IN THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, the popular series on Netflix, the protagonist is constantly playing a game of what-if in her head, trying to envision what her opponent will do in response […]
Beacon Hill’s legislative chess match
Posted inPolitics
Harvard professor Danielle Allen exploring run for governor
DANIELLE ALLEN, an acclaimed Harvard political theorist whose research has focused on ideas of citizenship and justice in ancient Greece and modern America, is making the leap to political practice by launching an exploratory run for governor. Allen, the director […]
Posted inUncategorized
Senate bill would aid crime victims and witnesses with visas
THE STATE SENATE on Monday advanced a bill that would require state agencies and local law enforcement offices to assist immigrants who testify in criminal cases or are victims of human trafficking and domestic […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Soon-to-be Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark
Last year, The Hill called Rep. Katherine Clark “the most powerful woman in the Capitol you’ve probably never heard of.” CommonWealth Magazine · Soon-to-be Assistant House Speaker Katherine ClarkIn January, […]
Posted inTransportation
T board scales back service cuts, takes swipe at Beacon Hill
THE MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board approved a series of scaled-back service cuts on Monday and then, in an apparent swipe at Beacon Hill, voted not to raise fares […]
Posted inThe Download
Katherine Clark’s fast rise in the House
LAST YEAR, The Hill called Rep. Katherine Clark “the most powerful woman in the Capitol you’ve probably never heard of.” Plenty of people have heard of her now, and many […]
Posted inPolitics
Katherine Clark’s fast rise in the House
LAST YEAR, The Hill called Rep. Katherine Clark “the most powerful woman in the Capitol you’ve probably never heard of.” Plenty of people have heard of her now, and many […]
Posted inOpinion
Same old plan won’t work at the MBTA
IN EARLY NOVEMBER, the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board and T General Manager Steve Poftak released a new plan, called Forging Ahead, to deal with the catastrophic drop in […]
Posted inEducation
Tortured charter school building battle takes a new turn
ROXBURY PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL, whose three-year odyssey to win approval to build a high school in Roslindale has turned into a toxic battle touching on issues of race, class, and […]
Posted inTransportation
Privatized MBTA transit ambassadors deserve better
THE NEWS THAT ONE of the MBTA’s transit ambassadors was stabbed the other day while at work in Copley Station on the Green Line is troubling but not surprising. These […]
Posted inOpinion
Time to complete more Complete Streets
THE PANDEMIC has upended many things, including how many of us get around. One difference is a big increase in walking and bicycling. In every community, people are getting outdoors […]
Posted inOpinion
SJC got Baker emergency orders case right
THERE ARE AT least two important takeaways from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Desrosiers v. Governor, in which the court upheld Gov. Charlie Baker’s authority to issue emergency […]
Posted inTransportation
Hull may get a break from T cuts
WHEN THE MBTA announced a series of proposed service cuts in October, Hull found itself in an unusual situation. The South Shore municipality quickly learned the proposed cuts called for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker signs FY21 budget, vetoes $156m
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER signed the delayed fiscal 2021 budget on Friday, vetoing $156 million in spending. Lawmakers had postponed passing a budget for the year that began July 1 to […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker refuses to sign abortion provision
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER rejected a provision in the Legislature’s budget bill lowering the age of parental consent for an abortion from 18 to 16 and tweaked other language narrowing when […]
Posted inOpinion
SJC decision on Baker’s powers is poorly reasoned
THE MASSACHUSETTS Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled on Thursday that Gov. Charlie Baker’s various COVID-19 orders were authorized by the Massachusetts Civil Defense Act of 1950, and did not violate […]
Posted inOpinion
COVID-19 fallout: Alarming trend of severe liver disease
This is another in a series of conversations between Dr. Jarone Lee, a frontline critical care and emergency physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Former state police troopers charged in overtime scheme
TWO FORMER State Police troopers were arrested Friday for a years-long overtime scheme, which allegedly allowed them to embezzle thousands of dollars in overtime pay, according to US Attorney Andrew Lelling’s […]
Posted inThe Download
At Pittsfield nursing home, outsiders are suspected cause of outbreak
Amid rising coronavirus case numbers, Gov. Charlie Baker has pointed to community spread and informal gatherings at home as the leading culprit. Now, legislators and health officials are following his […]
Posted inUncategorized
At Pittsfield nursing home, outsiders are suspected cause of outbreak
AMID RISING coronavirus case numbers, Gov. Charlie Baker has pointed to community spread and informal gatherings at home as the leading culprit. Now, legislators and health officials are following his […]
Posted inUncategorized
Housing assistance funds trickling out
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION has paid out less than 20 percent of the money set aside for emergency housing assistance, prompting advocates for tenants to claim that the program is not […]
Posted inUncategorized
Mass. moves into high-risk COVID category
THE STATE AS A WHOLE moved into the high-risk COVID-19 category on Thursday as 158 communities were colored red and case counts continued to mount precipitously in Lawrence. The state […]
Posted inEducation
Finger-pointing abounds in school reopening debate
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is increasingly finding himself the target of frustration from a variety of school officials, who are themselves weighing difficult reopening decisions amid the COVID-19 surge. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Solar revolution is stalled, needs to shift into gear
AFTER FOUR YEARS of denying climate science and downplaying its consequences, the federal government is on the cusp of a new era. Although deep political divides persist on many issues, there is one […]