With spring comes the annual ritual of MCAS testing in Massachusetts schools. It’s how we gauge the performance of individual students as well as schools and districts. The assessment of […]
Putting standardized testing to the test
Posted inOpinion
Carbon pricing needed to address climate change
IT IS SOMETIMES DIFFICULT to see the path forward on climate change. There are so many variables and misdirections. How do we address cow belches – one of the most […]
Posted inOpinion
Be Republican, don’t be intimidated
WE REPUBLICANS in Massachusetts often feel the brunt of intimidation from our neighbors, co-workers, and sometimes even family members. The listener hears us speak approvingly of the Republican Party, of […]
Posted inOpinion
Students need new skillset – creativity
TODAY WE MUST educate children for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented. The tumultuous change on our planet, in our societies, and in our schools, […]
Posted inOpinion
Nailing a rung into the nursing home career ladder
AS RECENT NEWS HAS MADE CLEAR, nursing homes have a Medicaid reimbursement problem. What you may not have heard during the steady drumbeat of media coverage is that nursing homes also […]
Posted inEnvironment
Mass. to double offshore wind procurements
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is pushing ahead with plans to double the procurement of offshore wind power over the next several years, a move that will increase wind’s share of the […]
Posted inEducation
Riley throws in towel on New Bedford charter plan
FOUR MONTHS AFTER he unveiled a novel proposal for a New Bedford charter school billed as a way to ease the acrimony that has plagued the state’s education sector, Massachusetts […]
Posted inOpinion
Keeping politics in check
I’M AT CARRIE NATION, a prohibition-era themed Beacon Hill bar just down the street from the Massachusetts State House. On an island of tables floating between a legislative fundraiser in […]
Posted inPolitics
Lynch edges away from his ‘pro-life’ label
CONGRESSMAN STEPHEN LYNCH says he will renounce his “pro-life” label if the term becomes defined by the slew of measures passed by state legislatures to severely restrict or eliminate abortions. […]
Posted inThe Download
Lynch edges away from his ‘pro-life’ label
Congressman Stephen Lynch says he will renounce his “pro-life” label if the term becomes defined by the slew of measures passed by state legislatures to severely restrict or eliminate abortions. […]
Posted inOpinion
New Bedford charter deal is immoral
STATE REPS. Antonio Cabral, Christopher Hendricks, and William Straus have boldly asserted their opposition to the unprecedented charter school model proposed for the city of New Bedford. They have demonstrated […]
Posted inEducation
New Bedford charter legislation delayed again
SEN. PAT JEHLEN of Somerville, an outspoken charter school critic, threw a procedural roadblock in front of a New Bedford home rule petition to advance a novel charter school plan […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo sidestepping Baker on bonds
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO is using a novel funding approach for his climate change legislation, authorizing the issuance of $1 billion in state general obligation bonds that would be exempt […]
Posted inUncategorized
Markey slams Trump ‘stealth attack’ on immigrants
US SEN. EDWARD MARKEY released a report on Thursday that he said “helps to pull back the curtain” on ways President Trump is reducing the number of immigrants coming into […]
Posted inThe Download
GateHouse keeps cutting
Local journalism is a field full of landmines. One day a reporter could have a job, and the next day he or she is laid off. Possibly even worse, the […]
Posted inUncategorized
GateHouse keeps cutting
LOCAL JOURNALISM Is a field full of landmines. One day a reporter could have a job, and the next day he or she is laid off. Possibly even worse, the […]
Posted inEducation
With time short, New Bedford charter bill inches along
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A CONTROVERSIAL and time-sensitive New Bedford charter school bill inched along on Beacon Hill Wednesday as the House sent the legislation to the Education Committee for […]
Posted inPolitics
Betting notes: DeLeo wants floor vote on sports bill
THERE ARE SCORES of variables for lawmakers to consider as they put together a regulatory scheme to legalize sports betting, but Speaker Robert DeLeo has already made up his mind […]
Posted inPolitics
Lowell settlement scraps city’s current electoral system
THE CITY OF LOWELL settled a federal lawsuit filed by a group of Asian-American and Latino voters by agreeing to scrap the voting system the municipality has used for the […]
Posted inThe Download
O’Keefe jumps jurisdictions with charges against Rollins
The state’s district attorneys are generally in the business of bringing charges against alleged criminal offenders, not against each other. But Cape and Islands DA Michael O’Keefe’s op-ed in yesterday’s […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
O’Keefe jumps jurisdictions with charges against Rollins
THE STATE’S DISTRICT ATTORNEYS are generally in the business of bringing charges against alleged criminal offenders, not against each other. But Cape and Islands DA Michael O’Keefe’s op-ed in yesterday’s […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins, ICE make nice
SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY Rachael Rollins said on Tuesday that her office has had better cooperation with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement since she and a fellow DA filed a […]
Posted inPolitics
GOP chair targets ‘radical left Dems’
MASSACHUSETTS REPUBLICAN PARTY Chairman Jim Lyons sent an email out over the weekend recruiting candidates to “challenge the radical left Democrats” across the state. The email asks: “Have you had […]
Posted inGambling
Wynn board pays $35.5m, brings saga to an end
THE WYNN RESORTS BOARD of directors said on Tuesday that it disagrees with a number of comments and conclusions about President and CEO Matt Maddox contained in a recent decision […]