WITH COVID-19 DEATHS and infections remaining low here, enhanced federal unemployment benefits continuing through July, and the state’s emergency freeze on evictions still in effect, it’s possible to believe that […]
The eye of a housing hurricane
Posted inCriminal Justice
House approves police reform bill on 93-66 vote
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AND ON THE third day, after sessions that ran for a collective 35 hours, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a sweeping police reform and accountability […]
Posted inPolitics
Anti-Trump ‘Gen Z’ Republicans look for a home
WHEN MIKE BRODO chaired the Massachusetts Teenage Republicans in 2017-2018, he was getting increasingly frustrated by the “Trumpism” dominating the national party. But Brodo said he looked to the more […]
Posted inEconomy
House releases sports betting bill
CONSIDER ITS UNCERTAIN ODDS as falling somewhere between a Hail Mary pass and a slam dunk. With a week left before the scheduled end of the legislative session, the Massachusetts House […]
Posted inOpinion
Telehealth needs to deliver care at a lower cost
WITH MANDATED CLOSURES, significant loss of revenue, and uncertainty impacting Main Street’s bottom line, the COVID-19 pandemic has already imposed unforeseen costs on small businesses struggling to survive. But even […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker called Holyoke Soldiers’ Home families
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Friday that he has called every family who lost a loved one to COVID-19 at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, and reached about 80 percent of […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker launches tougher ‘honor’ system for travelers
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Friday announced tougher-sounding restrictions on nearly all travelers entering the state from outside the region, requiring them to quarantine for 14 days or produce a negative […]
Posted inHealth Care
Telehealth is burgeoning, but how to pay for it?
SINCE THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic hit, going to a doctor’s appointment for many people has looked similar to going to work or visiting a parent: Go to a computer, log onto a […]
Posted inUncategorized
What about the back rent?
THE EXTENSION THIS week by Gov. Charlie Baker of a statewide eviction moratorium to mid-October provides two more months of breathing room for tenants. The eviction freeze, put in place in April […]
Posted inEducation
Worcester officials fed up with Charter/Spectrum
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN internet service is a barrier to remote learning? And what happens when resolving the internet access problem is in the hands of a private company, which holds a […]
Posted inThe Download
Worcester officials fed up with Charter/Spectrum
What happens when internet service is a barrier to remote learning? And what happens when resolving the internet access problem is in the hands of a private company, which holds […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mass. nursing homes need a permanent fix
I STARTED MY career in long term care as a nursing home social worker on Cape Cod in 1991 and now operate a non-profit system that includes eight skilled nursing […]
Posted inEducation
Lawsuits seek records on info-sharing with feds
STUDENT ADVOCACY GROUPS filed lawsuits on Thursday against the Boston Public Schools and the Boston Police Department seeking records that would shed light on how the two city agencies share […]
Posted inHealth Care
Ex-Holyoke Soldiers’ Home superintendent disputes independent report
AN ATTORNEY REPRESENTING ousted Holyoke Soldiers’ Home superintendent Bennett Walsh on Thursday disputed many of the central claims in an independent investigation that looked at what caused a massive coronavirus […]
Posted inOpinion
Baker not doing enough on environmental justice
ONE EVENING IN 2007, Chelsea, East Boston, Roxbury, and Dorchester residents packed Chelsea High School auditorium with signs that read “Clean Air is a Human Right” and “Got Asthma?” They […]
Posted inOpinion
We need to build on telehealth
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has significantly altered the way Massachusetts residents live and work. Our healthcare system also changed nearly overnight as traditional medical groups scrambled to develop capacity to see […]
Posted inEducation
Private schools, charters moved forward with remote curriculum
WHEN THIRD-GRADER Alisa Paley’s public elementary school in Canton closed for COVID-19, the school gave students laptops and her teacher held optional daily 40-minute Zoom meetings. A month in, the […]
Posted inRace/Racism
House police reform debate moves at glacial pace
THE HOUSE ON WEDNESDAY moved at a glacial pace through the 217 proposed amendments to a police reform bill. By day’s end, according to the State House News Service, six amendments […]
Posted inThe Download
House police reform debate moves at glacial pace
The House on Wednesday moved at a glacial pace through the 217 proposed amendments to a police reform bill. By day’s end, according to the State House News Service, six […]
Posted inOpinion
COVID throwing MCAS for a loop
In a recent column, Liam Kerr was so focused on excoriating the Massachusetts Teachers Association leadership that he failed to recognize that MCAS is in deep trouble. Logistically, it’s hard […]
Posted inOpinion
Salvaging an unsatisfying legislative session on transportation
THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE the year for the Massachusetts Legislature to deliver a major overhaul of the state’s transportation system. The stars had begun to align in early March […]
Posted inHealth Care
Children slower than adults to resume medical care
NEW DATA RELEASED Wednesday by the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission show that while adults are returning to the doctor at near pre-pandemic levels, children are not. The national data show that doctors’ visits for adults […]
Posted inTransportation
T control board to remain largely intact
THE MBTA’S FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT CONTROL BOARD will remain largely intact going forward, as four of the five members, including chair Joseph Aiello, have decided to stay on for the […]
Posted inRace/Racism
Masking your political views
AT THE WASHINGTON POST, owned by bazillionaire Jeff Bezos, the slogan adopted shortly after President Trump took office proclaims, “Democracy dies in darkness.” At Whole Foods supermarkets, which Bezos also owns, […]