THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT issued a ruling Tuesday that will make it easier for Massachusetts prisoners to request medical parole, which is sometimes called compassionate release. The court held that […]
SJC voids medical parole regulations
Posted inOpinion
Unpacking Riley’s teacher licensing proposal
THOUGH TOO TIMID BY FAR, a proposed alternative route to state teacher licensing is a hopeful crack in the armor of our destructive obsession with high-stakes testing. If you read […]
Posted inEducation
Northeastern heads north to Maine
WHENEVER PEOPLE IN Boston get nervous about the local economy, you often hear someone say that at least the bedrock of that economy — the colleges and hospitals — can’t […]
Posted inThe Download
Northeastern heads north to Maine
Whenever people in Boston get nervous about the local economy, you often hear someone say that at least the bedrock of that economy — the colleges and hospitals — can’t […]
Posted inTransportation
Senators, unions push back against more T privatization
MBTA UNIONS and their legislative supporters launched a full-court press at Monday’s meeting of the Fiscal and Management Control Board to block efforts by the transit authority to buy 60 […]
Posted inUncategorized
Supreme Court allows Trump wealth test for immigrants
THE SUPREME COURT cleared the way for the Trump administration to begin enforcing new limits on immigrants who are considered likely to become dependent on government benefit programs, or “public […]
Posted inTransportation
T off to slow start on commuter rail makeover
THE MBTA IS OFF to a slow start in developing a plan to transform the state’s commuter rail system so it can provide more subway-like service. At a November 4 […]
Posted inUncategorized
Ex-Fox News host joins State House battle on nondisclosure agreements
WHEN GRETCHEN CARLSON filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes in a scandal that ultimately led to his firing, she said she had no idea […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Raising the alarm on housing
Tom O’Brien, one of the Boston-area’s leading developers, is raising the alarm about the region’s housing crisis. “One of the most important statistics that I’ve focused on in the last […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Fairmount Line getting 8 more daily trips
THE MBTA PLANS to launch new service along the Fairmount commuter rail line in May, testing whether four additional trips in each direction will boost ridership and how fare validators […]
Posted inUncategorized
Raising the alarm on housing
Tom O’Brien, one of the Boston-area’s leading developers, is raising the alarm about the region’s housing crisis. “One of the most important statistics that I’ve focused on in the last […]
Posted inThe Download
Raising the alarm on housing
Tom O’Brien, one of the Boston-area’s leading developers, is raising the alarm about the region’s housing crisis. “One of the most important statistics that I’ve focused on in the last […]
Posted inTransportation
Calling out the guardians of the T status quo
IT WAS STUNNING and deeply disappointing to read last week that the MBTA’s general manager didn’t see a time horizon earlier than 2030 for the completion of the Red-Blue connector […]
Posted inOpinion
2 simple steps to address climate change
HAVING GROWN UP in the wooded suburbs of Boston, and then moved to the deep woods of the Adirondack and Green Mountains, I can be fairly accused of loving the […]
Posted inOpinion
Our last-in-the-nation primary? Let it be.
THE 2020 MASSACHUSETTS US Senate primary may well turn out to be one of the year’s most contentious races. At a minimum, it will provide some clues on the future […]
Posted inUncategorized
Immigration enforcement bill draws controversy at hearing
THE SAFE COMMUNITIES ACT saw its heyday on Friday with eight hours of testimony before the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security.  Refiled in 2019, the Safe Communities Act limits […]
Posted inOpinion
T needs to move fast on electric buses
Editor’s note: This op-ed was written prior to the filing of Senate climate legislation mandating an all-electric MBTA bus fleet by 2040.  RESIDENTS OF THE BOSTON AREA feel the pain […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Prepping to move female prisoners at MCI-Framingham
A STATE BOARD looking to convert two rundown prisons in Norfolk and Framingham into facilities that can house female prisoners from MCI-Framingham has narrowed the list of project designers to […]
Posted inEducation
As expected, new ed funding helps Gateway Cities
MASSACHUSETTS’S POOREST CITIES will receive the most new money under the first year of implementation of a new education funding formula, but even wealthy communities will see their funding increase. […]
Posted inThe Download
Deportation battle exposes fuzzy border line
Granted it sits right on the edge of Boston Harbor on the country’s eastern shore. But it has never seemed particularly in question that East Boston is part of the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Deportation battle exposes fuzzy border line
GRANTED IT SITS right on the edge of Boston Harbor on the country’s eastern shore. But it has never seemed particularly in question that East Boston is part of the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Lawmakers seek answers on deported Iranian student
SEVERAL MEMBERS of the Massachusetts congressional delegation wrote letters to federal immigration officials on Thursday seeking answers on why Iranian student Mohammad Shahab Dehghani Hossein Abadi was deported as he […]
Posted inUncategorized
Priority-status pot entrepreneurs feeling frustrated
MARCUS WILLIAMS is a black man who grew up and is raising his family in Dorchester. He is passionate about the genetics of cannabis and wants to grow, manufacture, and […]
Posted inEnvironment
Senate to vote on sweeping climate change bill
THE SENATE IS PREPARING to vote on sweeping legislation to address climate change, putting in place a series of mandates and regulatory measures as well as phased-in carbon pricing on […]