IN 1973, in the wake of two horrific fires in Boston and Chelsea, the Legislature approved an assessment on property and casualty insurance companies to pay for firefighter training. The […]
A budget item that keeps ballooning
Posted inThe Download
Are vaccines a religious matter?
More and more parents are citing religion in choosing not to vaccinate their children against a host of diseases. Children entering school are required by state law to be immunized […]
Posted inUncategorized
Are vaccines a religious matter?
MORE AND MORE parents are citing religion in choosing not to vaccinate their children against a host of diseases. Children entering school are required by state law to be immunized […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Lawmakers hike assessment on utilities 50%
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THOUGH LAWMAKER LEFT a handful of proposed taxes on the cutting room floor when they compromised on a budget, the fiscal year 2020 spending plan being […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawmakers call Pollack back next week on RMV
SETTING THE STAGE for another confrontation with the Baker administration, leaders of the Transportation Committee on Wednesday scheduled a hearing next week in their ongoing probe of the massive procedural […]
Posted inOpinion
Why is off-peak Red Line service being cut?
IT’S NOT SURPRISING that service on the Red Line has suffered in the wake of the June 11 derailment that took out a large chunk of the line’s signal system. […]
Posted inThe Download
Finding a more ‘perfect fit’ for parking
IN THE EFFORT to get more housing built to meet demand — and to temper the continued run-up in costs that make the Boston region one of the most expensive […]
Posted inTransportation
Unused parking spots driving up cost of housing
A WIDESPREAD OVER-SUPPLY of parking in metro Boston residential developments is driving up the cost of housing and may encourage people to own cars who otherwise would not, according to […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Capital spending reaches $1b
THE MBTA SPENT more than $1 billion on capital projects in fiscal 2019 – about $50 million more than the transit authority’s goal for the year. The good news was […]
Posted inPolitics
Walsh pitches ride-hailing fees as traffic solution
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY Walsh wants to reduce traffic choking city streets and enhance transit options in the city through a mixture of targeted taxes on ride-hailing services and investments by […]
Posted inThe Download
Pacheco raises concerns on offshore wind pricing
Sen. Marc Pacheco of Taunton raised an interesting policy issue on Monday when he spoke out against a provision in the Legislature’s budget that would tweak the way the state […]
Posted inEnvironment
Pacheco raises concerns on offshore wind pricing
SEN. MARC PACHECO of Taunton raised an interesting policy issue on Monday when he spoke out against a provision in the Legislature’s budget that would tweak the way the state […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Workforce slated to grow 10.5% this year
THE MBTA WANTS TO INCREASE the size of its workforce by 10.5 percent this fiscal year. In a presentation to the T’s Fiscal and Management Control Board, Matt St. Hilaire, […]
Posted inPolitics
Local Puerto Ricans join calls for island governor to quit
MASSACHUSETTS PUERTO RICANS are joining the groundswell of calls for the island’s governor, Ricardo Rosselló, to resign following the release of private chats showing him and other top government officials […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Immigrant advocates slam Trump asylum changes
It’s inhumane. It’s a violation of international law. It’s not the way things have worked since the mid-1960s. These were the arguments of immigration advocates following last week’s announcement by […]
Posted inTransportation
State calls off sale of East Boston easement rights
STATE TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS said on Monday they are canceling the planned sale of rights to a stretch of land in East Boston and instead committing to a study of the area […]
Posted inPolitics
Frustrated lawmakers abruptly end RMV oversight hearing
This story was updated. FRUSTRATED OVER THE lack of cooperation from the Baker administration on a legislative probe into extensive failures at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, lawmakers cut short […]
Posted inEducation
School funding bill should be about more than money
THE SCHOOL FUNDING BILL being debated in the Legislature is about something much bigger than school funding. It’s about fixing the state’s most daunting problem: the growing, intractable opportunity gap between […]
Posted inUncategorized
Immigrant advocates slam Trump asylum changes
IT’S INHUMANE. It’s a violation of international law. It’s not the way things have worked since the mid-1960s. These were the arguments of immigration advocates following last week’s announcement by […]
Posted inThe Download
Immigrant advocates slam Trump asylum changes
It’s inhumane. It’s a violation of international law. It’s not the way things have worked since the mid-1960s. These were the arguments of immigration advocates following last week’s announcement by […]
Posted inTransportation
Traffic congestion is a health hazard
MASSACHUSETTS’ TRAFFIC CONGESTION causes stress and financial strain for commuters, but it can also be bad for their health — especially when clogged roads become a barrier to getting quality […]
Posted inTransportation
T has extra $1.2b: How would you spend it?
IT HASN’T RECEIVED a lot of attention, but the MBTA has an extra $1.2 billion in untapped capital funds at its disposal. The agency’s five-year capital spending plan has $9.4 […]
Posted inUncategorized
Budget stalemate ends, plan ups spending
ABOUT THREE WEEKS into the fiscal year, House and Senate budget negotiators have produced a compromise budget bill that takes some steps toward reducing pharmaceutical costs for Medicaid, nixes proposed […]
Posted inOpinion
Massachusetts must ensure census ‘counts’
NUMBERS COUNT. The data collected by the US Census Bureau every 10 years is used to draw voting districts and determine how much funding to give states and municipalities. The bureau is […]