THE MASSACHUSETTS Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Friday issued new guidance “strongly recommending” that elementary school students wear masks this fall, but leaving the decision up to individual […]
Baker will not mandate masks in schools
Posted inUncategorized
SJC urges Legislature to update marijuana laws
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT on Friday urged the Legislature to update the state’s marijuana law to provide “much-needed clarity” on issues surrounding the agreements between marijuana shops and their host communities. […]
Posted inThe Download
Proposed biomass limits restrict new plants in 90 percent of state
MONTHS AFTER THE Baker administration pulled the plug on plans for a controversial new biomass plant in Springfield, state environmental officials proposed new regulations that would drastically limit where biomass […]
Posted inEnvironment, Race/Racism
Proposed biomass limits restrict new plants in 90 percent of state
MONTHS AFTER THE Baker administration pulled the plug on plans for a controversial new biomass plant in Springfield, state environmental officials proposed new regulations that would drastically limit where biomass […]
Posted inEducation
Vocational and exam school admission changes a good start
THIS YEAR, two broad-based coalitions worked to successfully push for new admissions policies in Massachusetts vocational schools and Boston’s three public “exam schools.” In both cases, the goal was to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Lawsuit says DOC accused lawyers, inmates based faulty drug test
ARE LAWYERS ACTUALLY sending letters to inmates in Massachusetts prisons that are meant not so much to be read but smoked? It sounds like the plot to a zany dramedy, […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Emissions pact opponents predict fuel shortages by 2023
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE OPPONENTS OF THE regional effort to wring carbon emission reductions from cars, trucks and other forms of transportation predicted Thursday that Massachusetts residents could face fuel […]
Posted inEconomy
Healey charges Grubhub with exceeding pandemic fee cap
DURING THE PANDEMIC, as restaurants pivoted to offering take-out meals rather than sit-down dining, they complained that third-party delivery apps were charging them exorbitant fees for providing delivery services. In response, the Legislature imposed a […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Poll shows strong support for workplace vax mandates
AS THE DELTA variant spurs an increase in cases and renewed calls for masking indoors, new poll numbers show Massachusetts employees broadly support their vaccine requirements for their own workplaces. […]
Posted inUncategorized
David Burgos, 16, charged with murdering youth services worker
DAVID BURGOS, a 16-year-old from Springfield, has been charged with murdering youth services worker James Hillman. Hillman, 60, also of Springfield, was an employee of the Center for Human Development […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Report rips Boston police handling of Rose case
A CITY-COMMISSIONED REPORT into the case involving former Boston police officer Patrick Rose, who was charged with child sexual abuse in the mid 1990s but nonetheless remained on the force […]
Posted inUncategorized
First two winners of VaxMillions lottery announced
DARRELL WASHINGTON AND Daniela Maldonado are the first two winners of the state’s VaxMillions lottery. Washington won $1 million as a prize for getting vaccinated against COVID-19, while Maldonado won […]
Posted inThe Download
Work world won’t be the same
CommonWealth Magazine · Mass Reboot Episode 5: Work Early last year when the coronavirus pandemic hit, the nature of work was transformed within days. For some that meant replacing office […]
Posted inEconomy
Work world won’t be the same
EARLY LAST YEAR when the coronavirus pandemic hit, the nature of work was transformed within days. For some that meant replacing office chairs with couch cushions or leaning into $600-a-week […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
House overrides Baker veto on charitable giving deduction
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE TWENTY-ONE YEARS after voters approved a tax deduction for charitable donations, the House on Wednesday voted to override Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto and postpone for another […]
Posted inUncategorized
Housing affordability becoming ‘existential crisis’ for Cape Cod
SOARING HOUSING COSTS have become an alarming problem across the state, but on Cape Cod the crisis is even more urgent. While the area’s natural beauty and beaches make it […]
Posted inOpinion
Green infrastructure needs diverse workforce
GREEN JOBS are our future. There is no denying it. In addition to helping us recover from the economic devastation of COVID-19, jobs in clean energy are poised to help […]
Posted inThe Download
Janey hands out the goodies
Could free bus service along Blue Hill Avenue in 2021 do for Kim Janey what putting the brakes on city water rates did for Tom Menino in 1993? In 1993, […]
Posted inPolitics
Janey hands out the goodies
COULD FREE BUS SERVICE along Blue Hill Avenue in 2021 do for Kim Janey what putting the brakes on city water rates did for Tom Menino in 1993? In 1993, then-Acting […]
Posted inEconomy
The quiet fortitude of Bob Moses
POLITICIANS OF VARIOUS STRIPES have for years declared education to be the civil rights issues of our time. Bob Moses, perhaps uniquely, could make the case with the authenticity of […]
Posted inEconomy
Baker official pitches housing plan to close racial homeownership gap
NEARLY 70 PERCENT of White households in Massachusetts own a home. Only 37.4 percent of non-White households own a home. That gives Massachusetts the seventh highest racial homeownership gap in […]
Posted inPolitics
‘Unmute’ the votes of Boston’s young people
AS PROFESSORS OF American politics, we have much to look forward to in the fall semester – actually sitting together in a physical classroom and never uttering that dreaded phrase […]
Posted inThe Download
In-person leadership meetings could reset relations between Baker, lawmakers
COULD THE RETURN of the “stale cookies” improve relations between Gov. Charlie Baker and legislative leaders? For most of his two terms in office, the Republican governor appeared to have […]
Posted inPolitics
In-person meetings could reset relations between Baker, lawmakers
COULD THE RETURN of the “stale cookies” improve relations between Gov. Charlie Baker and legislative leaders? For most of his two terms in office, the Republican governor appeared to have […]