ON MARCH 5, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education took the extraordinary step of granting state Education Commissioner Jeff Riley unprecedented power over local communities. The majority of […]
Time to rein in Riley’s authoritarianism
Posted inOpinion
Mass. has a lot of work to do on immigration
IN JUST FOUR YEARS in office, President Trump took more than 400 executive actions related to immigration. From his xenophobic Muslim travel ban, to his border wall vanity project, to […]
Posted inEnvironment
How to build an industry to support offshore wind
AFTER SIGNING the climate change bill into law on Friday, Gov. Charlie Baker and House Speaker Ron Mariano began an interesting discussion about how the state should go about building […]
Posted inUncategorized
Fattmans challenge OCPF investigation as biased
WORCESTER COUNTY REPUBLICAN power couple Ryan and Stephanie Fattman are arguing that the director of the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance is acting improperly in his investigation of […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Film tax credit backers say they have the votes
SUPPORTERS OF THE state’s film tax credit, which came under fire this week from a commission examining Massachusetts tax breaks, say they have the votes to pass legislation that would […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker signs climate change bill into law
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IT TOOK BASICALLY all of the last legislative session and the first three months of the new one to get major climate policy signed into law, […]
Posted inThe Download
Politicians’ campaign finance lawsuit is secret
Two Massachusetts politicians are going to court to challenge an action by the head of the state’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Yet despite a case that seems almost […]
Posted inUncategorized
Politicians’ campaign finance lawsuit is secret
TWO MASSACHUSETTS POLITICIANS are going to court to challenge an action by the head of the state’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Yet despite a case that seems almost […]
Posted inUncategorized
Virus notes: Baker shows interest in vaccine pass
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER indicated on Thursday that he is interested in so-called vaccine passes that could be used for travel or to gain access to public venues, but he said […]
Posted inEconomy
Moderna, Massachusetts, and durable US foreign policy
PRESIDENT TRUMP PULLED America from the global stage in pursuit of isolationist foreign policy. The fight against the pandemic provides an opening for President Biden to not only restore alliances but […]
Posted inUncategorized
Commission raises flags on film, alcohol, Fidelity tax breaks
A COMMISSION ESTABLISHED to review the effectiveness of special tax breaks issued by the state of Massachusetts raised serious concerns in its initial report about measures benefitting the film, alcohol, […]
Posted inEnvironment
Mariano pledges to turn South Coast into ‘hub of wind energy’
MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE SPEAKER Ron Mariano on Thursday pledged to make major investments to turn the South Coast into “a hub of wind energy for the region.” Mariano, in a virtual speech […]
Posted inThe Download
Duxbury Dragons and death camps
Almost more shocking than the news of Duxbury High School’s football team using terms like “rabbi” and “Auschwitz” for its line-of-scrimmage audible play calling is the fact that it apparently […]
Posted inEducation
Duxbury Dragons and death camps
Almost more shocking than the news of Duxbury High School’s football team using terms like “rabbi” and “Auschwitz” for its line-of-scrimmage audible play calling is the fact that it apparently […]
Posted inEducation
Senator invites Duxbury football team to meet with him
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ON THE SAME DAY Duxbury High School fired its head football coach, state Sen. Barry Finegold invited the varsity team to meet with him, as someone […]
Posted inOpinion
Why states have a problem with tech
DURING THE PANDEMIC we have seen illness in state government technology, and we wonder why the state that has the world’s finest computer science programs; that has local offices for […]
Posted inEducation
I shall miss quarantine
I AM THRILLED to be getting back to normal life. My parents’ have had their vaccinations. The school district where I teach is calling students back to the classrooms. The […]
Posted inUncategorized
SJC: Healey can continue pursuing Facebook documents
MASSACHUSETTS’ HIGHEST COURT gave Attorney General Maura Healey a green light to continue pursuing internal documents from Facebook, as she investigates whether the company misused the personal data of users. […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker not interested in vaccine mandates – for now
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER isn’t interested in requiring public-facing employees to get vaccinated, at least right now. And he’s got a problem with public officials who use their position to cut […]
Posted inThe Download
Is Trump’s exit bad for Baker?
It’s Trump’s fault. Not the insurrection at the US Capitol or the discrediting of fairly conducted elections or the general degradation of democratic principles — though there may be those […]
Posted inPolitics
Is Trump’s exit bad for Baker?
IT’S TRUMP’S FAULT. Not the insurrection at the US Capitol or the discrediting of fairly conducted elections or the general degradation of democratic principles — though there may be those […]
Posted inUncategorized
Uncertainty abounds in vaccine eligibility numbers
WHEN THE MASSACHUSETTS COVID-19 Command Center calculates how many people are eligible for vaccinations in each of the state’s three phases, there’s a problem: The total number is 1 million […]
Posted inUncategorized
Virus Notes: Senator calls for vaccine passes
SEN. BARRY FINEGOLD of Andover urged the Baker administration on Tuesday to develop some sort of identification that could be used to prove a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19 […]
Posted inPolitics
For Janey, opportunity knocks
ON SUNDAY, a day before she shattered twin barriers in becoming Boston’s acting mayor, Kim Janey poked some fun at herself during the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast, the city’s annual […]