All the talk in Massachusetts about the referendums before voters next month focuses on Questions 1 and 3, with little acknowledgement that there’s a number missing in between. However, unlike […]
The Codcast: A question of money and speech
Posted inOpinion
On climate change, more than RGGI is needed
YOU MAY HAVE CAUGHT wind of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s disturbing new report on climate change. The message is clear––keep man-made global warming impacts to 1.5 degrees Celsius […]
Posted inOpinion
Why we’re voting no on Question 1
SHOULD MASSACHUSETTS establish mandated nurse-to-patient ratios in law for all the state’s acute care hospitals? This 25-year-old conflict between the Massachusetts Nurses Association and Massachusetts Hospital Association will be determined […]
Posted inGambling
Lottery is Robin Hood in reverse
ON FRIDAY NIGHT, Mega Millions offered a $1 billion jackpot, the second largest lottery prize in American history. Late in the evening, it was announced that no one correctly guessed all […]
Posted inOpinion
Disabled not making gains they should
THE SIGNS BROADCAST from storefronts: HELP WANTED. The federal government says we have achieved “full employment,” that there are currently more jobs than people. The news media reports on particular […]
Posted inTransportation
T invites enemy state into our midst
WE ARE ALL WELL AWARE that foreign governments have been sponsoring an incredibly diverse series of cyber-attacks on our nation. Whether it is interfering with our elections, hacking into top-secret […]
Posted inOpinion
Drug costs at pharmacies lack transparency
AS A PRACTICING PHYSICIAN, nearly every time I write a prescription, I have to ask myself: “Will this patient be able to afford this at the beginning of the calendar […]
Posted inOpinion
Here’s why more nurses don’t mean better care
IS A VOTE FOR QUESTION 1, which sets mandatory nurse-to-patient ratios, a vote for safer care in hospitals? At first blush, it might appear so. How can it be otherwise […]
Posted inPolitics
Warren’s wobbly week
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN certainly was able to grab hold of a good chunk of the news cycle in recent days, something not easy to pull off in the era of […]
Posted inThe Download
Warren’s wobbly week
Sen. Elizabeth Warren certainly was able to grab hold of a good chunk of the news cycle in recent days, something not easy to pull off in the era of […]
Posted inNews Analysis
The duel over Diehl
THE BIT MOMENT in this week’s gubernatorial debate between Governor Charlie Baker and his Democratic opponent Jay Gonzalez was not about being governor at all. It came down to a […]
Posted inHealth Care
On nurse ballot measure, Dems line up with labor
THE NOVEMBER BALLOT QUESTION that would mandate minimum nurse staffing levels at Massachusetts hospitals is a complicated issue. Health care experts offered views that were sharply at odds with each […]
Posted inEnvironment
Utility to run line under Kennebec Gorge
THE UTILITY UNDER CONTRACT with Massachusetts to import Quebec hydro-electricity into New England said on Thursday that it now plans to run the transmission lines under rather than over the […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Baker goes turtle while Gonzalez gets carried away
IT COULDN’T COMPETE with the drama of the Astros-Sox game, but Wednesday night’s debate between Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and Democratic challenger Jay Gonzalez packed a lot of punch. Baker […]
Posted inThe Download
Baker goes turtle while Gonzalez gets carried away
It couldn’t compete with the drama of the Astros-Sox game, but Wednesday night’s debate between Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and Democratic challenger Jay Gonzalez packed a lot of punch. Baker […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker waffles on Diehl during debate
REPUBLICAN GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said during a debate Wednesday night with Democrat Jay Gonzalez that he hadn’t made up his mind whether he would vote for Trump supporter Geoff Diehl […]
Posted inHealth Care
Clashing views on nurse staffing question
WOULD MANDATED NURSE staffing ratios improve patient outcomes in Massachusetts? And are there even enough nurses to fill new slots that such a requirement would create? It’s little wonder that […]
Posted inEnvironment
Walsh seeks climate change barricade of beaches, parks
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH on Wednesday laid out an expansive plan for public projects to combat the impacts of climate change in Boston, a city whose […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker planning pharmacy pricing legislation
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is developing a legislative proposal to rein in pharmacy prices or at least shed more light on what’s fueling the rising cost. Marylou Sudders, the governor’s secretary […]
Posted inEconomy
Canada cannabis
THE BONG, ER, GONG, sounded early Wednesday morning for the nationwide sale of marijuana in Canada, only the second country in the world to legalize the drug and the first […]
Posted inThe Download
Canada cannabis
The bong, er, gong, sounded early Wednesday morning for the nationwide sale of marijuana in Canada, only the second country in the world to legalize the drug and the first […]
Posted inHealth Care
ER visits continue to impact health costs
DESPITE A GROWING number of free-standing retail clinics and urgent care centers in the state, there is still a heavy reliance on costly hospital emergency department visits, with more than […]
Posted inEnvironment
Climate change politics is heating up
The tenor of the debate about climate change, like the problem itself, is changing. As the planet warms at what appears to be a faster and faster rate, environmental advocates are […]
Posted inThe Download
Climate change politics is heating up
The tenor of the debate about climate change, like the problem itself, is changing. As the planet warms at what appears to be a faster and faster rate, environmental advocates are […]