FOR YEARS, Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson’s office collected hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in telephone fees paid by family members, attorneys, and others who received calls from county […]
Can sheriffs collect lucrative commissions from inmate phone calls?
Posted inArts and Culture
SJC taking up challenge to Harvard’s ownership of slave photos
IN 1850, Harvard professor Louis Agassiz selected seven slaves on a South Carolina plantation to be photographed nude, as part of his attempt to prove the theory of “polygenism.” The […]
Posted inTransportation
New MBTA board holds first meeting
A correction has been added to this story. THE NEW PERMANENT MBTA board of directors met for the first time on Wednesday, and adopted a more decentralized approach to overseeing […]
Posted inPolitics
Spicer alleges GOP takeover effort in Framingham
FRAMINGHAM MAYOR Yvonne Spicer accused a super PAC affiliated with Gov. Charlie Baker of trying to lead a Republican takeover of the city’s government, but her rival Charlie Sisitsky said […]
Posted inNews Analysis
In Boston mayor’s race, newspaper endorsements a faint voice
“THE PAST ISN’T what it used to be; then again, it never was.” So goes an old saying, and perhaps the same is true for newspaper endorsements in elections. We […]
Posted inThe Download
In Boston mayor’s race, newspaper endorsements a faint voice
“The past isn’t what it used to be; then again, it never was.” So goes an old saying, and perhaps the same is true for newspaper endorsements in elections. We […]
Posted inOpinion
Independent foster care reviews needed at DCF
WHEN WE LEARNED of David Almond’s death on October 21, 2020, we were heartbroken. Tragically, this was not the first time we had seen a child die while under the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
12 charged in lottery deception scheme
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A DOZEN PEOPLE and three stores were indicted Friday by a statewide grand jury in connection to what Attorney General Maura Healey’s office called “an ongoing […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker says 3d term decision ‘very complicated’
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER got a little prickly on Tuesday when he was pressed on where he stood in terms of deciding to seek a third term next year. Jim Braude, […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker philosophically not on Wu’s side
IN THE RACE for mayor of Boston, Annissa Essaibi George seems to be getting help from Gov. Charlie Baker in delivering the message that some of rival Michelle Wu’s major […]
Posted inEducation
Boston mayoral candidates steer clear of firm goals for students
WHEN IT COMES to electing a mayor willing to take on the huge challenges facing the long-struggling Boston Public Schools, it seemed like this was the year that the stars […]
Posted inThe Download
Baker super PAC returns to action
A correction has been added to this story. The super PAC affiliated with Gov. Charlie Baker skipped this year’s preliminary municipal elections, but returned to action late last week, pouring […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker super PAC returns to action
A correction has been made to this story. THE SUPER PAC affiliated with Gov. Charlie Baker skipped this year’s preliminary municipal elections, but returned to action late last week, pouring […]
Posted inEducation
Baker signs bill prohibiting ‘meal-shaming’ in schools
THE PRACTICE of “meal-shaming,” drawing attention to a student whose family owes money for school meals, is a thing of the past, after Gov. Charlie Baker signed a law prohibiting the practice in […]
Posted inThe Codcast
A fix for the crisis at Mass. and Cass?
Acting Mayor Kim Janey declared last week that Boston will move to dismantle the tent city of homeless people that has grown in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea […]
Posted inOpinion
Cowardly, reckless action by Boxborough Select Board
AFTER ATTENDING the October 18 meeting of the Boxborough Select Board, I am concerned about where our town is headed and who is leading. Police Chief Warren Ryder, a 25-year […]
Posted inUncategorized
House lays out $3.65b ARPA spending plan
MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE leaders on Monday laid out their plan to spend $3.65 billion in federal aid and surplus state funds providing bonuses to essential workers, shoring up struggling hospitals, and providing economic […]
Posted inThe Download
A fix for the crisis at Mass. and Cass?
Acting Mayor Kim Janey declared last week that Boston will move to dismantle the tent city of homeless people that has grown in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Drug Addiction
A fix for the crisis at Mass. and Cass?
ACTING MAYOR Kim Janey declared last week that Boston will move to dismantle the tent city of homeless people that has grown in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea […]
Posted inTransportation
‘Alarming trend’ of firearms at Logan checkpoints
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SECURITY WORKERS have caught firearms at Logan Airport checkpoints this year at more than twice the rate they did in 2019, part of what Massachusetts Port […]
Posted inOpinion
MBTA has a bad plan for electrification
THE MBTA says that it is committed to an emission-free future bus system, but its plans suggest otherwise. Recently, the T published a document justifying its decision to abandon its […]
Posted inOpinion
Incumbent-first law is unique to Massachusetts
AMONG THE WAYS that Massachusetts is unique among the 50 states: our state election ballots give top billing to incumbent state officeholders who are seeking re-election, with the other candidates […]
Posted inUncategorized
Head of the Charles paying DCR more
THIS WEEKEND’S Head of the Charles Regatta is paying more money to use the Charles River than it has in years past under a new contract with the state Department […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. lags badly in workplace accessibility for disability community
OCTOBER IS National Disability Employment Awareness Month. NDEAM’s roots go back to 1945. It is held each October to “commemorate the many and varied contributions of people with disabilities to […]