WHEN IT COMES to civic engagement, a funny thing happened on the way to the pandemic shutdown. While all sorts of aspects of daily life ground to a halt as […]
Pandemic shutdown has opened up civic participation
Posted inTransportation
New Orange Line train derails; none injured
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ONE OF THE MBTA’s new Orange Line trains derailed in a work zone near Wellington Station on Tuesday morning, creating significant delays while passengers were shifted […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Report finds no racial profiling by Needham police
INVESTIGATORS HIRED by the town of Needham concluded “the weight of the available evidence” suggests four white police officers did not engage in racial profiling last year when they arrested […]
Posted inEducation
Charter schools leading the way with in-person instruction
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has created unprecedented challenges for countless sectors of society, including our schools. The data are clear on the academic and emotional price remote learning exacts on students. […]
Posted inEducation
Riley says feds won’t let Massachusetts skip MCAS
AS SCHOOL OFFICIALS have been pressuring the state to cancel this year’s MCAS tests, state education commissioner Jeff Riley said the decision is not his – it belongs to the federal […]
Posted inUncategorized
Unemployment insurance bill kicks the can
A BILL BEING CONSIDERED by the state Legislature to freeze businesses’ unemployment insurance payments may be a short-term fix, but it does not solve the longer-term problem of how to […]
Posted inEconomy
Mass. gasoline prices up 28 cents in last month
JUST A LITTLE over a year ago wholesale crude oil prices went into negative territory, meaning demand was so low and storage space so scarce that for the first time […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s not (only) about the science
“I am very much confused by the petition request[ing] to open [schools] to full 5-day return while also implementing full infection control measures. This is objectively not possible.” “Any return […]
Posted inGambling
Slot revenues rise, but fall on per-machine basis
OVERALL GAMING revenue numbers for the most part were up in February over the previous month, but there was a surprising decrease in daily per machine revenues. In February, Encore Boston Harbor […]
Posted inEnvironment
Boston’s next mayor must be bold on climate
“I WANT TO see a mandatory recycling ordinance,” the city councilor and mayoral candidate said to an audience of 40 environmentalists, “[with] 50 percent recycling in Boston in four years.” It would be […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Chelsea leaders reflect on COVID’s toll on state’s hardest hit community
Trying to defeat COVID has often been likened to a war. If the analogy is apt, nowhere in Massachusetts has the fight been more intense than in Chelsea, and Gladys […]
Posted inTransportation
Lynch: Congressional delegation ‘furious’ about T cuts
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MEMBERS OF THE state’s Congressional delegation will have “hard discussions” with the MBTA and Gov. Charlie Baker in hopes of encouraging the transit agency to back […]
Posted inEnvironment
Senate passes climate change bill 39-1
THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE passed climate change legislation on Monday by an overwhelming vote of 39-1, signaling the Legislature is unwilling to go along with several amendments sought by Gov. Charlie […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Chelsea leaders reflect on state’s hardest hit community
Trying to defeat COVID has often been likened to a war. If the analogy is apt, nowhere in Massachusetts has the fight been more intense than in Chelsea, and Gladys […]
Posted inThe Download
Chelsea’s yearlong battle with COVID
Trying to defeat COVID has often been likened to a war. If the analogy is apt, nowhere in Massachusetts has the fight been more intense than in Chelsea, and Gladys […]
Posted inHealth Care
Chelsea’s yearlong battle with COVID
TRYING TO DEFEAT COVID has often been likened to a war. If the analogy is apt, nowhere in Massachusetts has the fight been more intense than in Chelsea, and Gladys […]
Posted inUncategorized
Magic mushroom advocates following cannabis playbook
ALEXANDER KARASIK, a 31-year-old engineer living in Somerville, first tried using “magic mushrooms” while traveling in Thailand. He said his experience with the illicit hallucinogenic drug opened him up to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
To reduce recidivism, address the root causes
DURING A BROADCAST town hall forum late last month, President Biden took issue with the way some jurisdictions release inmates. “You get 25 bucks and a bus ticket. You end […]
Posted inOpinion
What Turco’s primary victory tells us
JEFFREY ROSARIO TURCO, who was described by the Boston Globe’s Yvonne Abraham as “an anti-choice, transphobic, border-wall-loving Trumper,” won the March 2 Democratic Primary for the vacant state representative seat […]
Posted inOpinion
Working women need more supports
MID-MARCH marks the moment many of us were sequestered into our homes as a result of the coronavirus. We all made significant changes in our lives, and the lives of […]
Posted inEducation
School building formula failing Gateway Cities
THE STATE’S SYSTEM for financing the construction of new public schools is broken. Nowhere is that more apparent than the city of Lynn. The number of students in Lynn’s schools […]
Posted inUncategorized
State’s housing assistance program posts big gains
THE STATE’S EMERGENCY housing assistance program is upping its game, pushing more money out the door and helping more people struggling to avoid eviction. As of January 13, the program […]
Posted inThe Download
Restaurants face light punishment over COVID rule violations
TOSSING COVID RULES aside and caution to the wind does not earn much punishment for businesses in Massachusetts. In Boston, officials are still regularly chastising restaurants for violating COVID protocols […]
Posted inEconomy
Restaurants face light punishment over COVID rule violations
TOSSING COVID RULES aside and caution to the wind does not earn much punishment for businesses in Massachusetts. In Boston, officials are still regularly chastising restaurants for violating COVID protocols […]