Massachusetts lawmakers suspended their rules and went beyond their midnight end-of-session deadline, but still they couldn’t finish all the work they had planned to do. The House adjourned at […]
Lawmakers leave a lot on the table
Posted inPolitics
Breaking down the new clean energy bill
THE CLEAN ENERGY BILL approved by the Legislature on Tuesday adopted the go-slow approach favored by many of the state’s business groups and utilities, leaving a price on carbon and […]
Posted inPolitics
No consensus on Capuano-Pressley showdown
YOU MIGHT AS well put a fork in Rep. Michael Capuano, whose long career is about to sunset in the face of a growing left-wing wave. Or is it getting […]
Posted inThe Download
No consensus on Capuano-Pressley showdown
You might as well put a fork in Rep. Michael Capuano, whose long career is about to sunset in the face of a growing left-wing wave. Or is it […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, State House News Service
Energy legislation makes it out of conference
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE .Just like two years ago, the Legislature is poised to consider a substantial piece of clean energy legislation on the final day of formal sessions. The […]
Posted inPolitics
A look at one of the Legislature’s veto overrides
THE LEGISLATURE SWIFTLY OVERRODE many of the governor’s budget vetoes on Monday, including one whose elimination has become almost an annual rite of passage on Beacon Hill. Baker on Thursday […]
Posted inOpinion
Lawmakers should embrace clean energy
STARK NEW ESTIMATES of the potential cost of climate change to Massachusetts’ homeowners should make the Legislature act more urgently than it already has to halt the state’s consumption of […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 108: Words matter in immigration debate
To say there’s a chasm as wide as the Rio Grande between both sides of the immigration debate would be an understatement. The conversation about compromise is a non-starter because […]
Posted inPolitics
Words matter in immigration debate
To say there’s a chasm as wide as the Rio Grande between both sides of the immigration debate would be an understatement. The conversation about compromise is a non-starter because […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: Words matter in immigration debate
To say there’s a chasm as wide as the Rio Grande between both sides of the immigration debate would be an understatement. The conversation about compromise is a non-starter because […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Taxes on short-term rentals could hit 17.5%
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SHORT-TERM HOUSING UNITS rented through websites like Airbnb could be taxed at almost 17.5 percent in cities like Boston and Massachusetts would become the first state […]
Posted inOpinion
5 takeaways from the Beth Israel-Lahey merger review
THE MASSACHUSETTS HEALTH POLICY COMMISSION’S preliminary review of the proposed BI-Lahey et al merger and the comments of the commissioners on that review surprised me a bit. Here are my […]
Posted inOpinion
Transportation equity: Is it a good thing?
What do we think about when we think about transportation equity? There is regional equity – the question whether every region in a state, or every neighborhood in a city, is equitably treated from […]
Posted inTransportation
Lyft testing subscription model
LYFT IS TESTING subscription models across the country, offering customers a package of rides for a flat, discounted fee. The packages promote Lyft loyalty and some bear a resemblance to transit passes. One customer in […]
Posted inOpinion
What has Galvin been doing on election security?
A DAY AFTER THE INDICTMENT of 12 Russians who allegedly interfered with our 2016 elections, Secretary of State William Galvin told the The Boston Globe he’s “picking up the pace” […]
Posted inHealth Care
Past time to get serious about health care costs
LAST SEPTEMBER, Pioneer observed that Massachusetts had dodged a federal bullet when the US Senate failed by one vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Had they succeeded, the Commonwealth […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker administration drops ball on regs
WITH ONLY DAYS left in this legislative session, plenty of lawmaking remains to be done. And even after the session ends, there will still be work left to do. One […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Boston considers non-citizen voting
Voting is the core of democracy. But who gets to vote has been fraught with political disagreement since America’s earliest days. Recently, a series of decisions from the Supreme Court […]
Posted inOpinion
Inaction on environmental justice has consequences
THERE’S AN OLD SAYING in politics: elections have consequences. Well, inaction has consequences, too. And every day that Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, Sen. Karen Spilka, and their Ways and Means colleagues […]
Posted inPolitics
Lelling: Trump’s point man in Massachusetts
ANDREW LELLING, the US Attorney for Massachusetts, is emerging as a loyal Donald Trump lieutenant in one of the bluest states in the country. Little was known about Lelling when […]
Posted inThe Download
Lelling: Trump’s point man in Massachusetts
Andrew Lelling, the US Attorney for Massachusetts, is emerging as a loyal Donald Trump lieutenant in one of the bluest states in the country. Little was known about Lelling when […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker budget highlights
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday reversed course and approved an $8 million funding increase for regional transit authorities but refused to support a pilot program to see if cutting tolls at […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
In Suffolk DA’s race, calls to coalesce
WHAT HAD BEEN a strong undercurrent in the Suffolk County district attorney’s race is now becoming an open topic of conversation – and consternation: The fact that candidates with similar […]
Posted inThe Back Story
US Attorney carries Trump’s message on immigrants
WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP took office 19 months ago, the US Attorney’s office in Massachusetts started issuing more and more press releases about cases where the defendants were identified by their […]