WHEN A BILL pausing foreclosures and evictions emerged from the Senate Ways and Means Committee, advocates for low-income individuals were unhappy with the details of the bill – and they […]
What happens when lawmakers disagree?
Posted inHealth Care
Foreign-trained medical professionals waiting to help
LAITH ALMATWARI has medical experience with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases that he thinks would be valuable in the fight against COVID-19, but bureaucratic red tape is preventing him from jumping into the […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Do we still need transportation legislation?
State lawmakers are starting over from scratch this week with the state budget, and many are wondering whether issues such as education and transportation that seemed so urgent just a […]
Posted inOpinion
Congress doing poor job addressing pandemic
“YOU NEVER WANT a serious crisis to go to waste.” That statement, made by incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, […]
Posted inTransportation
Do we still need transportation legislation?
STATE LAWMAKERS ARE starting over from scratch this week with the state budget, and many are wondering whether issues such as education and transportation that seemed so urgent just a […]
Posted inThe Download
Do we still need transportation legislation?
State lawmakers are starting over from scratch this week with the state budget, and many are wondering whether issues such as education and transportation that seemed so urgent just a […]
Posted inThe Download
Do we still need transportation legislation?
State lawmakers are starting over from scratch this week with the state budget, and many are wondering whether issues such as education and transportation that seemed so urgent just a […]
Posted inHealth Care
Walsh urges face coverings, curfew
WITH AN EXPECTED SURGE in COVID-19 cases approaching, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is encouraging everyone to wear a covering over their mouth and nose when they go outside and to […]
Posted inHealth Care
Tyer rallies Pittsfield to ‘crush the curve’
PITTSFIELD MAYOR Linda Tyer said the first coronavirus death in her community on March 22 hit her hard. “That really felt like a moment when this COVID-19 disease had a […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Baker calls new face mask guidance appropriate
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER didn’t wear a face mask at a press availability on Sunday, but he said new guidance from the federal government urging people to wear masks under certain […]
Posted inHealth Care
Rate of growth in COVID-19 cases slows
THE LATEST STATE FIGURES show a modest slowing of the growth in new COVID-19 cases, but troubling increases in deaths in Franklin, Berkshire, and Hampden counties. The number of positive […]
Posted inEconomy
Commonwealth’s COVID-19 response leaves too many behind
IT’S BEEN MORE than three weeks since Gov. Baker declared a state of emergency. Despite a number of efforts that have aimed to ensure that groups are not left behind […]
Posted inOpinion
Here’s how to steer a school through uncertain times
AS SCHOOL LEADERS, we prepare for shutdowns of two or three days due to extreme weather. We prepare for terrifying scenarios like school shootings. But not a single school leader […]
Posted inOpinion
We should all be wearing masks
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending everyone wear a face covering, particularly in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. CommonWealth recently reported […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Unusually high amount of deaths in Franklin Cty
DATA FROM THE MASSACHUSETTS Department of Public Health indicate an unusually high number of COVID-19 fatalities are occurring in Franklin County. Three new deaths were reported in Friday’s report, bringing […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC orders release of most defendants awaiting trial
THE STATE’S HIGHEST COURT Friday ordered nearly all people held in jails awaiting trial be released on their own recognizance because of the threat of COVID-19 infection. The unanimous opinion […]
Posted inHealth Care
State to track web of COVID-19 contacts
THE STATE IS PLANNING to launch by the end of this month a much broader and sophisticated system for tracking anyone who has come in contact with a person who […]
Posted inEconomy
Marijuana consumers flock to medical market
MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS CAN no longer walk into recreational marijuana shops, which have been ordered closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. But that doesn’t mean there’s no way to get weed. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Judge starts releasing ICE detainees during coronavirus spread concerns
A FEDERAL JUDGE on Friday ordered the release of three immigrant detainees being held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Bristol County House of Correction to reduce the potential for the spread […]
Posted inHealth Care
I had COVID-19. Or did I?
JUST OVER TWO weeks ago, I scrambled first for the medicine cabinet, and then for bed. After an ugly 15-round bout with the illness, I’m feeling much better. I had […]
Posted inOpinion
Progress on homelessness/COVID-19 is uneven
AT ONE OF HIS DAILY COVID-19 press briefings, Gov. Charlie Baker announced that the Newton Pavilion, formerly part of the Boston Medical Center campus, would serve as a health care […]
Posted inHealth Care
Is a negative COVID-19 test really negative?
I RECENTLY TESTED NEGATIVE for coronavirus. I was told instead it was probably a “viral upper respiratory infection,” which meant spending a few days married to my nebulizer machine. But now […]
Posted inThe Download
Is a negative COVID-19 test really a negative?
I recently tested negative for coronavirus. I was told instead it was probably a “viral upper respiratory infection,” which meant spending a few days married to my nebulizer machine. But […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Concerns rise at long-term care facilities
RESIDENTS OF LONG-TERM CARE facilities across the state are testing positive for COVID-19 in growing numbers, raising concerns that the highly contagious virus could sweep through a very vulnerable population. […]