HISTORICALLY, MASSACHUSETTS HAS BEEN a leader in healthcare reform. However, antiquated, restrictive laws and licensing requirements leave Massachusetts among only 13 states in the country – and the only state […]
Take the chains off nurse practitioners
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Pot board wants $5 million more
THE STATE’S CANNABIS Control Commission has asked lawmakers for another $5.2 million for the remainder of the fiscal year on top of the $2.3 million that was already set aside […]
Posted inThe Download
Tufts Medical CEO quote inflames negotiations
Michael Wagner, the CEO of Tufts Medical Center, is trying to walk back controversial comments he made about nurse staffing levels in a bid to get deadlocked contract negotiations with […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
House pushes narrower criminal justice legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE plans to consider substantial changes to the way justice is delivered, with a powerful committee polling members Monday on legislation to repeal certain […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Agency nearing $1b capital spending target
THE MBTA IS CLOSING IN on its goal of investing $1 billion a year in the transit system. Joanna Aalto, who oversees the T’s capital program, told the Fiscal and […]
Posted inTransportation
Uncertain future makes T planning difficult
THE MBTA SPENT MOST OF MONDAY struggling with what the future holds – on ridership, service expansion, and vehicle purchases and maintenance – and came away without a whole lot […]
Posted inPolitics
Brockton candidate already a winner
WITH MAYORAL RACES in the gun lap around the state, most eyes are on what’s happening in Boston and then maybe on Lawrence and Framingham or Newton. But little attention […]
Posted inThe Download
Worcester hires Zimbalist, Mullan
Worcester’s hush-hush courtship of the Pawtucket Red Sox just got a bit more interesting. The Telegram & Gazette reported that the city hired Smith College economist Andrew Zimbalist and former […]
Posted inGambling
Revisiting one of Walsh’s biggest defeats
IT’S HARD TO REMEMBER NOW why Boston Mayor Marty Walsh spent a good chunk of his initial two years in office fighting a legal and verbal war with Steve Wynn […]
Posted inEducation
Boston teachers union attack fires blanks
LAST NOVEMBER, Democrats for Education Reform held our election night party at the same Boston hotel as the state Democratic Party and the anti-charter ballot campaign. I was one of […]
Posted inOpinion
Public health emergency rings hollow
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S ANNOUNCEMENT that the opioid epidemic is a public health emergency certainly drew attention to the problem, but in reality it is an empty declaration that, at least as […]
Posted inHealth Care
Family caregivers deserve support
CARING FOR AN OLDER ADULT in your life is a complicated matter—at once daunting and rewarding. In the old days (and still today in certain cultures), it was less complicated. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
House criminal justice bill seen taking up broad reform
A KEY HOUSE LEADER signaled that his chamber is likely to respond to a sweeping Senate criminal justice bill with legislation that tackles many of the issues in the Senate […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 73: How reliable is the T? Do we need overnight buses?
The Codcast this week is an MBTA twofer: James Aloisi and Josh Fairchild of TransitMatters make a pitch for an overnight bus service pilot and also interview Matthew Casale, a […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: How reliable is the T? Do we need overnight buses?
The Codcast this week is an MBTA twofer: James Aloisi and Josh Fairchild of TransitMatters make a pitch for an overnight bus service pilot and also interview Matthew Casale, a […]
Posted inPolitics
House, Senate end bickering, sign budget deal
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE DEVICES KNOWN AS BUMP STOCKS that were used in the Las Vegas shooting a month ago to turn ordinary rifles into automatic weapons would be banned […]
Posted inEnvironment
Eversource touts N. Pass ‘certainty’
EVERSOURCE ENERGY on Thursday once again insisted its problem-plagued Northern Pass transmission project is on track and the best solution to Massachusetts’ clean energy needs. In a conference call with […]
Posted inThe Back Story
MBTA overnight bus service a tough sell
The MBTA put off action this week on an overnight bus service pilot project, and a review of the underlying numbers suggests the initiative will have a hard time gaining traction without someone other than […]
Posted inThe Download
Judge, jury, executioner, and president
For someone who touts himself as a law-and-order kind of guy, President Trump does law enforcement officials and prosecutors no favors with his impulsive social media and campaign-style rhetoric. The […]
Posted inHealth Care
Health Policy Commission pans Partners-Mass. Eye & Ear deal
THE STATE HEALTH POLICY COMMISSION is pouring lots of cold water on the proposed acquisition by Partners HealthCare of the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, saying the deal would increase […]
Posted inEconomy
Commission backs sticking with one type of ‘time’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS WILL FALL BACK this weekend after all and will likely continue to adjust their clocks twice a year for the foreseeable future. A legislative […]
Posted inEconomy
Wynn to spend $90m buying land near casino
LAS VEGAS MOGUL STEVE WYNN said he has already spent $75 million buying up property near the Wynn Resorts hotel-casino complex in Everett and plans to spend a total of […]
Posted inThe Download
Walsh plays it cute in council contest
It’s less than a week until Boston’s municipal election, which means we’re officially in the silly season phase. This stage of the race is the one in which we’re reminded […]
Posted inPolitics
The mantra in Boston mayoral races: lean left
TITO JACKSON’S biographical campaign video ends with a bold declaration appearing on the screen, one he has used to frame his insurgent campaign: “Tito Jackson. The Progressive Choice for Mayor.” The […]