THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES sensibly requires that we “count the whole number of persons in each state” every 10 years. The results of the census are used to […]
Citizenship question doesn’t belong on census form
Posted inOpinion
Electricity trick or treat?
Well-intentioned law has been corrupted by con men BY DANIEL STEVENS AS SUMMER SWINGS into high gear, our electric bills do, too. Modern life dictates that we need power to […]
Posted inEnvironment
FERC OKs help for Mystic plants
THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION has given New England’s power grid operator until the end of August to come up with a plan to prop up a pair of uneconomic […]
Posted inOpinion
Charter school funding formula is broken
ONE DOESN’T HAVE to choose sides in the long debate over charter schools in order to raise legitimate questions about the approach being taken in Massachusetts. I count myself among […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Late Registration
Massachusetts is home to more than one hundred colleges and universities and is the birthplace of American democracy. (Yes, that’s right, Eagles fans.) Nonetheless, the State Supreme Judicial Court recently […]
Posted inThe Download
This one’s personal
It’s often easy to forget those in the news business are human and have lives beyond what we report on. And sometimes those lives are disrupted by events that just […]
Posted inUncategorized
Globe clears McGrory of sexual harassment
AN OUTSIDE INVESTIGATOR hired by the Boston Globe cleared top editor Brian McGrory of violating the company’s sexual harassment policy but admitted he exchanged “personal” messages with former Boston.com editor […]
Posted inOpinion
Business groups raise concerns about health bills
MASSACHUSETTS BUSINESS LEADERS on Thursday raised concerns about legislative efforts to provide financial support to struggling community hospitals, saying the measures will drive up costs and could destabilize the state’s […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Restarting the transportation funding debate
WITH THE MILLIONAIRE TAX ballot question shot down by the Supreme Judicial Court, the debate over state transportation funding is slowly starting to shift gears on Beacon Hill. Rep. William […]
Posted inOpinion
Gas lockout endangers everyone
LAST FALL, NATIONAL GRID employee Scott Ambler helped prevent what could have been a potentially devastating gas explosion in Weymouth. Ambler was not assigned to the job; instead he was […]
Posted inPolitics
Fifty Shades Darker in Rockland
Investigators hired by the town of Rockland concluded Selectman Deirdre Hall pressured Town Administrator Allan Chiocca into having sex at town hall after moving on from an “intense emotional and […]
Posted inThe Download
Fifty Shades Darker in Rockland
Investigators hired by the town of Rockland concluded Selectman Deirdre Hall pressured Town Administrator Allan Chiocca into having sex at town hall after moving on from an “intense emotional and […]
Posted inTransportation
After surtax fail, Senator sees regional transpo taxes as “Great plan B”
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WHEN ONE DOOR to transportation revenue closes, there’s an opportunity to try to open others, according to a Longmeadow Democrat who is making an eleventh hour […]
Posted inOpinion
Disability insurers discriminate against women
WHILE MASSACHUSETTS HAS ENACTED the strongest laws in the country to ensure equitable pay for women, the reality is that there is still significant work to be done to ensure […]
Posted inOpinion
Beyond the hashtag
OVER THE PAST YEAR, thousands of people from across the country have come forward to voice their experiences with sexual assault, abuse, and harassment as part of the #MeToo movement. Now, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Busted unions
Labor unions may be taking a beating these days but they’re not going down without a fight and somebody is going to emerge bloodied. The latest battlefield is right here […]
Posted inThe Download
Busted unions
Labor unions may be taking a beating these days but they’re not going down without a fight and somebody is going to emerge bloodied. The latest battlefield is right here […]
Posted inPolitics
Beacon Hill goes at a snail’s pace
We have a well-paid, full-time, Democrat-controlled Legislature in Massachusetts and yet we’re the only state in the nation without a budget in place. We’re also slow-dancing toward retail marijuana sales […]
Posted inThe Download
Beacon Hill goes at a snail’s pace
We have a well-paid, full-time, Democrat-controlled Legislature in Massachusetts and yet we’re the only state in the nation without a budget in place. We’re also slow-dancing toward retail marijuana sales […]
Posted inPolitics
Creative accounting on Beacon Hill
BRIAN KEYES, the police chief in Chelsea, sounds like a mountain climber with the summit finally in sight. He and his fellow chiefs have been scaling Beacon Hill for almost […]
Posted inEducation
Parent provocateur
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MICHAEL MANNING IT’S A THURSDAY EVENING in late May and about 20 immigrant parents and grandparents are gathered in a meeting room of the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association […]
Posted inUncategorized
CommonWealth going all digital
TODAY’S RELEASE of the print issue of CommonWealth will be our last. After surveying readers, consulting with board members of MassINC, and holding many discussions with my colleagues here at the […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Keeping Somerville cool
PHOTOS BY FRANK CURRAN SOMERVILLE MAYOR JOSEPH CURTATONE likes to be bold. “I always tell Greg, bring me something no one else has done and that’s really off the wall,” […]
Posted inEconomy
Gateway Cities discover the power of food
PHOTOGRAPHS BY KEN RICHARDSON FOOD HAS ALWAYS LOOMED LARGE in the life of Dimple Rana. While growing up in Revere, she helped her parents, immigrants from India, work in Indian […]