SOME MASSACHUSETTS POLICE CHIEFS appear to be staking out a different position than the communities they represent on how to handle detainer requests from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement […]
Some sanctuary city police chiefs back Baker ICE detainer bill
Posted inEducation
Invest in young children now
Four years ago, after 20 years of a corporate career that I absolutely loved, I hung up my business suit and pursued a very different calling. It began when my husband […]
Posted inThe Download
How many white supremacists at rally?
An estimated 40,000 people turned out on Saturday to say no to hate, racism, and neo-Nazis, but it remains unclear how many of the 50 people at the free speech […]
Posted inPolitics
Was Boston Common rally really about white supremacy?
THE 40,000 PROTESTERS who showed up at Boston Common on Saturday had nothing to protest because the free speech rally was focused on free speech and not white supremacy or […]
Posted inTransportation
Lack of public sector experience is troubling
THE APPOINTMENT OF LUIS RAMIREZ as the new general manager of the MBTA again raises the question of whether a successful private sector businessman or woman can make a successful […]
Posted inThe Download
Hating on the haters
Boston is no place for hate – and we’ll beat you and isolate you to prove it. Message sent, message received. From elected officials to the 15,000 to 40,000 demonstrators […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Sorting out our perverse electricity markets
THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT by developers of the Access Northeast natural gas pipeline that they are suspending the project until legislation allows for electric ratepayer financing of pipelines illustrates a major […]
Posted inGambling
Convictions shouldn’t preclude all casino jobs
THE MGM SPRINGFIELD CASINO is scheduled to open late next year, and casino managers are worrying about how they’ll fill all the jobs that will need filling. The big problem: […]
Posted inOpinion
Biking for cancer research is uphill climb
I RODE FOR THE FIRST TIME in the Pan Mass Challenge fundraiser for cancer research this year. The weather was perfect, and it was a glorious experience. Thousands lined the […]
Posted inPolitics
‘This ain’t Charlottesville’
This story was updated at 5:15 p.m. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS converged on Boston Common Saturday to chant, wave signs, and boo about 50 people holding what they described […]
Posted inUncategorized
T privatization survives key union challenge
THE MBTA’S BUDGET SHORTFALL, once pegged at $335 million for the current fiscal year, is now down to $30 million. That’s good news for riders, taxpayers, employers, and legislators—really everyone […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 62: The T’s chief technology officer
Riding the T sometimes feels like a step back in time. Red Line cars that are 40 years old. Payment systems that are slow and inefficient. Underground stations that leak […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: The T’s chief technology officer
Riding the T sometimes feels like a step back in time. Red Line cars that are 40 years old. Payment systems that are slow and inefficient. Underground stations that leak […]
Posted inOpinion
On immigration, Baker follows Trump playbook
ON JULY 24, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued its decision in the case of Lunn v. Commonwealth, holding that Massachusetts law enforcement officers lack authority to hold individuals on […]
Posted inTransportation
Study prices out N-S Rail Link
A RAIL LINK BETWEEN North and South Stations would cost between $3.8 billion and $5.9 billion to build, according to a data analysis conducted by a group of students and […]
Posted inEnvironment
Health insurers, despite anxiety, are doing well
Daily newspaper headlines report that the nation’s health insurance companies are anxious about the future and may seek rate increases to protect themselves. Rate increases would seem logical, given uncertainty arising from paralysis in Congress […]
Posted inThe Download
Drowning out health care
Amid the chaos that passes for leadership in Washington these days, the fate of health care for millions of people, including in Massachusetts, hangs in the balance as President Trump continues […]
Posted inOpinion
Price shouldn’t be sole focus of clean energy buys
NEWS ITEM: Large-scale hydro-electricity from Hydro-Quebec may cost more than the average wholesale price of energy. Should we be alarmed by this? Not quite. But why not? First, some background. […]
Posted inOpinion
Trump misunderstands history’s arc
“A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE is a dangerous thing.” It’s an old saying that perhaps resonated more clearly than ever before when one heard the person holding the office of president of […]
Posted inThe Download
Feds overreach on Teamsters
The feds came up short again on Tuesday in trying to turn obnoxious or even sleazy behavior into federal crimes. It happened when the US Attorney’s office in Boston tried […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA’s new GM likes to blog
NOT MUCH IS KNOWN about the MBTA’s new general manager, Luis Manuel Ramirez, but a blog he wrote at his Dallas business consulting firm TodoModo Group provides some clues. Most […]
Posted inEducation
AP courses are bridge to college
GREAT TEACHERS NOT ONLY LOVE to teach, they love to learn how to be even better teachers. That’s why over 520 teachers from Massachusetts and across the country gathered recently […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA adopts corporate mindset with GM pick
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION adopted a very clear corporate mindset at the MBTA on Tuesday, hiring a general manager and CEO with strong business and turnaround skills but no public sector […]
Posted inThe Download
Trump’s disruptive power
Donald Trump signed 42 executive orders in his first 200 days as president. By comparison, Barack Obama, who Trump criticized for signing too many, averaged 35 executive orders a year […]