AS CONGRESS SLOWLY advances what will become a complete package of transportation funding and policy decisions that define the federal role for at least the next decade, it may be […]
Fed support for transit operations needed
Posted inThe Download
Baker plays catch-up on vaccines, masks
CHARLIE BAKER has fashioned a Teflon political brand by bringing a drama-averse, middle-of-the-road bearing to issues that often incite passions and polarization. That approach seems closely tied to his persistent […]
Posted inNews Analysis, Politics
Baker plays catch-up on vaccines, masks
CHARLIE BAKER has fashioned a Teflon political brand by bringing a drama-averse, middle-of-the-road bearing to issues that often incite passions and polarization. That approach seems closely tied to his persistent […]
Posted inEducation
No place for hate
IN JANUARY, a few Northampton middle school students, perhaps emboldened, maybe bored, after nearly a year of remote learning, projected images of the Confederate flag as their computer screen backdrop […]
Posted inOpinion
Abolish the vaccine religious exemption
VACCINES SAVE LIVES. Never has this been more evident than in the last year. Since the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 15,000 lives in Massachusetts […]
Posted inGambling
Rep. Hill appointed to Gaming Commission
REP. BRAD HILL, a Republican from Ipswich, is leaving the Legislature after nearly 22 years to become a member of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Hill is a joint appointment of […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
In another shift, Baker favors mask mandate in schools
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE’S education commissioner is seeking authority to mandate that students ages 5 and up and staff and educators in public K-12 schools wear masks indoors […]
Posted inOpinion
Lots of problems, but also hope, at DCR
SUMMERTIME, and the living is not easy. A lingering pandemic, intense heatwaves followed by drenching rains, followed by intense heatwaves and more rain have made this summer a bit problematic. […]
Posted inUncategorized
Clean Energy Center offers help on Brayton Point
THE MASSACHUSETTS Clean Energy Center is putting up some grant money to help the town of Somerset build consensus around the development of offshore wind at Brayton Point, but the […]
Posted inThe Download
Where the pandemic buck stops
AS MASSACHUSETTS simultaneously looks to make its way past the worst of the pandemic while also adjusting to the new curve balls being thrown by the surging Delta variant, it […]
Posted inPolitics
Where the pandemic buck stops
AS MASSACHUSETTS simultaneously looks to make its way past the worst of the pandemic while also adjusting to the new curve balls being thrown by the surging Delta variant, it […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Share of White residents shrinking across Mass.
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE 2020 DECENNIAL US Census painted a portrait of a diversifying Massachusetts, and those changes stretched far beyond the state’s burgeoning urban centers to touch nearly […]
Posted inOpinion
EJ communities finally get a say
FOR DECADES, low-income, immigrant, Indigenous, and communities of color across Massachusetts have been overburdened by air pollution from power plants, congested highways, and industrial facilities. Known as environmental justice populations, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker orders state employees to be vaccinated
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER ordered all state employees to be fully vaccinated by October 17 or face disciplinary action or dismissal, with exceptions only for those with medical disabilities or sincerely […]
Posted inThe Download
Varsity Blues cases heading toward court
Operation Varsity Blues keeps rolling along, as the US attorney’s office continues to rack up convictions using wiretap recordings of wealthy parents trying to buy “side door” access to elite […]
Posted inEducation
Some Varsity Blues parents seek day in court
OPERATION VARSITY BLUES keeps rolling along, as the US attorney’s office continues to rack up convictions using wiretap recordings of wealthy parents trying to buy “side door” access to elite […]
Posted inEducation
Poll shows strong support for school mask mandate
WHILE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER continues to resist imposing a statewide mask mandate for Massachusetts schools, new poll results show strong public support for such a measure. According to a new […]
Posted inEducation
Why adjunct professors matter
FOR FAMILIES INVESTING heavily in a college education for their children, there may be some tendency to think that tenured professors are the best teachers. After all, they have dedicated […]
Posted inTransportation
EJ communities need rep on new T board
DUE TO STRONG support from transit riders and workers, the Massachusetts Legislature recently took a huge step forward to ensure racial equity and environmental justice in the Commonwealth’s largest transit authority […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker backs $1b to reduce business UI costs
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE EMPLOYERS WOULD SEE their long-term obligation to replenish the state’s unemployment insurance fund cut by $1 billion under a proposal Gov. Charlie Baker made on Wednesday, […]
Posted inUncategorized
State scrambles to get federal money to former foster youth
FOR A YOUNG ADULT who has aged out of the foster care system, $3,200 can mean the ability to put a deposit on an apartment, purchase car insurance, or buy […]
Posted inThe Download
On gig economy ballot question, both sides are brawl-in
THERE WILL BE plenty of time for battling over the substance of the looming ballot question on gig workers. For now, the two sides are getting warmed up by hurling […]
Posted inEconomy
On gig economy ballot question, both sides are brawl-in
THERE WILL BE plenty of time for battling over the substance of the looming ballot question on gig workers. For now, the two sides are getting warmed up by hurling […]
Posted inOpinion
Britney Spears case isn’t illustrative of much
THE UNFORTUNATE experience Britney Spears has had under guardianship should not be construed to imply that all guardianship arrangements are abusive or exploitative. And the Spears case should not be […]