IN RECENT MONTHS, communities across Massachusetts have been reeling from the effects of extreme weather. In response, state officials recently announced a series of grants and policy initiatives aimed at combating climate change and […]
Neal should broaden tax breaks for solar
Posted inTransportation
Baker appoints new MBTA board
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday announced the formation of a new seven-member board to govern the MBTA, with a state transportation veteran at the helm. The new board will be […]
Posted inThe Download
Juvenile delinquency dropped during pandemic
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC’S disproportionate impact by race has been well-documented in areas including health outcomes, remote work, and education. Now, add one more disparity: juvenile justice. A report released Wednesday […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Juvenile delinquency dropped during pandemic
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC’S disproportionate impact by race has been well-documented in areas including health outcomes, remote work, and education. Now, add one more disparity: juvenile justice. A report released Wednesday […]
Posted inPolitics
Senate approves making voting changes permanent
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE SENATE ON Wednesday went on record supporting the permanent adoption of COVID-era voting allowances like expanded early voting and voting-by-mail, and also adopted policies like […]
Posted inEconomy
Fearing egg shortages, Legislature updates ballot question
A HIGH-STAKES game of chicken between national interests may threaten Massachusetts’s supply of eggs and pork. The Legislature is attempting to resolve the dilemma through some Beacon Hill sausage-making, by […]
Posted inThe Download
Here’s the Diehl with wacky Mass. politics
IT’S OFTEN HARD for outsiders to make sense of Massachusetts, where Democrats reign supreme but Republicans have dominated the governor’s office for more than three decades. Today’s development does little […]
Posted inPolitics
Here’s the Diehl with wacky Mass. politics
IT’S OFTEN HARD for outsiders to make sense of Massachusetts, where Democrats reign supreme but Republicans have dominated the governor’s office for more than three decades. Today’s development does little […]
Posted inTransportation
Poftak: T has some time to address finances
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ACKNOWLEDGING IN THE WAKE of a tumultuous month that a series of safety improvements have been “not enough,” MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said Tuesday that […]
Posted inUncategorized
State is rolling in money
STATE TAX REVENUES continued to surge in September, exceeding forecasts by state officials and far surpassing what the state has taken in during the same month in previous years. The […]
Posted inUncategorized
Rule change paves way for smokable hemp
FOR THE LAST four years, Linda Noel has planted and cultivated hemp, but the Franklin farmer has never been able to sell it because of strict regulations governing how her crop can be used. Now that’s […]
Posted inEconomy
Report urges action on addressing inequities post-COVID
DESPITE A NATIONWIDE reckoning on race, Massachusetts society post-COVID could see even worsening inequities in society based on class and race, if policymakers do not make a conscious effort to […]
Posted inThe Download
Who’s keeping whom in check on Beacon Hill?
Massachusetts, the old adage goes, elects Republican governors to keep the free-spending Democrats on Beacon Hill in check. But lately it seems like the roles are reversed. Every chance Gov. […]
Posted inUncategorized
Who’s keeping whom in check on Beacon Hill?
MASSACHUSETTS, the old adage goes, elects Republican governors to keep the free-spending Democrats on Beacon Hill in check. But lately it seems like the roles are reversed. Every chance Gov. […]
Posted inGambling
With thoroughbreds missing, money piling up in race horse fund
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A RECENT AUDIT of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission found no deficiencies, but Auditor Suzanne Bump said the agency could do a better job of collaborating with […]
Posted inEconomy
Auditor Suzanne Bump chronicles dire state of infrastructure in Western Mass
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS have long bemoaned their standing in “a tale of two Commonwealths.” The urban, eastern part of the state, they say, sucks up most of the attention – […]
Posted inOpinion
Why are hospital ICUs so full now?
This is another in a series of conversations between Dr. Jarone Lee, a frontline critical care and emergency physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, […]
Posted inTransportation
Spilka scores victory on I-90 Allston project
SENATE PRESIDENT Karen Spilka took a tour several weeks ago of the aging transportation infrastructure the state is looking to replace in the Allston area. She walked underneath the badly […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Two takes on Boston’s Municipal Harbor Plan
Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey and the City Council are united in wanting a redo of the city’s Municipal Harbor Plan, but getting all of the stakeholders on the same […]
Posted inThe Download
Two takes on Boston’s Municipal Harbor Plan
Acting Mayor Kim Janey and the Boston City Council are united in wanting a redo of the city’s Municipal Harbor Plan, but getting all of the stakeholders on the same […]
Posted inEnvironment
Two takes on Boston’s Municipal Harbor Plan
ACTING MAYOR Kim Janey and the Boston City Council are united in wanting a redo of the city’s Municipal Harbor Plan, but getting all of the stakeholders on the same […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t replace electric trolley buses in N. Cambridge
THE MBTA’S BUS electrification plans, which set a misplaced priority on replacing existing zero-emissions electric trolleybuses in North Cambridge, fail to respond to the urgent need to begin reducing emissions […]
Posted inOpinion
Plotting the future of the region’s power grid
DRIVE AROUND MASSACHUSETTS and you’d be hard pressed not to see a home with solar panels. Wind turbines are spinning over the Berkshires and coastal communities, with more planned for […]
Posted inTransportation
Why we need fare-free public transportation
Earlier last month, I spent two full weeks on public transit across Massachusetts. My mornings started the way they always do; racing to the Blue Line to get my son Mac to […]