Gov. Charlie Baker’s Transportation Climate Initiative looks a lot like a tax, but in legal terms it’s not. The Transportation Climate Initiative, or TCI, would require automobile fuel distributors in […]
TCI looks a lot like a gas tax, but is it?
Posted inOpinion
Bringing nature back into our environment
EVEN IF WE STOPPED Using fossil fuels tomorrow, here in the Northeast we will continue to face more intense storms, more frequent drought, and more extreme heat. And virtually no […]
Posted inArts and Culture
The art of family reunification
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES and the Massachusetts Cultural Council – two agencies that would appear to have little in common – have launched a pilot program with the […]
Posted inTransportation
Tackling traffic, fixing the T, and saving the planet
THE TRANSPORTATION CHALLENGES facing the Boston region have come to feel like an existential threat on more than one level. Business leaders, including Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce chief Jim […]
Posted inThe Download
Tackling traffic, fixing the T, and saving the planet
The transportation challenges facing the Boston region have come to feel like an existential threat on more than one level. Business leaders, including Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce chief Jim […]
Posted inTransportation
Time for radical action at the T
THIS PAST FRIDAY the MBTA had to empty out the station at Central Square in Cambridge because a Red Line car was billowing smoke. The service has experienced fires along […]
Posted inUncategorized
Pols seek answers on sick immigrant medical program
CONGRESSWOMAN AYANNA PRESSLEY and Sen. Ed Markey say the Trump administration has not followed through on its pledge to reinstate a program that helps seriously ill immigrants remain in the […]
Posted inPolitics
Polito keeps helping O’Connell in run for mayor
LT. GOV. KARYN POLITO, who stirred controversy by giving Rep. Shaunna O’Connell a headstart in the race for mayor of Taunton, is now trying to give her campaign an edge. […]
Posted inUncategorized
Suffolk County breakup with ICE a mixed bag
The number of county jails in Massachusetts that have contracts to hold detainees for federal immigration authorities is about to go down to three. Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins announced […]
Posted inThe Download
Suffolk County breakup with ICE a mixed bag
The number of county jails in Massachusetts that have contracts to hold detainees for federal immigration authorities is about to go down to three. Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins announced […]
Posted inTransportation
Transpo notes: Baker sees 100m Uber, Lyft rides
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said he thinks ride-hailing apps will provide 100 million rides this year in Massachusetts. Data gathered by the Department of Public Utilities indicate ride-hailing apps such as […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker, Legislature at odds on transportation funding
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER and the Legislature are at odds on how much money is needed to fix the state’s ailing transportation infrastructure. Baker appeared before the Legislature’s Transportation Committee on […]
Posted inUncategorized
Celtics star hounded by Erdogan fans
This story has been updated to reflect that Bijan Rafiekian’s conviction was recently overturned. ENES KANTER was just trying to pray, but supporters of Turkey’s authoritarian leader found him on a […]
Posted inThe Download
Celtics star hounded by Erdogan fans
This story has been updated to reflect that Bijan Rafiekian’s conviction was recently overturned. Enes Kanter was just trying to pray, but supporters of Turkey’s authoritarian leader found him on […]
Posted inState House News Service
Woman in her 60s first Mass. vaping fatality
A WOMAN IN HER 60s from Hampshire County has died of a vaping-related lung illness, the first such case in Massachusetts, the Department of Public Health announced Monday afternoon. DPH […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker backs Moulton’s RMV proposal
ONCE SEEN AS POTENTIAL RIVALS, Congressman Seth Moulton and his North Shore neighbor Gov. Charlie Baker are rowing in the same direction on how to prevent a repeat of the […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Red Line ridership slow to recover
RED LINE SERVICE is back to normal in the wake of the June 11 derailment at the JFK/UMass Station, but ridership still hasn’t fully recovered. Data released on Monday indicate […]
Posted inTransportation
T struggling to meet budget targets
THREE MONTHS INTO into its current fiscal year, the MBTA is struggling to meet its budget targets. Revenues and expenses are on pace to come in nearly $53 million behind […]
Posted inTransportation
Pollack: Keolis may get an extension
WALKING BACK A POSITION she took in early 2017, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said on Monday that it may be necessary to extend the contract with Keolis Commuter Services for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Trump: No health insurance, no visa
A PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION by President Trump requiring future green card applicants to show they can afford health care is leaving Massachusetts critics and medical experts skeptical about the nuances of the policy, and […]
Posted inTransportation
Straus: Transportation revenue debate starting now
THE LONG-AWAITED legislative debate over how to fund improvements to the state’s beleaguered transportation system will kick off Tuesday, according to one of the key players. Gov. Charlie Baker himself […]
Posted inThe Codcast
T control board’s stance on revenues evolving
Seven months ago the MBTA’s oversight board indicated it was going to weigh in on whether the Legislature should explore new transportation funding initiatives, but since then there’s been nothing. Joe […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Americans evenly divided on impeachment
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TRUMP-UKRAINE story are coming at a breakneck pace, and so now are national polls asking about whether the President should be impeached. There are enough impeachment polls […]
Posted inTransportation
T control board’s stance on revenues evolving
Seven months ago the MBTA’s oversight board indicated it was going to weigh in on whether the Legislature should explore new transportation funding initiatives, but since then there’s been nothing. […]