TWO YEARS AGO, days after she stepped down in late 2018 as chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, Kirsten Hughes landed on her feet at the Norfolk County sheriff’s office. […]
Baker, McDermott fight to retain control of sheriff’s post
Posted inUncategorized
DeLeo, Spilka promise abortion debate in lame duck session
A clarification has been added to this story about current law. MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE SPEAKER Robert DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka announced on Monday that the two branches will take up […]
Posted inTransportation
Walsh calls at-grade throat ‘right thing to do’
IN A LETTER to state and federal transportation officials, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he strongly favors rebuilding the elevated section of the Massachusetts Turnpike and other infrastructure located in […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker urges 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. COVID curfew
IN AN EFFORT to crack down on informal social events that he believes are fueling a steady increase in COVID-19 cases, Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday urged Massachusetts residents to […]
Posted inPolitics
Trump or Biden? Big impact looms on state budget, health care, immigration
AS VOTERS ACROSS the nation wait eagerly for the results of Tuesday’s presidential election, here in Massachusetts the race could have major trickle-down effects. In addition to the question […]
Posted inOpinion
Obstacles vs. apathy in holding back turnout in communities of color
“I HAVE SAID this before, and I will say it again – the vote is precious. It is almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Mail-in voting may be here to stay
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Massachusetts allowed no-excuse mail-in voting for the first time this year as well as expanded early voting – and millions of voters took advantage. CommonWealth […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
COVID-19 spike at MCI-Norfolk
THE NUMBER OF PRISONERS testing positive for COVID-19 at MCI-Norfolk rose from 2 to 26 after the Department of Correction ordered facility-wide testing last week. The prison, which houses more […]
Posted inNews Analysis
What does early-vote surge mean for ‘Election Day’?
WE’RE GOING TO have to come up with a better phrase than “Election Day,” given how many Americans have already voted this year. As of Monday, over 95 million votes […]
Posted inThe Download
Mail-in voting may be here to stay
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Massachusetts allowed no-excuse mail-in voting for the first time this year as well as expanded early voting – and millions of voters took advantage. By […]
Posted inPolitics
Mail-in voting may be here to stay
BECAUSE OF THE coronavirus pandemic, Massachusetts allowed no-excuse mail-in voting for the first time this year as well as expanded early voting – and millions of voters took advantage. By […]
Posted inTransportation
T budget and service cuts are unwise
FOR DECADES, the MBTA has suffered from a chronic lack of investment. The bottom fell out during the record-breaking winter storms of 2015. Since then, the MBTA has carried out […]
Posted inOpinion
We need to close digital divide in Boston
EVEN IN THE MIDST of an unprecedented crisis, our communities are strong. They are resilient. They are full of students, immigrants, small business owners, caregivers, working families, and seniors – […]
Posted inOpinion
Failing algorithms in the throes of a pandemic
FOR YEARS I worked within health systems that perpetuated the idea that I was non-essential. My simple presence in the various medical spaces where I practiced as an emergency physician […]
Posted inOpinion
Election highlights our collective responsibility
THIS ELECTION is unprecedented in many ways: our country is still in the grips of a pandemic; millions of Americans are voting early and by mail for the first time; […]
Posted inEconomy
Justice demands that we strengthen eviction protections
BEFORE PASSING AWAY earlier this fall, Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants was clear about what he saw as the largest civil rights and public health crisis in his […]
Posted inOpinion
Voter expression is cause for optimism
MY OLD FRIEND and congressional colleague John S. McCain liked to joke that “it’s always darkest before it’s totally black” – wryly revising notions about it being darkest just before […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Weymouth settles compressor fight, collects $10m
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE TOWN OF WEYMOUTH will drop its ongoing legal fight against a controversial natural gas project, and energy giant Enbridge will pay the municipality $10 million […]
Posted inOpinion
Vote for climate and democracy
CLIMATE AND DEMOCRACY are on the ballot this fall for hundreds of thousands of voters across the Commonwealth. Voters in all or part of 44 communities (a complete list is […]
Posted inOpinion
Voc school admission guidelines racially unjust
DR. IBRAM X. KENDI, author of How to be an Antiracist, says racism is “like a metastatic disease that literally has spread to every part of the body politic.” What’s […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Prisoners try again for home confinement
ATTORNEYS FOR ILL and civilly committed prisoners are seeking an emergency court order requiring the head of the state’s prison system to implement a home confinement program amid growing COVID-19 […]
Posted inOpinion
Starting a corporate anti-racism movement
BY NOW, WE’VE all protested, cried, vented our outrage with our peers and urged our white friends and associates to join the cause of anti-racism. The question now is: What […]
Posted inUncategorized
Pioneer Institute letter
An open letter to Pioneer Institute and Charles Chieppo regarding your Attack on the Name of George Floyd FOR 32 YEARS, the Pioneer Institute has fought tooth and nail against […]
Posted inThe Download
Op-ed on union power decried as ‘racist’
A four-month-old opinion piece published in CommonWealth is igniting fresh controversy. On Friday, a group of minority, union, and liberal organizing groups – including the Boston chapter of the NAACP, […]