THE FRANKLIN COUNTY Sheriff’s office shut down its detention center for immigrants, saying the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was not steering enough detainees its way. The 80-bed facility […]
Franklin County shuts ICE detention center
Posted inThe Download
In Galvin-DiMasi showdown, who’s the good guy?
BEACON HILL IS a funny place, and so it is that a backslapping former House speaker convicted of corruption charges is being cast as the good guy in a battle […]
Posted inThe Download
Danielle Allen: a scholar of democracy with an urge to help fix it
DANIELLE ALLEN, a scholar of Athenian democracy with two PhDs, has decided she has something to offer to the practice of 21st century democracy in Massachusetts. In December, the Harvard […]
Posted inUncategorized
In Galvin-DiMasi showdown, who’s the good guy?
BEACON HILL IS a funny place, and so it is that a backslapping former House speaker convicted of corruption charges is being cast as the good guy in a battle […]
Posted inOpinion
Groups pushing ‘upgrade’ in farm animal law
CAN ANYONE REMEMBER a time when the proponents and opponents of a successful ballot measure later came together to work to upgrade that measure after it became law? That’s what’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Infrastructure plays key role in COVID fight
AMONG THE NEARLY 3 million people worldwide who have died from COVID-19 are thousands of frontline healthcare workers – doctors, nurses, and others – many of whom contracted the virus […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker laissez-faire on vaccine requirements
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said his administration will leave it up to businesses and organizations to decide whether they want to adopt vaccination requirements for employees or patrons, and added that […]
Posted inEducation
Advocates unhappy with education funding calculations
THE BUDGET BEING voted on by the House would provide more funding for K-12 education than Gov. Charlie Baker proposed – but education advocates say it doesn’t go far enough. “The current House proposal […]
Posted inEconomy
Massachusetts will fully reopen on August 1
MASSACHUSETTS WILL LIFT its outdoor mask mandate this Friday and will plan to be fully reopened by August 1, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday. And with summer coming, residents can finally […]
Posted inThe Download
An ex-staffer’s perspective on T governance
Laurel Paget-Seekins spent six years at the MBTA, rising through the ranks to assistant general manager for policy before she left at the end of last year to become a […]
Posted inTransportation
An ex-staffer’s perspective on T governance
LAUREL PAGET-SEEKINS spent six years at the MBTA, rising through the ranks to assistant general manager for policy before she left at the end of last year to become a […]
Posted inPolitics
Census: Mass. population grows 7.4% over decade
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS GREW by enough people over the past decade to keep all nine US House seats as the state’s population climbed to more than 7 million […]
Posted inTransportation
T lays out bus electrification plan
MBTA OFFICIALS on Monday laid out a multi-billion-dollar plan for reducing the bus fleet’s carbon emissions to zero by annually rolling out a steady stream of hybrid electric-diesel and battery-electric […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker proposes new seatbelt, traffic camera law
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Monday proposed a slew of changes to improve road safety, including enhancing penalties for injuring someone while driving with a suspended license, letting municipalities install red light […]
Posted inArts and Culture
House follows Mariano’s lead on film tax credit
THE HOUSE, getting in line behind a high priority of Speaker Ron Mariano, unanimously passed a budget amendment on Monday that would do away with the planned sunset of the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker touts low rates of vaccine hesitancy in Massachusetts
AS SOME STATES are beginning to hit a “vaccine wall,” where everyone who wants a COVID-19 shot has gotten one and those left unvaccinated are uninterested, Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday that vaccine […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Danielle Allen: scholar of democracy with urge to fix it
Danielle Allen, a scholar of Athenian democracy with two PhDs, has decided she has something to offer to the practice of 21st century democracy in Massachusetts. In December, the Harvard […]
Posted inPolitics
Danielle Allen: a scholar of democracy with an urge to help fix it
DANIELLE ALLEN, a scholar of Athenian democracy with two PhDs, has decided she has something to offer to the practice of 21st century democracy in Massachusetts. In December, the Harvard […]
Posted inEnvironment
Throwing up roadblocks to Quebec hydroelectricity
OFFSHORE WIND appears to be slowly getting back on track, but Massachusetts’ other big bet on clean energy – hydroelectricity from Quebec – is far from a sure thing. A […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s time to scale up early college in Mass.
STUDENTS FROM FAMILIES with financial means are two and half times more likely to earn a college degree in Massachusetts than students who come from low-income families. This disparity isn’t […]
Posted inOpinion
College, sheriff team up to reduce recidivism
THE UNITED STATES puts more of our citizens in jail than any other country on the planet. While we have only 5 percent of the world’s total population, we have […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. sanctions against Iran could be tested
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION may revive the “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” the 2015 agreement between the Obama administration and Iran that was discarded by former president Donald Trump. Diplomats recently […]
Posted inPolitics
Is Janey in violation of the city charter?
WHAT’S IN A TITLE? Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey thinks a lot. Janey refers to herself as “Mayor Janey” in her bio and in the many press releases she puts […]
Posted inOpinion
Protect the waterfront as a public asset
ALL OF US who care about ensuring that the public – not just the wealthy, not just luxury condo owners, not just high-priced office tenants – have open access to […]