The Download: The spirit of MLK on Trump’s inauguration day
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.Â
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
Healey task force turns to existing tax to boost MBTA, transportation infrastructure
Healey administration officials are attempting to deploy millionaires tax revenue in a way that was first tested on a smaller scale last year.
The dividing line on millionaires tax money
One of the main backers of the 2022 ballot question says a split between education and transportation shouldn’t be locked in.
3 critical transportation issues we must confront in 2025
At the state level, 2025 presents a generational opportunity to reverse the failed policies of the past that have left us with the unacceptable status quo of chronic traffic congestion, substandard sustainable access to key regional destinations, degraded air quality, and poor land use.
DiZoglio not satisfied with Senate Democrats’ audit response
The Senate Subcommittee tasked with handling Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s quest to probe the Legislature agreed Monday to meet with her office but outlined a string of issues.
SJC lays down the law on MBTA Communities
Commonwealth Beacon’s Jennifer Smith chats with Greg Reibman, president of the Charles River Regional Chamber, and Luc Schuster, executive director of Boston Indicators at the Boston Foundation. They discuss how the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling on the MBTA Communities Act impacts the state’s power to mandate zoning reform in cities and towns.
Listen to past Codcasts on this topic: ‘Milton’s dilemma in the face of housing reform’ (10/13/24) , ‘AG Andrea Campbell talks local power and gambling boom’ (4/14/24) , ‘MBTA Communities panel splits over state vs. local control’ (4/7/24)
An MBTA Communities reality check
Days after the SJC ruled on the MBTA Communities Act, proponents consider the way the housing law was pitched and debated. Greg Reibman, president of the Charles River Regional Chamber, and Luc Schuster, executive director of Boston Indicators at the Boston Foundation.
Canales stepping down as president of Barr Foundation
JIM CANALES, who has overseen a more than doubling of annual giving at the Barr Foundation while presiding over its emergence as a major civic player in Greater Boston, plans […]