BOOK REVIEW — Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America, by James Fallows and Deborah Fallows (Pantheon Books, 413 pages) PEOPLE WHO LIVE in cosmopolitan Boston and […]
Civic grit
Posted inOpinion
E-scripts for opioids save lives
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER recently signed into law a bill to mitigate the state-level effects of the ongoing opioid crisis. Like other such legislative efforts at both the federal and state […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker declares emergency, enlists Eversource
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Friday afternoon declared a state of emergency in the wake of a series of gas fires and explosions in the Merrimack Valley, […]
Posted inEconomy
A new Quincy
QUINCY MAYOR THOMAS KOCH calls the MBTA’s Red Line the “spine” of his aging city. With four stops in North Quincy, Wollaston, Quincy Center, and Quincy Adams, the T’s Red […]
Posted inPolitics
Boston’s change election
FIVE WEEKS BEFORE Nika Elugardo took on state Rep. Jeff Sánchez at a candidate forum in the Democratic primary contest in the 15th Suffolk District, JP Progressives could tell there […]
Posted inUncategorized
Spotlight on Spotlight
FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, the Boston Globe’s award-winning Spotlight Team – not the same people, they do change them – has put a spotlight on corruption, scandal, and inequity […]
Posted inThe Download
Spotlight on Spotlight
For more than 50 years, the Boston Globe’s award-winning Spotlight Team – not the same people, they do change them – has put a spotlight on corruption, scandal, and inequity […]
Posted inPolitics
Diehl says he could be asset to Baker
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE REPUBLICAN AND PRESIDENT TRUMP supporter Geoff Diehl said Thursday that he could be an “asset” to Gov. Charlie Baker in Washington despite their policy differences, countering […]
Posted inOpinion
Why a Red-Blue pedestrian link won’t work
THERE HAS BEEN a recent renewed advocacy push to bring attention to the Blue Line’s failure to provide the necessary connectivity any good rapid transit line must. This focus on […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA theft estimate goes from $80,000 to $450,000
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE is now saying an MBTA employee stole $450,000 from bus fare collection boxes, more than five times as much as the $80,000 alleged in June. Stephen […]
Posted inEducation
Superintendent showdown
MAYOR MARTY WALSH quickly sought to stabilize the Boston Public Schools in late June by tapping local education nonprofit leader Laura Perille as interim school superintendent to replace Tommy Chang, […]
Posted inThe Download
Superintendent showdown
Mayor Marty Walsh quickly sought to stabilize the Boston Public Schools in late June by tapping local education nonprofit leader Laura Perille as interim school superintendent to replace Tommy Chang, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Conley will resign DA’s post early
SUFFOLK COUNTY District Attorney Dan Conley will resign later this month to take a lobbying and litigation job with one of the city’s most high-powered firms. Conley, who said in […]
Posted inHealth Care
Slow growth in MA health care spending
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HEALTH CARE SPENDING in Massachusetts rose 1.6 percent to $61.1 billion in 2017, increasing at the slowest rate tracked since the passage of a 2012 health […]
Posted inPolitics
Dems try to link Baker to Trump agenda
MOST OF THE STATE’S state’s congressional representatives, who in the past have had generally nice things to say about Gov. Charlie Baker, attacked him on Wednesday, linking him to President […]
Posted inPolitics
Questions about ballot questions
WITH PRIMARIES OUT OF THE WAY and the November elections bearing down on voters, the push for two of the three referendums on the ballot is beginning to heat up. […]
Posted inThe Download
Questions about ballot questions
With primaries out of the way and the November elections bearing down on voters, the push for two of the three referendums on the ballot is beginning to heat up. […]
Posted inOpinion
Why climate groups deserted Sanchez
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 […]
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, […]