It’s now clear that mailed ballots will assume a prominent role in the November presidential election. The only question is whether that role ends up being to helpfully expand access […]
Mail-in ballots now central feature of election
Posted inCriminal Justice
Senate candidates address evolving views during criminal justice forum
SEN. ED MARKEY and Rep. Joe Kennedy III showed a few distinct differences in how they approach a major concern of the day — how do you reform a broken […]
Posted inUncategorized
One in three renters at risk for eviction, advocates say
A NEW EVICTIONS ANALYSIS using polling and research data from the US Census Bureau’s most recent housing survey indicates one in three Massachusetts renter households are at risk of eviction. […]
Posted inHealth Care
Nursing home operator disputes termination claims
THE FOUNDER AND CEO of the company that runs two of the three nursing homes the state is moving to shut down said the decision runs counter to the facts […]
Posted inEducation
Boston city councilor urges BU, Northeastern not to bring students back
BOSTON CITY COUNCILOR Kenzie Bok, whose district includes both the Boston University and Northeastern University campuses, says the schools are enormous assets to the city, from research and arts to […]
Posted inEducation
Ed Commissioner Jeff Riley pushes in-person learning
MASSACHUSETTS EDUCATION Commissioner Jeffrey Riley is strongly urging local schools to open in person this fall, pushing back against state teachers’ unions who are calling for the school year to […]
Posted inOpinion
Faneuil Hall name change needed
IN LIGHT OF the lynching of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter uprising, we call on the city of Boston to engage in the ongoing conversation, initiated by […]
Posted inHealth Care
New COVID-19 cases bump up again
THE NUMBER of new COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts rose by 438 on Tuesday, the highest one-day increase since June 6. The increases of late have been erratic even as the […]
Posted inEducation
‘Breakfast after the bell’ signed into law
WITHIN THE NEXT two years, it will become much easier for an estimated 150,000 low-income children in Massachusetts to eat breakfast in school. Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday signed a […]
Posted inUncategorized
Where is the uptick in COVID cases coming from?
IN JULY, the number of COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts increased most dramatically among people in their twenties. According to state data, people in the 20-29 age category saw their COVID-19 case […]
Posted inThe Download
Where is the uptick in COVID cases coming from?
In July, the number of COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts increased most dramatically among people in their twenties. According to state data, people in the 20-29 age category saw their COVID-19 […]
Posted inOpinion
Preventing evictions, promoting housing stability
THE PANDEMIC will have a lasting effect on our society that we can only begin to imagine. With over 150,000 Americans dead and counting, the psychological toll will be felt […]
Posted inOpinion
Lessons learned from the push for climate action
ON WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN the last day of the 2019-2020 legislative session, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a Roadmap Bill, helping to lay the foundation for a slightly more […]
Posted inHealth Care
3 nursing homes cut from Medicaid rolls
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION sent initial termination notices on Monday to three of the state’s 360 private nursing homes for failing to comply with MassHealth standards and for a “historic record […]
Posted inUncategorized
What will happen to 620,000 quarantined marijuana vapes?
WHAT DOES ONE do with 620,000 quarantined marijuana vapes? The answer, according to the state Cannabis Control Commission, is retest and resell them; use the material in another product; or destroy them. That […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Opponents debate merits of Maine hydro project
TWO BAY STATE REFERENDUM questions will appear on the ballot this fall in Massachusetts, along with a third in Maine. The referendum in Maine can be considered a Massachusetts question because […]
Posted inEnvironment
Opponents debate merits of Maine hydro project
TWO BAY STATE REFERENDUM questions will appear on the ballot this fall in Massachusetts, along with a third in Maine. CommonWealth Magazine · Opponents debate merits of Maine hydro project The […]
Posted inThe Download
Opponents debate merits of Maine hydro project
Two Bay State referendum questions will appear on the ballot this fall in Massachusetts, along with a third in Maine. CommonWealth Magazine · Opponents debate merits of Maine hydro project […]
Posted inOpinion
Getting rid of fossil fuels in buildings
ATTORNEY GENERAL Maura Healey recently ruled that Brookline’s clean energy bylaw prohibiting installation of oil and gas lines in new and substantially renovated buildings violates state law. It’s true—state preemption […]
Posted inHealth Care
Key COVID barometer takes jump
A KEY BAROMETER of the state’s fight against COVID-19 rose sharply on Sunday. The positive test rate (positive tests as a percentage of total tests) jumped to 2.65 percent, its […]
Posted inOpinion
Free the COVID-19 vaccine
AS THE SCOURGE of COVID-19 continues to grip the world, we are all hoping that science can give us both vaccines that protect us from COVID-19 infection, as well as […]
Posted inOpinion
Minimum guaranteed income = solution to poverty
IN THE WEEKS leading up to his assassination in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. launched a new chapter of his work, referred to as the “Poor People’s Campaign.” This […]
Posted inOpinion
Me and Roger Stone
I’ve “known” Roger Stone, whose prison sentence recently was commuted by President Trump, for 47 years, but only learned of it last year. Here’s how we met. IT WAS, by […]
Posted inOpinion
Public has interest in Pan Am Railways sale
ON JUNE 29, Trains Magazine reported that Pan Am Railways, the dominant freight carrier in northern New England, is for sale. Pan Am is perhaps best known to the public […]