STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS LOTTERY saw greater sales and profit performance during the six months from July through December 2020 than it did during the same six months […]
Lottery finding its footing during COVID
Posted inPolitics
Baker delivers ‘very different’ State of the Commonwealth
A RESTAURANT OWNER feeding needy families, prompting his competitor to do the same. Aid groups feeding the growing number of economically insecure families. Grocery store workers, who checked people out […]
Posted inUncategorized
Report slams DCF for lack of language services
JUAN ABAD’S son was three months old when he was removed from his mother’s house and placed in a foster home after the boy’s twin was murdered. The boy turned […]
Posted inUncategorized
Teachers complain about bump down in vaccination line
TEACHERS UNIONS ARE criticizing changes Gov. Charlie Baker made to the vaccine schedule that elevate those over 65 but push educators and others lower on the priority list, a shift […]
Posted inUncategorized
Northampton drops fee on marijuana companies
MARIJUANA COMPANY officials have long complained about the excessive fees imposed by communities statewide. Now, one marijuana-friendly city is going in the opposite direction. Northampton recently decided to waive the […]
Posted inThe Download
T control board’s annual report calls for new revenues
The MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board sent a 10-page annual report to the Legislature on Monday that is fact-based and largely straightforward with its updates on major initiatives and […]
Posted inTransportation
T control board’s annual report calls for new revenues
THE MBTA’S Fiscal and Management Control Board sent a 10-page annual report to the Legislature on Monday that is fact-based and largely straightforward with its updates on major initiatives and […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Seeking transformation amid constraints
THE MBTA’S Fiscal and Management Control Board heard a series of presentations on Monday about capital projects to transform the bus, subway, and commuter rail lines and the big takeaways […]
Posted inTransportation
Harvard raises concerns on ‘no-build’ Allston option
A TOP OFFICIAL at Harvard University sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack last week raising concerns about the state’s growing interest in just patching the crumbling elevated section […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
State slow to improve criminal justice data collection
A WELL-KNOWN management maxim warns, if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. By that reckoning, those trying to better the state’s criminal justice system are often flying blind. How long, for example, does the average probationer in […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker defends vaccine rollout; those 65-plus moved up
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Monday continued to defend the state’s slow COVID-19 vaccine rollout even as he announced plans to expand the number of inoculation sites and moved residents 65 […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Judd-Stein: Casinos haven’t asked for COVID relief
The chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission says the state’s three casinos have not asked for any financial breaks during the pandemic despite shutdowns, capacity restrictions, and curfews that have […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Judd-Stein: Casinos haven’t asked for COVID relief
The chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission says the state’s three casinos have not asked for any financial breaks during the pandemic despite shutdowns, capacity restrictions, and curfews that have […]
Posted inUncategorized
Marijuana trade association drops delivery lawsuit amid public pressure
FACING INTENSE PUBLIC PRESSURE from its members, the Commonwealth Dispensary Association on Monday withdrew its lawsuit seeking to overturn the state’s new marijuana home delivery regulations. The trade association representing major […]
Posted inThe Download
Judd-Stein: Casinos haven’t asked for COVID relief
The chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission says the state’s three casinos have not asked for any financial breaks during the pandemic despite shutdowns, capacity restrictions, and curfews that have […]
Posted inGambling
Judd-Stein: Casinos haven’t asked for COVID relief
THE CHAIR of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission says the state’s three casinos have not asked for any financial breaks during the pandemic despite shutdowns, capacity restrictions, and curfews that have […]
Posted inTransportation
We can’t follow on transportation; we must lead
NOTHING LASTS FOREVER, and that particularly includes time serving in public office. For some, longevity in office can be a rare opportunity to make impactful change; for others, it can […]
Posted inEnvironment
Theoharides explains $6b cost figure
THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE between Gov. Charlie Baker and the Legislature on climate change legislation comes down to an issue where the two sides don’t seem very far apart at all. […]
Posted inOpinion
Baker faces same choice Sargent did in 1972
IN 1972, Republican Gov. Francis W. Sargent confronted the question of whether to perpetuate a decades-old plan to run the I-95 highway through Boston neighborhoods, or to adopt a forward-looking, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Marijuana companies withdraw from trade association over delivery lawsuit
SEVERAL LARGE cannabis companies have withdrawn their membership from the Commonwealth Dispensary Association due to a lawsuit the trade association filed opposing the state’s new marijuana delivery regulations. The companies […]
Posted inOpinion
3 Washington priorities for New England
AS THE BIDEN administration and the 117th Congress get underway, there is much hope for a new era of unity—both in Washington, DC, and across the nation. Our country has […]
Posted inTransportation
T general manager receives $20,800 bonus
MBTA GENERAL MANAGER Steve Poftak, who receives a base salary of $324,800 a year, recently received a bonus of $20,800 for 2019. Based on pre-established performance goals, Poftak was eligible […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo lands post at Northeastern
DON’T CALL HIM “Mr. Speaker.” He’s now a “University Fellow for Public Life.” Longtime Massachusetts House speaker Robert DeLeo, who resigned last month and said he was in talks with Northeastern University about […]
Posted inEducation
Baker will propose implementing first year of new school funding formula
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER will propose fully funding the first year of the recently updated school funding formula when he releases his fiscal 2022 budget proposal next week – a commitment that was […]