THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION recently released its budget proposal for one of their most high-profile issues: drug prices in the Medicaid program. To the surprise of many in the biopharmaceutical industry, there are […]
Bakerâs Orwellian drug pricing policy
Posted inOpinion
We must continue to invest in braille
IN A WORLD where technology is rapidly opening new doors for people with vision loss, most notably in the case of the smartphone and its applications that greatly aid navigation, […]
Posted inEconomy
Getting workforce development right
IN MARCH 2017, Boston Foundation CEO Paul Grogan wrote an op-ed for the Boston Globe titled âA Tight Labor Market is a Terrible Thing to Waste.â Since that time, when […]
Posted inUncategorized
Temperatures plunged during homeless census count
AS SNOW SQUALLS and plunging temperatures took over Massachusetts for much of the last two days, no one felt it quite as hard as the homeless. The polar vortex arrived […]
Posted inThe Download
Temperatures plunged during homeless census count
As snow squalls and plunging temperatures took over Massachusetts for much of the last two days, no one felt it quite as hard as the homeless. The polar vortex arrived […]
Posted inPolitics
House, Senate go different routes on non-disclosures
THE SENATE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY on Thursday to ban the use of non-disclosure agreements one day after the House overwhelmingly refused to take a similar action. âWe are using public funds […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Car-free development taking root
THE PROPOSAL FOR a five-story, 56-unit residential apartment building on Dorchester Avenue includes a lot of the amenities that are now standard features in new development projects: A ground-floor gym […]
Posted inOpinion
Spikes are not a solution to homelessness
SPIKES INSTALLED under a bridge send a clear message to those who have no home that they are not wanted. Spikes are not a solution, serving only to drive vulnerable […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
The ‘other’ housing crisis
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE YOU’VE LIKELY HEARD about the housing crisis in eastern Massachusetts, with too few units available and prices always on the rise. But a second housing crisis, […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Pharma faces different type of drug trial
WHITE-COLLAR CRIME may be conducted in executive suites or empty speaking halls, but its victims can all too quickly wind up in the same place as those killed by a […]
Posted inThe Download
Pharma faces different type of drug trial
White-collar crime may be conducted in executive suites or empty speaking halls, but its victims can all too quickly wind up in the same place as those killed by a […]
Posted inPolitics
Rules debate spirited, but almost nothing changes
AN INFLUX OF NEW MEMBERS is changing the atmosphere of the House chamber, but in the first deliberations of the 2019-2020 session on Wednesday, Speaker Robert DeLeo and his Democratic […]
Posted inHealth Care
Bio folks cool to Baker drug proposal
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S proposal to rein in the cost of high-priced drug treatments got a cool reception on Wednesday at a MassBio policy breakfast, but most industry officials didnât appear […]
Posted inEnvironment
Electricity storage takes key role in energy efficiency plan
STATE REGULATORS on Wednesday approved utility plans to spend nearly $2.8 billion of ratepayer money over the next three years on initiatives designed to curb energy consumption in the aggregate […]
Posted inTransportation
Pols shifting stances on Mattapan line
WHAT APPEARS to be the MBTAâs preferred option for service between Mattapan and Ashmont Station on the Red Line is gaining support from most elected officials representing the area. For […]
Posted inPolitics
Warren in the cross-hairs — where she wants to be
FIRST HOWARD SCHULTZ called her tax-the-rich plan âridiculousâ in an NPR interview Tuesday morning. Michael Bloomberg piled on later in the day in New Hampshire, saying it would set the […]
Posted inThe Download
Warren in the cross-hairs — where she wants to be
First Howard Schultz called her tax-the-rich plan âridiculousâ in an NPR interview Tuesday morning. Michael Bloomberg piled on later in the day in New Hampshire, saying it would set the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Trying to avoid falling off the cliff
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE for Mary Napolitano. The Somerville resident starts each month with $900 in Social Security income. Subtract $545 for rent and heat. Subtract a little more […]
Posted inPolitics
House rules debate could get lively
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE on Wednesday is expected to vote on the rules it will operate under the next two years, but donât expect the usual ho-hum debate. A group of […]
Posted inEducation
Time for Mass. to invest in a community schools strategy
STATE LEADERS BEGAN this year with a renewed commitment to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged students. But one proven approach to doing so has not gotten enough attention: community schools. […]
Posted inEducation
Charters facing backlash all over country
IT ALWAYS SEEMS to come back to charter schools. Los Angeles teachers went on strike for just over a week and the strike ended with the teachers getting much of […]
Posted inThe Download
Charters facing backlash all over country
It always seems to come back to charter schools. Los Angeles teachers went on strike for just over a week and the strike ended with the teachers getting much of […]
Posted inPolitics
State leaders preparing if federal government shuts down again
AFTER THE LONGESTÂ government shutdown in the nation’s history strained the finances of federal workers going without pay, state leaders say they now have some plans in hand to help those […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Commuter ridership remains something of a mystery
MBTA OFFICIALS on Monday said commuter rail ridership increased 21.2 percent between 2012 and 2018, but it was unclear how big of a deal the increase was because conductor counts […]