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 […]
Is the House tilting progressive?
Posted inPolitics
Weston residents biggest political donors in Mass.
THE MOST GENEROUS political donors in Massachusetts state and municipal campaigns last year, perhaps unsurprisingly, tend to live in some of the wealthiest communities in the state. In its spring […]
Posted inTransportation
T’s privatized warehouse system falling short of promises
THREE YEARS AGO, the MBTA made the case for privatizing the transit authority’s inventory management system by arguing that the existing staff-run operation had broken down on almost every level. […]
Posted inThe Download
With homicides, a tale of two very different cities
Is it possible to maintain a fierce urgency to reduce gun violence in Boston, while also taking stock of how much worse things could be and being grateful for the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
With homicides, a tale of two very different cities
IS IT POSSIBLE to maintain a fierce urgency to reduce gun violence in Boston, while also taking stock of how much worse things could be and being grateful for the […]
Posted inEducation
MTA raises legal concerns about New Bedford charter deal
A BID BY NEW BEDFORD OFFICIALSÂ to peaceably resolve a dispute with a local charter school hit a potential roadblock on Tuesday, as the Massachusetts Teachers Association said a key […]
Posted inUncategorized
Data dive: State authorities
Freelance reporter Colman Herman had just finished gathering financial information from the state’s quasi-public authorities when the Boston Globe published its own story and chart examining the salaries of higher-paid […]
Posted inEducation
Ed funding debate takes Pioneer detour
THE DEBATE OVER increased state funding for education took a detour last week as the Pioneer Institute and its critics tangled over a reform proposal designed to give the state […]
Posted inThe Download
Ed funding debate takes Pioneer detour
The debate over increased state funding for education took a detour last week as the Pioneer Institute and its critics tangled over a reform proposal designed to give the state […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Submerged Blue Line back online
STATE TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS are hailing the efforts of transit authority staff to get the Blue Line’s Orient Heights station back online Monday morning following a Friday evening fire at an […]
Posted inUncategorized
New ‘Dreamer’ bill extends a hand to other immigrants
HOUSE DEMOCRATS INTRODUCED sweeping new legislation last week that would provide permanent protection and a path to citizenship to young immigrants and others here under other residency statuses. Changes proposed […]
Posted inTransportation
Task force urges carrot-and-stick approach with RTAs
A correction has been added to this story. A TASK FORCE IS RECOMMENDING that state funding increase next year for the 15 regional transportation authorities as long as each authority […]
Posted inTransportation
T board trying to kickstart revenue debate
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY STEPHANIE POLLACK said on Monday that she is willing to act as a conduit between members of the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board and the Legislature on the […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 143: Councilor Wu, Paul Regan dissect the MBTA fare hike
Michelle Wu and Paul Regan took very different positions on the MBTA fare increase, but they both agree on the big picture needs of the transit authority. Regan, the executive director of […]
Posted inTransportation
Is consensus emerging on what MBTA needs?
MICHELLE WU AND PAUL REGAN took very different positions on the MBTA fare increase, but they both agree on the big picture needs of the transit authority. Regan, the executive […]
Posted inThe Download
Is consensus emerging on what MBTA needs?
Michelle Wu and Paul Regan took very different positions on the MBTA fare increase, but they both agree on the big picture needs of the transit authority. Regan, the executive […]
Posted inOpinion
A third way on the school funding/accountability debate
BEACON HILL LEADERS are searching for ways to provide public schools with a significant infusion of new dollars. Taking a page from Massachusetts’s landmark 1993 Education Reform Act, some have […]
Posted inOpinion
A pitch for socializing corporate health insurance premiums
LAST WEEKEND I attended the memorial service for Rob Restuccia, a longtime and pioneering advocate for a more just and consumer responsive health care system in Massachusetts, and really across […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Mass. should embrace 21st century gun control measures
MASSACHUSETTS HAS BEEN a progressive leader in common-sense gun control. The Commonwealth requires permits for gun purchases, maintains an assault weapons ban, restricts magazine capacity, and mandates universal background checks […]
Posted inEnvironment
US sues Quincy for dumping sewage in harbor
US ATTORNEY ANDREW LELLING sued the city of Quincy on Friday, alleging the municipality is violating the Clean Water Act by dumping untreated sewage into Boston Harbor, Dorchester Bay, and […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Arts should be core to education, not an optional add-on
I’M EXCITED TO welcome more than 5,000 fellow arts educators from the National Art Education Association to Boston this weekend. At the same time, I’m worried about the state of […]
Posted inEnvironment
SE Mass. officials seek “tweak’ in wind policy
NEARLY 50 ELECTED AND BUSINESS officials from southeastern Massachusetts are urging the Baker administration to tweak the contracting process for the next offshore wind procurement to give a greater emphasis […]
Posted inOpinion
Climate change: It’s about us
YOUNG CLIMATE ACTIVISTS from at least 98 countries are boycotting schools Friday – one of the biggest environmental protests in history and another step in reframing the climate debate in this country. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
School discipline comes to light after arrest
A HORRIFIC CRIME in New Hampshire has cast a harsh light on the North Andover school district where a victim of sexual assault was warned to avoid her attacker and […]