THE RURAL HAMPSHIRE County town of Goshen is in the middle of installing broadband internet service. Even with state subsidies for the project, town officials estimate that Goshen will have […]
Rural towns seek money to repay broadband debt
Posted inTransportation
Lamont puts TCI on hold in Connecticut
CONNECTICUT GOV. Ned Lamont on Tuesday said he is putting on hold his pursuit of the Transportation Climate Initiative, leaving Massachusetts in a precarious, go-it-alone position as the regional cap-and-trade […]
Posted inEconomy
Baker: $500m for unemployment insurance fund not debatable
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Tuesday said putting the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund on sound footing requires a $500 million infusion from the state’s share of American Rescue Plan Act funding and […]
Posted inThe Download
Health care fuels first-half lobbying
The State House remains closed to the public, but the business of lobbying on Beacon Hill keeps rolling along, particularly in health care. According to data gathered by Secretary of […]
Posted inUncategorized
Health care fuels first-half lobbying
THE STATE HOUSE remains closed to the public, but the business of lobbying on Beacon Hill keeps rolling along, particularly in health care. According to data gathered by Secretary of […]
Posted inPolitics
Mariano intends to run for speaker again
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS CANDIDATES START to shift into campaign mode for 2022, House Speaker Ronald Mariano said Monday that he intends to stick around for another term in […]
Posted inPolitics
Progressive group slams House for lack of professionalism, transparency
A GROUP OF PROGRESSIVE activists, including three former state representatives, released a 52-page report on Tuesday slamming state House leaders for perpetuating a structure that centralizes power in the speaker […]
Posted inPolitics
Revised map puts Fall River, New Bedford in separate districts
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FALL RIVER and New Bedford would remain in different Congressional districts under a revised map released on Monday by legislative leaders that disregarded the pressure being applied […]
Posted inEconomy
Business leader ‘confused’ by unemployment insurance revelations
THE PRESIDENT and CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce says the business community was caught off guard just like everyone else by the news that the state’s unemployment […]
Posted inEducation
Early investment in child care workforce may pay big dividends
THE STATE’S CHILD CARE system is operating below capacity due to workforce shortages. But Massachusetts isn’t alone. The shortage of qualified child care workers is a problem nationwide. In recent […]
Posted inThe Codcast
HPC, Stuart Altman moving to next level
Stuart Altman, the chair of the Health Policy Commission, is proud of what the agency has been able to do in Massachusetts to rein in health care costs, but now […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Bill would let Tompkins hold men solely for substance use treatment
SUFFOLK COUNTY SHERIFF Steven Tompkins could get permission to treat people civilly committed for substance use disorders in the Suffolk County jail, under a bill pending before the Legislature that […]
Posted inThe Download
Taking Health Policy Commission to next level
Stuart Altman, the chair of the Health Policy Commission, is proud of what the agency has been able to do in Massachusetts to rein in health care costs, but now […]
Posted inHealth Care
Taking Health Policy Commission to next level
STUART ALTMAN, the chair of the Health Policy Commission, is proud of what the agency has been able to do in Massachusetts to rein in health care costs, but now […]
Posted inOpinion
Canadians call for new era of power grid diplomacy
FORMER QUEBEC premier Robert Bourassa passed away 25 years ago last month. In his 1985 book, Power from the North, he presented a passionate, articulate, and convincing argument to pursue […]
Posted inUncategorized
Lawyer license application seeks gender, sex info
LAWYERS SEEKING a license to practice in Massachusetts are now being required to provide demographic data on themselves, including their race, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Margot Botsford, a retired […]
Posted inPolitics
After breaking barrier, Holyoke’s first Latino mayor ready to focus on the basics
One in a series on newly-elected mayors in the Commonwealth. WHEN JOSHUA GARCIA takes office on Monday, he will make history as Holyoke’s first Latino mayor. But he is less […]
Posted inOpinion
Unitil settlement proves Healey wrong
AFTER NEARLY THREE YEARS of asserting that utility basic service is always a better deal for residential consumers than retail choice, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey just proved herself spectacularly […]
Posted inOpinion
Reverse the curse: pedestrianize Storrow Drive
IMAGINE STORROW DRIVE transformed: quiet, soot-free, no longer a wall between the Charles River and the Back Bay and Boston University. Imagine streams of e-bikes, trikes, adaptive bikes, roller-bladers, scooters, […]
Posted inOpinion
Mariano’s health care bill shows promise
HOUSE SPEAKER Ron Mariano on Friday followed through on his pledge to put forward legislation that would subject expansion projects of major health care providers to more regulatory review. The bill, […]
Posted inOpinion
Schools need up-to-date data privacy law
NEARLY TWO DECADES ago, when Kate was a teacher in the Atlanta Public Schools, she kept her students’ records in manila folders, stored in a metal file cabinet. Each one […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t buy into the buy, buy, buy propaganda machine
IT SEEMS LIKE every time you turn on the radio, tune into the news, pick up the paper, anywhere you look or listen these days, you hear: “supply chain,” “panic […]
Posted inEconomy
Baker administration unsure of balance in unemployment insurance fund
A TOP AIDE to Gov. Charlie Baker said on Friday that the administration is still trying to determine the current balance in the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund. Rosalin Acosta, […]
Posted inThe Download
Sheffield statue to honor Mum Bett, 1st Mass. slave to sue for freedom
Before the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves, before Rosa Parks or Harriet Tubman, there was Mum Bett. A Black slave in the Sheffield home of Colonel John Ashley, a prominent […]