When it comes to caring for children, what is safe and what is realistic may be two different things. That conflict is growing as daycares consider whether and how to […]
Petition seeks changes in child-care standards
Posted inUncategorized
House approves vote-by-mail for fall elections
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE on Thursday passed a bill that would allow any resident to vote by mail in the September and November elections. The bill is a compromise that rejects […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Healey seeks more power to investigate police misconduct
ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY and her colleagues in 17 other states are urging Congress to give them greater authority to investigate practices of patterned unconstitutional policing and bring enforcement actions […]
Posted inUncategorized
DCR cancels all state campground reservations
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION canceled all existing reservations at state campgrounds on Thursday and said new reservations can be made starting later this month for stays beginning on July 1. The […]
Posted inOpinion
What if we eliminated the police?
I HATE the PO-lice. This is not an easy thing to admit and will certainly generate a great deal of heat, but it is past time to do so. To […]
Posted inOpinion
We must hold on to hope
WHEN WE THINK about our own personal lives — or the life of our nation — hope is an essential ingredient. With it, everything seems possible. Without it, bumps in […]
Posted inEnvironment
Healey calls for orderly transition away from natural gas
ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY petitioned the Department of Public Utilities on Thursday to investigate how the state’s natural gas utilities should transition to a future where the fuel they are […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Some police are taking a knee – what does that mean?
ALMOST FOUR YEARS AFTER former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick opted to kneel during the national anthem, police officers across the nation are doing the same, including in Massachusetts. At […]
Posted inEducation
Mass. schools must recommit to knowledge-based curriculum
LONG BEFORE OTHER states, Massachusetts understood that a democratic republic can’t endure without a good public education system. Its constitution, written by John Adams in 1780, requires that it “cherish” education. […]
Posted inThe Download
Some police are taking a knee
Almost four years after former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick opted to kneel during the national anthem, police officers across the nation are doing the same, including in Massachusetts. […]
Posted inPolitics
Town clerks say they can’t handle flood of mail-in ballots
EVERYONE IS IN favor making sure all voters can cast ballots this fall, even if coronavirus fears mean they don’t necessarily do so in person at a polling place. But […]
Posted inUncategorized
Ureña demands $265 for expense records
FRANCISCO URENA, the state secretary of veterans’ services, is demanding $265 to produce one year of his expense records. The general counsel for the veterans’ agency, Stuart Ivimey, said the […]
Posted inHealth Care
42% of nursing home residents test positive
NEW DATA RELEASED on Wednesday indicate 42 percent of the state’s nursing home residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and nearly 14 percent of the facilities where they reside are […]
Posted inEconomy
House votes to cap food delivery fees
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE on Wednesday passed a bill that would temporarily cap the fees that delivery services can charge restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic. The provision was part of a […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker juggles COVID, Floyd issues
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is now trying to juggle the reopening of the state’s economy while formulating a legislative response to the George Floyd protests over policing. At a State House […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
SJC judges decry racism in criminal justice system
The seven justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court released the following letter on Wednesday, June 3. Dear Members of the Judiciary and the Bar: The events of the last […]
Posted inUncategorized
Federal immigration office reopens
THE BOSTON OFFICE of the federal immigration agency that deals with the country’s naturalization process reopened today, 11 weeks after shutting down most in-person services due to the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesperson said that USCIS is […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins, Boston police union clash
PROTESTS OVER THE police killing of George Floyd have exposed a deep divide in the country on race issues. That schism is now playing out within Boston’s law enforcement community. Suffolk […]
Posted inThe Download
Rollins, Boston police union clash
Protests over the police killing of George Floyd have exposed a deep divide in the country on race issues. That schism is now playing out within Boston’s law enforcement community. […]
Posted inUncategorized
Officials of color unveil 10-point plan
THE PRESS CONFERENCE in front of the State House started with a moment of silence – 8 minutes and 46 seconds to be exact, the amount of time George Floyd, an unarmed […]
Posted inPolitics
We must act now to protect the primary election
THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE primary on September 1 is now less than 100 days away. If we want to avoid the horror stories we’ve seen from states like Wisconsin and Florida, then […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Healey: ‘America is burning. But that’s how forests grow’
ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY, in a passionate speech on Tuesday, suggested the protests sweeping the nation may yield long-term benefits. “Yes, America is burning. But that’s how forests grow,” she […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC refuses to order release of convicted prisoners
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT refused to issue a preliminary injunction that would have released convicted prisoners to house arrest on Tuesday, holding that their continued incarceration increased their odds of […]
Posted inThe Download
Another test for the state’s struggling GOP
It’s hard to tell what the Massachusetts Republican Party stands for these days. Gov. Charlie Baker, the state’s leading Republican, disavowed President Trump on Monday, calling him out for his lack […]