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 […]
Don’t replace electric trolley buses in N. Cambridge
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
Vaccines are a community responsibility
IT HAS BEEN over a month since our two unions announced support for vaccine mandates for 30,000 members across Massachusetts. Since then, we have seen a host of other employers […]
Posted inEducation
Lawmakers pressed to approve school building money
NORTHEAST METRO TECH, a vocational high school in Wakefield, is in dire need of replacement, according to Superintendent David DiBarri. The school has sought money from the Massachusetts School Building […]
Posted inPolitics
Ayanna Pressley endorses Michelle Wu in Boston mayor’s race
US REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY endorsed City Councilor Michelle Wu in the Boston mayor’s race, giving her campaign a high-profile progressive boost with just over a month to go before the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Few giving up their jobs over vaccine mandates
VACCINATION MANDATES are sweeping across the country, both in the public and private sectors. They have produced a great deal of anxiety in public conversation, and polls in recent months […]
Posted inEducation
Delays hinder state’s pooled testing program for schools
WHEN THE AMHERST-PELHAM regional school district instituted a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the school committee gave staff an alternative: they could get tested regularly instead. But the district was counting on […]
Posted inThe Download
SJC sides with sheriffs in COVID testing case
When the Supreme Judicial Court justices heard a case about whether sheriffs needed to do more COVID testing in jails, they sounded skeptical, questioning why more screening was necessary when […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC sides with sheriffs in COVID testing case
WHEN THE SUPREME Judicial Court justices heard a case about whether sheriffs needed to do more COVID testing in jails, they sounded skeptical, questioning why more screening was necessary when […]
Posted inUncategorized
No more Band-Aids on broken public health system
WE KNOW MASSACHUSETTS has a broken local public health system because our organizations represent the thousands of health directors, board of health members, public health nurses, and other staff and […]
Posted inEducation
Time for state action on troubled Boston Public Schools
FORMER STATE SENATE President Tom Birmingham often describes the centerpiece of the landmark 1993 Education Reform Act he co-authored as a massive infusion of state dollars into public schools in […]
Posted inGuns
Citing bills, Smith & Wesson moving HQ
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FIREARM MANUFACTURER Smith & Wesson announced Thursday that it will move its headquarters and “significant elements of its operations” from Springfield to Maryville, Tenn., citing a […]
Posted inUncategorized
Vineyard Wind signs port deal with Salem
SALEM, A LATECOMER to the scramble for offshore wind business, snagged a deal on Thursday with Vineyard Wind, which promised to help make the North Shore community the state’s second […]
Posted inPolitics
Senate leaders push mail-in voting, same-day registration
THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE will vote next week on an expansive election reform package that includes same-day voter registration, permanent voting by mail, expanded early voting, and provisions to make it easier for incarcerated people […]
Posted inThe Download
Allston I-90 price tag $400m higher than in Nov.
This story has been corrected to state that the price tag is $400 million higher. State transportation officials put a $1.7 billion price tag on the Allston I-90 project on […]
Posted inTransportation
Allston I-90 price tag $400m higher than in Nov.
This story has been corrected to state that the price tag is $400 million higher. STATE TRANSPORTATION officials put a $1.7 billion price tag on the Allston I-90 project on […]
Posted inTransportation
Is it the man or the money?
FOR SEVERAL YEARS, state transportation officials have raised objection after objection to the at-grade option for the narrow throat section of the I-90 Allston project running between Boston University and […]
Posted inTransportation
State embraces all-at-grade Allston project
AFTER YEARS of indecision, the Baker administration on Wednesday took a major step to move the stalled $1.7 billion I-90 Allston project forward, embracing an all-at-grade replacement of the Turnpike, […]
Posted inThe Download
Vaccine fight only latest bad headline for State Police
IT’S NOT AS IF the Massachusetts State Police were on a particularly great run already. The department has been hit by one scandal after another, mostly centered on overtime fraud […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Vaccine fight only latest bad headline for State Police
IT’S NOT AS IF the Massachusetts State Police were on a particularly great run already. The department has been hit by one scandal after another, mostly centered on overtime fraud […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t get carried away with fusion talk
Commonwealth Fusion System’s breakthrough in superconducting electromagnets is impressive and represents a significant step forward in fusion research. However, as is always the case when a start-up trumpets its latest achievement, […]
Posted inEnvironment
All hands on deck to address climate crisis
IN JANUARY, the climate crisis debate in Massachusetts centered on whether the carbon emission-reduction goals and policy changes in broad legislation were too ambitious, and even realistic. Now, just nine […]
Posted inOpinion
Same-day voter registration can help invigorate democracy
OVER THE PAST couple of weeks, many pundits and politicians have lamented the low turnout in our local elections. Indeed, if turnout in our local elections is rarely exceeding 30 […]
