a series looking at newly-elected mayors across the Commonwealth. GLOUCESTER MAYOR Greg Verga was sworn into office on New Year’s Day promising to reset the tone in City Hall after […]
Posted inThe Codcast
2 mayors explain their ARPA spending strategies
In the 1970s, the federal government launched the Community Development Block Grant program and funneled $13 million in largely no-strings-attached money to New Bedford. The mayor at the time, Jack […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Polls indicate mental health of children remains a concern
PARENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS have a front row seat to the burgeoning mental health crisis among children across the state. A series of polls from The MassINC Polling Group finds parents […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Misinformation is fueling the overdose crisis
AS THE TOLL from COVID-19 continues to climb, health misinformation has taken an increasingly visible role in stoking this deadly pandemic. Rumors and politicization of masks, vaccines, and other basic […]
Posted inOpinion
What Mass General Brigham cost analysis overlooks
MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM recently proposed a $2 billion expansion that would create two new outpatient clinics in Westborough and Woburn and expand a clinic in Westwood. As organizations that represent […]
Posted inOpinion
Lower the voting age, the planet depends on it
DEVASTATING WILDFIRES, destructive hurricanes, extended droughts, and rising sea levels: These effects of climate change, feared by scientists for decades, are now reality for innumerable communities around the globe. Yet, […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Markey says FERC rethinking Weymouth Compressor
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FEDERAL ENERGY regulators will reconsider their approval for the controversial natural gas compressor station in Weymouth less than a year and a half after they gave […]
Posted inUncategorized
State budget writers forecast continued growth in tax revenues
STATE REVENUES keep rolling along. Budget officials on Friday revised upward their revenue forecast for the current fiscal year by $1.5 billion and then projected the state’s tax take would rise 2.7 percent in the next fiscal […]
Posted inThe Download
Labor unions top PAC fundraising
Organized labor, always a powerful force in Democratic-dominated Massachusetts, continues to hold sway heading into the 2022 election season – and nowhere is that clearer than in fundraising. The Office […]
Posted inPolitics
Labor unions top PAC fundraising
ORGANIZED LABOR, always a powerful force in Democratic-dominated Massachusetts, continues to hold sway heading into the 2022 election season – and nowhere is that clearer than in fundraising. The Office […]
Posted inEducation
It’s time to revamp the student loan system
WHEN IT COMES to student loans, President Biden is acting like Lucy removing the football just as naïve Charlie Brown is persuaded to kick it. Every time the president sets […]