A POLITICAL LIGHTNING BOLT hit the Massachusetts State House on September 4. Jeffrey Sanchez, the longtime incumbent and chair of the House Ways & Means Committee, was defeated by Nika […]
Why climate groups deserted Sanchez
Posted inPolitics
The chameleon governor
BOSTON HERALD COLUMNIST Howie Carr calls Gov. Charlie Baker Tall Deval. Democratic rival Jay Gonzalez suggests Baker is indirectly backing the Trump agenda in Washington. And Boston Globe columnist Joan […]
Posted inThe Download
The chameleon governor
Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr calls Gov. Charlie Baker Tall Deval. Democratic rival Jay Gonzalez suggests Baker is indirectly backing the Trump agenda in Washington. And Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi portrays the […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Vehicle maintenance costs down except on Green Line
MBTA OFFICIALS SAY say they reduced maintenance costs for buses and subways over the course of the last fiscal year, but not for Green Line cars. The officials said bus […]
Posted inEconomy
Think tank sees peril in Boston luxury towers
A NEW REPORT from a Washington-based liberal think tank raises concerns about the proliferation of luxury condominiums in Boston and urges policymakers to identify who all the new owners are […]
Posted inTransportation
Lang accuses T of ignoring Chelsea concerns
ONE MEMBER OF THE MBTA’S Fiscal and Management Control Board demanded on Monday that the agency explain how it’s going to address chronic delays of a heavily used bus route […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 114: Disagreeing agreeably
“Politics, Ideas & Civic Life in Massachusetts” has been the tagline describing the focus of CommonWealth’s coverage since the magazine was launched 22 years ago. We didn’t say it explicitly, […]
Posted inPolitics
Disagreeing agreeably
“POLITICS, IDEAS & CIVIC LIFE IN MASSACHUSETTS” has been the tagline describing the focus of CommonWealth’s coverage since the magazine was launched 22 years ago. We didn’t say it explicitly, […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: Disagreeing agreeably
“Politics, Ideas & Civic Life in Massachusetts” has been the tagline describing the focus of CommonWealth’s coverage since the magazine was launched 22 years ago. We didn’t say it explicitly, […]
Posted inOpinion
Blue Line needs urgent attention
THE MBTA’s BLUE LINE is on the brink. Generally known as the best of the system’s subway services (largely because of its relatively newer, reliable, Siemens subway cars), the Blue […]
Posted inOpinion
Hydro-Québec, Central Maine Power respond to critics
MASSACHUSETTS’ LEADERSHIP on energy policy has created a once-in-a-generation opportunity to move the needle on clean energy. According to the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, the proposal from Hydro-Québec and Central […]
Posted inPolitics
Gonzalez slams Baker for supporting GOP ticket
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Friday that he is supporting the entire GOP statewide slate, include US Senate nominee Geoff Diehl, a supporter of President Trump. […]
Posted inEconomy
It’s Woo everything in Worcester
At the press conference last month announcing the Pawsox would be moving to Worcester, the team’s chairman, Larry Lucchino, didn’t sound like he was a fan of WooSox as the […]
Posted inThe Download
It’s Woo everything in Worcester
At the press conference last month announcing the Pawsox would be moving to Worcester, the team’s chairman, Larry Lucchino, didn’t sound like he was a fan of WooSox as the […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA extends $10 weekend fare
THE MBTA SOLD nearly 82,000 of its $10 weekend commuter rail fares this summer and now plans to extend the deal into early December. T officials said they were extending […]
Posted inPolitics
Holmes one of few reps willing to buck DeLeo
IT IS TUESDAY MORNING — primary day — and Rep. Russell Holmes is stirring things up, as usual. Trash and grit swirl in the air as the Mattapan Democrat, wearing a […]
Posted inEconomy
Draft lease sheds light on Kraft soccer plans
BOB KRAFT DIDN’T ASK for any government subsidies when he sought to build a soccer stadium on the former site of the Bayside Exposition Center in Dorchester’s Columbia Point neighborhood […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo spins a positive tale
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO dutifully sidled up to the state’s other top Democrats at a “unity” gathering yesterday morning in Dorchester, where party pooh-bahs reveled in their victories — and […]
Posted inThe Download
DeLeo spins a positive tale
House Speaker Robert DeLeo dutifully sidled up to the state’s other top Democrats at a “unity” gathering yesterday morning in Dorchester, where party pooh-bahs reveled in their victories — and […]
Posted inPolitics
Speeches highlight big differences between Baker, Gonzalez
IN THEIR PRIMARY NIGHT acceptance speeches, Gov. Charlie Baker and his Democratic challenger Jay Gonzalez laid out very different visions of the future. Baker talked of fiscal discipline, opposition to […]
Posted inPolitics
The Bay State Trump bump
Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there He wasn’t there again today I wish, I wish he’d go away… “Antigonish” […]
Posted inThe Download
The Bay State Trump bump
Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there He wasn’t there again today I wish, I wish he’d go away… […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins rolls to big win in Suffolk DA race
AGAINST THE BACKDROP of a national rethinking of criminal justice policies, Suffolk County residents voted for big change in the district attorney’s office as Rachael Rollins, a former federal prosecutor […]
Posted inPolitics
Voters hand defeats to two key members of DeLeo leadership team
ON A PRIMARY NIGHT when Beacon Hill incumbents fared well overall, two members of House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s leadership team from Boston were defeated by newcomers to state politics. Nika […]