AS REPUBLICANS hold their national convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, the leading Republican in Massachusetts appears to be going in a different direction, supporting Democrats and Republicans running for statewide […]
As GOP holds convention, Baker-linked PAC backs Dems
Posted inPolitics
Federal immigration agency cancels furloughs
EMPLOYEES THAT WORK for the federal agency that processes immigrant visas found out Tuesday morning they won’t be furloughed after all, but the spending cuts that allowed the agency to […]
Posted inThe Download
Newspaper endorsements becoming scarce
Political endorsements, once considered part of every newspaper’s job description, are becoming a rarity. In Massachusetts, we’re one week away from primary day and many people have already voted by […]
Posted inPolitics
Newspaper endorsements becoming scarce
Political endorsements, once considered part of every newspaper’s job description, are becoming a rarity. In Massachusetts, we’re one week away from primary day and many people have already voted by […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins withdraws motion for higher bail in case involving Bail Fund
SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY Rachael Rollins said on Monday that her office is withdrawing a motion seeking a steep increase in bail for a homeless defendant whose original bail was […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Pollack to pick preferred ‘throat’ approach in Oct.
Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack indicated on Monday that in October she intends to pick a “preferred alternative” for the I-90 Allston project, including how to reconstruct the transportation infrastructure in […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker-linked PAC backs 13 Dems, 4 Republicans in primary battles
A SUPER PAC with ties to Republican Gov. Charlie Baker is pouring nearly $94,000 into 17 state primary races involving 13 Democrats and four Republicans. The Massachusetts Majority Political Action […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Markey-Kennedy race in the homestretch
Nearly everyone agrees that when Joe Kennedy launched his primary challenge nearly a year ago to Sen. Ed Markey, the son of the state’s most storied political family looked like […]
Posted inTransportation
T preps for $308m deficit in fiscal 2022
The MBTA, facing tremendous budget uncertainty, is starting work now to close an estimated $308 million deficit looming in the fiscal year that starts in July 2021. The MBTA is […]
Posted inThe Download
Markey’s remarkable reinvention
NEARLY EVERYONE AGREES that when Joe Kennedy launched his primary challenge nearly a year ago to Sen. Ed Markey, the son of the state’s most storied political family looked like […]
Posted inPolitics
Markey’s remarkable reinvention
NEARLY EVERYONE AGREES that when Joe Kennedy launched his primary challenge nearly a year ago to Sen. Ed Markey, the son of the state’s most storied political family looked like […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DA seeks bail increase after learning nonprofit fund would pay it
IN A MOVE that reform advocates call an alarming turn away from the effort to reduce the role of bail in the criminal justice system — a movement her own […]
Posted inOpinion
A new, bigger I-90 viaduct is not the answer
IN 1965, Massachusetts officials opened the Allston section of I-90, shoehorning an eight-lane elevated highway between Boston University and the Charles River, dividing a vibrant working-class community and wounding vital […]
Posted inOpinion
Cannabis sales are benefitting our communities
AS THE TRADITIONAL July 1 deadline for Massachusetts to finalize its annual budget passed without action, we continue to wonder when we will see a reversal of the significant economic […]
Posted inUncategorized
After 19 years in refugee camps, a new home in Lowell
PAW PYA, spent more than half of her life in Thai refugee camps, longing for a permanent home. Coronavirus tacked another five months onto her wait. But following the July 29 lifting of a ban […]
Posted inEducation
Boston students to start the school year at home
FOR MORE THAN 54,000 Boston Public School students, the school year will start remotely, with plans to phase in a hybrid model that mixes remote and in-person instruction as long it appears safe to do so. At […]
Posted inUncategorized
Licensing of new childcare providers on hold
NICOLE MCCORMACK, a hairstylist from Haverhilll, always dreamed of opening a home daycare. So with her youngest son entering kindergarten, she started applying for a license in March. Five months […]
Posted inOpinion
Why is Beacon Hill embracing sick bank bills?
A RECENT Commonwealth opinion piece by former state senator Ben Downing forcefully criticized “the glacial pace of change on Beacon Hill.” For the past three decades, Downing argued, our political leaders have […]
Posted inEconomy
Massachusetts unemployment rate highest in the country — again
MASSACHUSETTS HAS THE HIGHEST unemployment rate in the country for the second month in a row, as the state continues the struggle to regain its economic footing. The Bay State had the […]
Posted inThe Download
A bipartisan State House stand against Postal Service cuts
Boston isn’t Washington, and President Trump’s concerns don’t represent Beacon Hill Republicans. As if that weren’t clear enough already, Massachusetts House Minority Leader Brad Jones, a North Reading Republican, is […]
Posted inPolitics
A bipartisan State House stand against Postal Service cuts
BOSTON ISN’T WASHINGTON, and President Trump’s concerns don’t represent Beacon Hill Republicans. As if that weren’t clear enough already, Massachusetts House Minority Leader Brad Jones, a North Reading Republican, is […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Justice Department seeks reinstatement of Tsarnaev death penalty
THE US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE will seek to have the death penalty reinstated for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who had his death sentence overturned by a US Appeals […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Curtatone, Novick hit Baker reopening guidance
FOR MONTHS, school districts were struggling to decide whether to reopen schools in person, with little guidance from the state as to what thresholds to use to make that decision. […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Curtatone, Novick hit Baker reopening guidance
FOR MONTHS, school districts were struggling to decide whether to reopen schools in person, with little guidance from the state as to what thresholds to use to make that decision. […]