The Federal Transit Administration issued a statement on Monday suggesting the agency would have little problem with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s plan to launch a two-year experiment with fare-free buses […]
FTA appears to greenlight Boston’s fare-free bus trial
Posted inTransportation
FTA appears to greenlight Boston’s fare-free bus trial
THE FEDERAL TRANSIT Administration issued a statement on Monday suggesting the agency would have little problem with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s plan to launch a two-year experiment with fare-free buses […]
Posted inOpinion
Apprenticeship: a key to solving our child care crisis
WITHIN EVERY CHALLENGE lies vast opportunity, and perhaps nowhere is that more true than our child care system, which is struggling with a capacity shortage. Solving the capacity problem will […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Baker approves solar, truck emission initiatives
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE With two of its key climate change policies dead or near-dead, the Baker administration approved two initiatives last week to incentivize the development of solar power […]
Posted inEducation
Schools face staffing shortages as teachers ill with COVID
ON SATURDAY, Brockton school superintendent Michael Thomas warned parents that although schools were planning to reopen Monday, he could not guarantee it. “Unfortunately, like most districts across the state right […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Should we try a bit of Maryland in Mass.?
Do what Maryland did. CommonWealth Magazine · Should we try a bit of Maryland in Mass.?That was one of the prescriptions health policy guru Dr. Emanuel Ezekiel of the University […]
Posted inThe Download
Should we try a bit of Maryland in Mass.?
A correction has been added to this story, correcting the transposition of the name of Ezekiel Emmanuel. Do what Maryland did. That was one of the prescriptions health policy guru […]
Posted inHealth Care
Should we try a bit of Maryland in Mass.?
A correction has been added to this story, correcting the transposition of the name of Ezekiel Emmanuel. Do what Maryland did. That was one of the prescriptions health policy guru […]
Posted inEducation
Most, but not all, schools reopen Monday
A NUMBER OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS didn’t open on Monday because of concerns about COVID, but Gov. Charlie Baker said none of them will be exempted from in-person learning requirements. “The […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Drunk driving case raises consent issues
IT IS ESTABLISHED case law that someone suspected of drunk driving must consent before a blood test can be performed on them, for the safety of both the individual and […]
Posted inTransportation
Boston, MBTA, FTA to meet on fare-free test
BOSTON, MBTA, and federal transportation officials plan to meet later this month to see if they can resolve regulatory roadblocks preventing the city and the T from moving ahead with […]
Posted inEducation
Community college president to return $3,900 bonus
THE PRESIDENT of Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner gave himself a bonus last year, but said it was a mistake and he would give the money back. James Vander […]
Posted inOpinion
Real work starting now at Pier 5
THE BOSTON PLANNING and Development Agency’s decision to reject the three proposals advanced for privatization of Pier 5 in Charlestown is welcome news, but now the real work begins. The […]
Posted inUncategorized
Report indicates UI trust fund warnings overstated
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION released a long-awaited report on New Year’s Eve indicating the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund is in much better shape than expected. After issuing warnings earlier this […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
988 state employees left jobs due to vaccine mandate
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE JUST FEWER than 1,000 executive branch employees have left their jobs because they did not or would not comply with Gov. Charlie Baker’s vaccine mandate for […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics
MTA attacks Baker on testing
THE MASSACHUSETTS Teachers Association went on the attack against Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday, calling the state education commissioner incompetent in delivering 200,000 rapid COVID-19 testing kits to schools and […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker goes on GLX joyride
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER and the current and future mayors of Somerville took a joy ride on a portion of the new Green Line extension on Thursday — a preview of […]
Posted inOpinion
Why we need to identify Green Zones
PRESIDENT BIDEN has signed an infrastructure bill that includes $21 billion for environmental remediation and $150 billion to boost clean energy and promote “climate resilience.” This money presents a tremendous […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Michael Rodrigues takes up cause of restoring Azorean Jewish heritage
PICTURES OF THE old synagogue show a decrepit building with peeling paint, broken furniture, and rotting wood. Prayer books were ripped. There were water leaks, vermin, and structural damage. It […]
Posted inThe Download
CommonWealth’s 10 most-read news stories of 2021
As COVID-19 continued to dominate society in 2021, a story about the virus also topped CommonWealth’s most-read stories of the year. In early September, as the Delta variant was causing […]
Posted inUncategorized
CommonWealth’s 10 most-read news stories of 2021
AS COVID-19 continued to dominate society in 2021, a story about the virus also topped CommonWealth’s most-read stories of the year. In early September, as the Delta variant was causing […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Bodycam commission, slow to form, misses deadline
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MORE WIDESPREAD USE of body cameras ranks high among policing reform priorities, but a commission set up under the one-year-old reform law has missed its deadline […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t oversell ‘compassionate medicine’
IN A RECENT Commonwealth commentary, Douglas Brown, chief of UMass Memorial Community Hospitals and chief administrative officer, writes about the surgery he underwent at the hospital where he is an […]
Posted inEconomy
Is it time for the tipped minimum wage to go?
IN MOVING TESTIMONY at a legislative hearing in October, Western Massachusetts native Marie Billiel recounted the sexual harassment she experienced as a restaurant server. Billiel, who has worked in the […]