LESS THAN A year after Massachusetts enacted sweeping legislation to revamp its school funding formula to steer millions of dollars in new aid to low-income districts, a new report suggests […]
Report says $500 million in state education funding goes to most affluent communities
Posted inTransportation
Doubling down on the past
THIS IS A TALE of two transportation issues – a window on how we may be losing the opportunity moment provided by a generationally disruptive pattern break. The pattern break, […]
Posted inEducation
Attack resumes on racial diversity in higher ed
ON WEDNESDAY, the First Circuit Court of Appeals will begin hearing arguments in Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard College. This case against Harvard’s use of holistic admissions – including […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
National mayors group calls for change in policing
ANY REFORM OF police policies and practices in the US will happen municipality by municipality. It’s in the nature of locally-controlled police governance in our country. So when the leading […]
Posted inUncategorized
SJC seems wary of upending COVID-19 fight
SEVERAL MEMBERS of the Supreme Judicial Court seemed wary on Friday of upending the fight against COVID-19 during a hearing on a case challenging the sweeping powers Gov. Charlie Baker […]
Posted inThe Download
Baker looks to leverage bail controversy
Criminal justice reform supporters have been pushing to draw attention to the role played by bail in the legal system. Whether this will end up being a case of “be […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker looks to leverage bail controversy
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM supporters have been pushing to draw attention to the role played by bail in the legal system. Whether this will end up being a case of “be […]
Posted inUncategorized
Federal judge refuses to lift eviction ban
US DISTRICT COURT Judge Mark Wolf on Thursday refused to order an end to the state’s temporary ban on most evictions and foreclosures, but he indicated the pandemic is not […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker unveils nursing home aid package
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION on Thursday unveiled a support package for nursing homes that ties staffing and occupancy reforms to additional, stable long-term funding and short-term aid in the event COVID-19 […]
Posted inUncategorized
Contact tracing ramping up hiring again
THE MASSACHUSETTS CONTACT tracing effort, which scaled back its workforce dramatically this summer as the spread of COVID-19 subsided, is ramping up again. The nonprofit Partners in Health, which works […]
Posted inEconomy
Baker plugs funds, restaurant dining
THE SITUATION at Bistro 5 in Medford didn’t look good in July. Owner Vittorio Ettore said he was getting just under 30 customers a week at the restaurant. One Friday […]
Posted inOpinion
A civil justice crisis is coming
THE COVID-19 CRISIS has come at Massachusetts in waves: a public health emergency, an economic collapse, a widening of racial disparities, and now, an overwhelming need for legal help. In […]
Posted inOpinion
Tenants facing eviction need legal representation
THE ECONOMIC IMPACT of the coronavirus has hurt a lot of people, but few have been hit harder than low-income renters and communities of color. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council […]
Posted inThe Download
Opposition forming to ranked-choice voting
The ranked-choice voting ballot campaign has been pushing its message for months with only minimal, informal opposition. Now, with two months left before the election, an organization is finally forming […]
Posted inPolitics
Opposition forming to ranked-choice voting
THE RANKED-CHOICE voting ballot campaign has been pushing its message for months with only minimal, informal opposition. Now, with two months left before the election, an organization is finally forming to […]
Posted inUncategorized
Communities at high-risk for COVID-19 grow
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER talked up the state’s progress in dealing with COVID-19 on Wednesday, but the latest data using the administration’s most closely watched metric showed the situation worsening on several […]
Posted inEducation
Worcester is leaving low-income students behind
THE COVID-19 CRISIS has thrown into relief the need for us to reassess the use of technology in education, public access to digital devices, and robust, reliable broadband as we […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker: COVID precautions driving down health care costs
Gov. Charlie Baker said on Wednesday that health care costs overall in Massachusetts are dropping, not because fears of COVID-19 are prompting people to avoid hospitals but because the incidence […]
Posted inEducation
Unions say ruling against Andover teachers won’t curb activities
AS SCHOOL DISTRICTS and teachers’ unions continue to debate whether teachers must report to work in person, a decision by the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board condemning an “illegal strike” by […]
Posted inEconomy
SJC case questions enforceability of Uber rider agreement
HAVE YOU EVER scrolled past the terms and conditions when downloading a new app, then mindlessly clicked “done” without reading the fine print? Most of us have done that more […]
Posted inThe Download
Group gatherings at universities…exactly how small?
Limits on gatherings at local universities are suddenly a hot topic after Northeastern University dismissed 11 students on Friday for violating the campus’ coronavirus policy on parties and meet-ups. The […]
Posted inEducation
Group gatherings at universities…exactly how small?
LIMITS ON GATHERINGS at local universities are suddenly a hot topic after Northeastern University dismissed 11 students on Friday for violating the campus’ coronavirus policy on parties and meet-ups. The […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Study spotlights racial disparities in state criminal justice system
A NEW REPORT prompted by the huge overrepresentation of blacks and Latinos in Massachusetts prisons zeroes in on disparities at various stages of the court system’s handling of cases that […]
Posted inPolitics
Car manufacturers pool $25m to fight auto repair ballot question
THE NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE industry is ponying up huge sums of money to defeat a question on the Massachusetts ballot that would give independent auto repair shops the right to access […]