STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOUSE AND SENATE lawmakers have agreed to a midyear spending bill that includes funding for home heating assistance, rape kit testing, and collective bargaining costs, but […]
Senate doesn’t go along with caucus fundraising
Posted inTransportation
T notes: New Orange Line cars delayed again
MBTA OFFICIALS ANNOUNCED on Monday that the rollout of new Orange Line vehicles is being delayed again, this time until sometime this summer. T officials say 10 Orange Line vehicles […]
Posted inTransportation
T vows ‘blitz’ will make stations look, smell better
THE MBTA, concerned that efforts to improve service have not been visible to most of its riders, is launching a $25 million spring cleaning at several of the transit authority’s […]
Posted inTransportation
T says warehouse vendor a big improvement
DESPITE SOME “BUMPS in the road,” the MBTA’s outsourced inventory management system is performing much better at less cost than the old warehouse operation run by T staff, top transit authority […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 144: H-P chief: Medicare for all debate is good
The chief executive of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care doesn’t want the government to take over the entire health insurance business – at least until after he retires – but he sees some […]
Posted inHealth Care
H-P chief: Medicare for all debate is good
THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care doesn’t want the government to take over the entire health insurance business – at least until after he retires – but he […]
Posted inThe Download
H-P chief: Medicare for all debate is good
The chief executive of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care doesn’t want the government to take over the entire health insurance business – at least until after he retires – but he […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. Teachers’ short-sighted talk of raiding rainy day fund
FOR THE PAST generation, the rest of the country has been borrowing Massachusetts’s approach to education policy. This was a win not only for our kids, but for showing all […]
Posted inOpinion
Inaction is not an option with TNCs
THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF TALK, and a good deal of concern, about the impacts of transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft on traffic at Logan Airport […]
Posted inOpinion
Fixing the Logan ‘donut hole’
With congestion continuing to plague East Boston and the Logan Airport roadway system, Massport has proposed changes to the fees charged for ride-hailing companies (Uber and Lyft) for pickups and […]
Posted inOpinion
The ‘wolf’ of solitary confinement
AFTER THE ENACTMENT of the Missouri Compromise in 1820 prolonged the impasse over slavery with little hope for a peaceful resolution, Thomas Jefferson offered this assessment of the nation’s quandary: […]
Posted inOpinion
Say yes to redeveloping former Edison plant
THE REDEVELOPMENT OF the former Edison power plant has the potential to further revitalize South Boston and should be given the green light to move forward. The plan, which includes 1,344 […]
Posted inOlympics
Don’t ‘fly-over’ Mayor Pete
IF YOU THOUGHT you could get through the 2020 election cycle without needing to learn the proper pronunciation of “Buttigieg,” guess again. On Friday, March 8, the three of us […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Springfield police cases not adding up
IF YOU BELIEVE THE WITNESSES who have testified in Jose Omar Ortiz’s bid for a new trial, then two decades ago Springfield police bullied their way to a confession for […]
Posted inThe Download
Springfield police cases not adding up
If you believe the witnesses who have testified in Jose Omar Ortiz’s bid for a new trial, then two decades ago Springfield police bullied their way to a confession for […]
Posted inEducation
School committee OKs novel New Bedford charter deal
THE NEW BEDFORD SCHOOL COMMITTEE voted 5-2 on Thursday night in favor of a precedent-setting expansion deal with a local charter school operator, but even the five supporters insisted they […]
Posted inEducation
How much is enough to fix education aid formula?
BEACON HILL IS bracing for what’s likely to be one of the biggest legislative hearings in recent years, as hundreds of advocates, parents, local officials, union leaders, and students are […]
Posted inTransportation
Should the state follow Massport’s lead?
MASSPORT OFFICIALS on Thursday proposed a hefty increase in fees on Uber and Lyft as part of a broader response to congestion at Logan International Airport, and the question now […]
Posted inTransportation
Massport proposes major response to congestion at Logan
TO REDUCE CONGESTION at Logan International Airport, officials at Massport are proposing much higher fees and new dropoff and pickup procedures for Uber and Lyft passengers as well as a […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Was ‘Reefer Madness’ right?
IN THE MID-1930s, a church group financed a film intended to frighten parents about the dangers their children face from marijuana. “Reefer Madness” portrayed cannabis as a powerful drug capable of […]
Posted inThe Download
State journalism commission in the spotlight
There’s no one more passionate about improving the state of journalism than, well, journalists. But now legislators like Sen. Brendan Crighton and Reps. Lori Ehrlich and Jim Hawkins are taking […]
Posted inUncategorized
State journalism commission in the spotlight
BUT NOW LEGISLATORS like Sen. Brendan Crighton and Reps. Lori Ehrlich and Jim Hawkins are taking note of the problems with their filing of a bill that would create a […]
Posted inEducation
Let’s test promising achievement-gap closing strategies
MASSACHUSETTS LAST PASSED a major overhaul on public education in 1993. That year, Bill Clinton became president. The World Wide Web began to take off. Whitney Houston’s single “I Will […]
Posted inPolitics
Is the House tilting progressive?
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE With record membership, the House Progressive Caucus has picked its co-chairs for the 2019-2020 legislative session, re-electing one past leader and tapping a new one for […]