MANY AMERICANS were distressed when President Trump, just weeks before the November election, nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court. When the Senate confirmed Barrett barely a month […]
House progressives need to cry foul
Posted inUncategorized
Sen. John Velis faces alcoholism one day at a time
IF JOHN VELIS has a drink, he can’t stop. Not at one drink, or two, or three. The end doesn’t come until he is blacking out, crazy drunk, the kind of drunk where […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t make COVID even tougher on firefighters
FIREFIGHTERS CONTINUE to be on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic every single day. As full-time, career, union firefighters, we are regularly exposed to the coronavirus while responding to emergency […]
Posted inOpinion
Wait, we’re number 2?
LIKE THE FAMOUS Avis commercial says: when you’re number two, you gotta try harder! When it comes to energy efficiency policy, that is the unfamiliar position Massachusetts now finds itself […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Mass. Cultural Council picks new leader
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR of a Watertown theater will in February become the next director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, after a unanimous vote Friday by the […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker files bill to ease UI costs for businesses
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS BUSINESSES would face smaller increases in taxes they pay to fund the state unemployment system over the next two years, under a new bill Gov. […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker still optimistic despite vaccine delay
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said he is frustrated the state will receive fewer initial doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 than initially anticipated, but doubted the delay would cause any major problems. […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo sets in motion Mariano handoff
HOUSE SPEAKER Robert DeLeo set in motion on Friday what could be a rapid transfer of power in the House, officially disclosing that he was preparing to meet with Northeastern […]
Posted inUncategorized
Hodgson also tangling with Chang-Diaz
BRISTOL COUNTY Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, already in a war of words with Attorney General Maura Healey, is now in a fight with a state senator. Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz of Jamaica […]
Posted inPolitics
Holmes says he will run for speaker
STATE REP. RUSSELL HOLMES, one of the most outspoken critics of the top-down centralization of power in the House of Representatives, said he will run for speaker, presuming rumors are […]
Posted inHealth Care
Vaccine arrival brings hope to Massachusetts
“HOPE ARRIVED in a plain white box. It weighed 40 pounds and bore the label ‘heavy.’” So began Boston Globe health writer Felice Freyer’s account of the arrival of the […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Vaccine arrival brings hope to Massachusetts
“Hope arrived in a plain white box. It weighed 40 pounds and bore the label ‘heavy.’” So began Boston Globe health writer Felice Freyer’s account of the arrival of the […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Mass. no longer most energy-efficient state
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER NINE YEARS at the top of a list that state officials regularly tout, Massachusetts is no longer considered to be the most energy-efficient state in […]
Posted inEconomy
Maura Healey signs onto lawsuit against Google
A WEEK AFTER she signed onto a multi-state lawsuit against Facebook, Attorney General Maura Healey now has Google in her sights. On Thursday, Healey announced that she had signed on to a lawsuit […]
Posted inOpinion
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s take on the spoils system
“TO THE VICTORS belong the spoils.” So clucked a happy supporter of President Andrew Jackson in 1831, but the divvying of spoils after some kind of victory probably dates to […]
Posted inUncategorized
53% of Mass. communities now high-risk for COVID-19
MORE THAN HALF of the state’s 351 cities and towns are now considered high risk for COVID-19, as the situation continues to deteriorate across Massachusetts. The state’s weekly report indicates […]
Posted inPolitics
Mariano supporters say he has the votes if DeLeo steps down
AMID RUMORS that House Speaker Robert DeLeo may be stepping down from his position, multiple House members said Majority Leader Ron Mariano would have enough votes to be elected the […]
Posted inThe Download
Ruling permits citizen recordings of police
While Beacon Hill legislators haven’t moved yet to address Gov. Charlie Baker’s amendments to policing reform legislation, other efforts to improve law enforcement accountability are moving forward locally and in […]
Posted inUncategorized
Ruling permits citizen recordings of police
WHILE BEACON HILL legislators haven’t moved yet to address Gov. Charlie Baker’s amendments to policing reform legislation, other efforts to improve law enforcement accountability are moving forward locally and in […]
Posted inUncategorized
Hodgson puts Healey report ‘down the sewer pipe’
BRISTOL COUNTY Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said on Wednesday he had no interest in following any of the recommendations contained in a report released by Attorney General Maura Healey that faulted […]
Posted inEducation
Senate advances campus sexual assault bill
THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE on Wednesday advanced a bill that would give students on college campuses more rights and resources in dealing with sexual assault. Sen. Michael Moore, a Millbury Democrat […]
Posted inUncategorized
House rejects Baker’s abortion amendment
THE HOUSE on Wednesday voted 107-49 to reject Gov. Charlie Baker’s amendment paring back a legislative proposal to expand access to abortion in Massachusetts. The measure now goes to the […]
Posted inTransportation
T board members clarify fare, service votes
SOME MEMBERS of the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board on Wednesday sought to clarify a couple of controversial votes on fares and short-term service levels that they took at […]
Posted inOpinion
Pandemic will leave PTSD in its wake. I should know.
THE END OF the COVID war came into sight this week. The sight of vaccines going into arms signals the final push is underway. But the echo of this war […]