IT WAS A YEAR AGO this week that it became clear how completely our world would be turned upside down. After mounting global concern about a deadly new respiratory illness […]
13 views on how the pandemic will shape the future
Posted inUncategorized
Rep reports live on state aid to Pittsfield
REP. PATRICIA FARLEY-BOUVIER of Pittsfield on Tuesday transformed a fairly dry Zoom call about a government site readiness program into a live, personalized, on-site report about how state investments can help […]
Posted inThe Download
Lawmaking by press release
Sometimes it’s the little things – a phrasing of a sentence or the timing of an announcement — that reveal a lot about the way the Legislature operates. On Monday […]
Posted inUncategorized
Lawmaking by press release
SOMETIMES IT’S the little things – a phrasing of a sentence or the timing of an announcement — that reveal a lot about the way the Legislature operates. On Monday […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Capital spending about to start falling
THE MBTA said its spending on capital projects is expected to start falling in fiscal 2023 and plummet to half its current level by fiscal 2026, prompting the chair of […]
Posted inHealth Care
Health insurers to promote 2017 birth control provision
A TRADE ASSOCIATION representing a swath of the state’s commercial health insurers is launching a public awareness campaign to let members, pharmacists, and providers know that a 2017 law permits […]
Posted inEconomy
Legislature plans to expand paid sick leave
THE LEADERS OF the Democratic-led Senate and House have reached an agreement on a bill that would provide major financial relief to businesses for the next two years, while also giving workers […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Sneak peak of this year’s transportation debate
The House and Senate chairs of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee engaged in a back-and-forth debate about legislative priorities on transportation this year, with Sen. Joseph Boncore of Winthrop calling for […]
Posted inEnvironment
Biden administration moves forward on Vineyard Wind
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION on Monday released its final environmental impact statement on the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project and indicated the analysis could gain final approval soon, paving the way […]
Posted inEconomy
Legislative compromise will end state tax on PPP grants
WITH A WEEK to go before business taxes are due on March 15, Massachusetts lawmakers signaled that they are prepared to join with the Baker administration and act to avert a state tax bill on business owners who accepted federal money to keep […]
Posted inUncategorized
House passes DCF transparency bill
LOOKING TO ADDRESS longstanding concerns about the state’s child welfare system, the Massachusetts House on Monday passed a wide-ranging bill to improve operations at the Department of Children and Families, […]
Posted inTransportation
T projects fare revenue to be down for at least 5 years
THE MBTA is projecting that fare revenue will not return to pre-pandemic levels for the next five years and possibly longer, and transit authority officials say they are counting on […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Sneak peak of this year’s transportation debate
The House and Senate chairs of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee engaged in a back-and-forth debate about legislative priorities on transportation this year, with Sen. Joseph Boncore of Winthrop calling for […]
Posted inThe Download
Sneak peak of this year’s transportation debate
The House and Senate chairs of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee engaged in a back-and-forth debate about legislative priorities on transportation this year, with Sen. Joseph Boncore of Winthrop calling for […]
Posted inTransportation
Sneak peak of this year’s transportation debate
THE HOUSE AND SENATE chairs of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee engaged in a back-and-forth debate about legislative priorities on transportation this year, with Sen. Joseph Boncore of Winthrop calling for […]
Posted inEducation
Dorchester Youth Collaborative shutdown a tough blow
THE NEWS HIT George Huynh hard, and for good reason. Starting when he was nine, Huynh often spent more waking hours at the Dorchester Youth Collaborative than he did at […]
Posted inOpinion
Streamlining the criminal complaint pipeline
IN RECENT YEARS, Massachusetts has made significant progress in the direction of criminal justice reform. The credit goes to progressive thinkers in the Legislature, the attorney general and several district […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
A reckoning for prosecutors in drug lab scandal?
THE JANUARY 2013 drug arrest of disgraced Massachusetts state chemist Sonja Farak and its impact on thousands of drug cases was widely reported as it unfolded, and memorialized to devastating […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Poll: Home energy upgrades could be challenge
THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE has once again sent a comprehensive climate bill to Gov. Charlie Baker, and this time Baker has sent it back with a series of amendments. While the […]
Posted inEducation
Ed board gives Riley power to force school reopenings
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AN 8-3 VOTE by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Friday afternoon cleared the way for the state’s education commissioner to eventually take remote […]
Posted inUncategorized
Religious school faculty not exempt from anti-discrimination laws
A CHRISTIAN COLLEGE cannot classify all its faculty as “ministers” if they do not have explicitly religious duties, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Friday, in a decision that could have a […]
Posted inThe Download
Partisan battle brewing over vote-by-mail
A partisan battle is brewing in the Legislature over vote-by-mail – with the first salvo coming on a seemingly innocuous bill to extend municipal voting by mail for another three […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Poll shows support for both EVs, public transit
THE FUTURE of transportation in Massachusetts is at a crossroads. As the debate between Gov. Charlie Baker and state lawmakers over the climate bill continues, one key issue is whether the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Partisan battle brewing over vote-by-mail
A PARTISAN BATTLE is brewing in the Legislature over vote-by-mail – with the first salvo coming on a seemingly innocuous bill to extend municipal voting by mail for another three […]