The Download: State accessibility panel weighs conflict between two worthy aims
State accessibility panel weighs conflict between two worthy aims
At issue is a state regulation dating to 1968 aimed at promoting greater accommodation in buildings for people with disabilities.
Healey budget leans on surtax to drive up spending
Gov. Maura Healey proposed increasing state spending to more than $62 billion next fiscal year, relying on burgeoning income tax collections from the state’s wealthiest and a slew of other budget-balancing strategies in a spending plan unveiled Wednesday.
Josh Kraft would face long odds in race against Boston Mayor Michelle Wu
It’s no coincidence that no Boston mayor has lost reelection since 1949.
For Native issues in Massachusetts, mixed intentions and a mixed bag
A new report on Native American wealth gaps was released against the backdrop of a series of issues – including the redesign of the state seal and the run up to the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution – playing out across Massachusetts that affect Native citizens and their tribes.
Trump citizenship order draws quick lawsuit
President Donald Trump’s executive order attempting to redefine birthright citizenship drew an immediate lawsuit from immigrants’ rights groups, including the ACLU of Massachusetts, and another subsequent complaint from Attorney General Andrea Campbell and more than a dozen of her peers.
Clinging to the spirit of MLK on Trump’s inauguration day
In a discussion on The Codcast, Nicole Obi, president and CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, and Imari Paris Jeffries, executive director of Embrace Boston, processed the inauguration and readied for a potentially tumultuous next four years.
Reckoning with Trump’s inauguration on MLK day
CommonWealth Beacon’s Jennifer Smith is joined by Nicole Obi, president and CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, and Imari K. Paris Jeffries, executive director of Embrace Boston. They discuss how organizations dedicated to racial justice and equity are responding to the challenges of this political era.
Mass. owes feds $2.1 billion to resolve unemployment mistake
The state will pay the federal government $2.1 billion over the next decade after the Baker administration mistakenly used federal pandemic funds to cover unemployment benefits.
Getting the Boston Public Schools rightsizing right
There will be a lot of conversation about whether these particular schools should close and whether the process involved the right people at the right time. Just as important:: how closures and consolidations are implemented and what happens to students and educators in the process.
Should we limit expansion of natural gas infrastructure in Massachusetts?
The debate boils down to prioritizing tackling climate change or economic growth and energy independence.
Days before Trump takes office, Brayton Point loses $300 million offshore wind cable plant development project
The Italian company’s decision to abandon the $300 million project is “a major blow” to Somerset and raises questions about Massachusetts’ efforts to make offshore wind the centerpiece of a climate change policy.
Trump, MLK and the power of grace in an age of division
For all the cognitive dissonance we might feel as one of our country’s most divisive figures takes office on the holiday celebrating one of its great healers, we all should consider one way to help bridge the chasm of misunderstanding and conflict in our society: the power of grace.
Political Notebook: Maura Healey’s echo | Bitcoin strategic reserve?
There was talk of no new taxes, fixing the MBTA, and cutting red tape, all while avoiding direct references to Donald Trump.
Transportation funding plan falls short
The Transportation Funding Task Force report and recommendations do not represent a breakthrough moment, but more of the same.
Political headwinds, talk of competitiveness kept new taxes out of transportation task force discussions
Task force members, generally pleased with the final report and Gov. Healey’s plan as a first step, acknowledge there is still a lot of track ahead and new revenue options will need to be dealt with in the future.
Healey expands scope of shelter law shakeup
Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday recommended statutory changes to the decades-old Right to Shelter Law.
Should scandal-plagued pols resign?
WHEN DOES wrongdoing – or allegations of it – disqualify someone from holding elected office? Thanks to an ongoing stream of Massachusetts pols who manage to land in hot water, […]
New emergency regulations restart the clock for resistant MBTA communities
Non-compliant MBTA Communities – which now includes Needham – will