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 […]
Study prices out N-S Rail Link
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 […]
Posted inTransportation
T board member hits absenteeism data
A MEMBER OF THE MBTA’S Fiscal and Management Control Board criticized agency officials on Monday for presenting data on employee absenteeism in a way that made it appear union workers […]
Posted inPolitics
Walsh, Baker condemn hatred, bigotry
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH delivered a stern message on Monday to “hate groups” who may be planning to come to Boston this weekend. “Boston does not welcome you here. Boston […]
Posted inTransportation
T approves 2 pilot service expansions
THE MBTA’S OVERSIGHT BOARD on Monday approved two, year-long pilot projects expanding the transit authority’s operations – one that adds limited, early morning buses to help workers start into work […]
Posted inTransportation
Uber, Lyft gain market share at Logan
A SIX-MONTH STUDY of traffic patterns at Logan International Airport generally confirms what earlier data suggested – that transportation network companies such as Uber, Lyft, and most recently Wingz are gaining market share but […]
Posted inThe Download
Casino clash
The debate over casinos in Massachusetts clearly isn’t settled yet. Sen. Jamie Eldridge of Acton says a recent change in state law allowing casinos to continue serving alcohol two hours […]
Posted inGambling
Worst casino fears coming to fruition
IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG for the powerful casino industry to muscle its way into Massachusetts politics. Beginning in the early 2000s, corporate lobbyists began giving unprecedented amounts of money to […]
Posted inGambling
Wynn changing Everett — for the better
THE MASSACHUSETTS GAMING ACT was enacted by the Legislature in 2011 specifically to create new jobs, generate new tax revenue, and propel local economic growth. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the […]
Posted inEconomy
Taking on the Trump deportation machine
MANY OF US CHOOSE TO LIVE in Massachusetts because of its freedom, relative to the rest of the world. While imperfect, our Commonwealth is safer, richer, cleaner, and fairer than […]
Posted inOpinion
Trans (and Republican) in the time of Trump
SINCE COMING TO TERMS with my identity, I cannot recall all the times that I’ve been called brave and strong. I remind people that coming out has nothing to do […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 61: The ICE fight
What Gov. Charlie Baker calls a common-sense approach to dealing with federal immigration officials, Carol Rose of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts dismisses as fraternizing with the “Trump […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: The ICE fight
What Gov. Charlie Baker calls a common-sense approach to dealing with federal immigration officials, Carol Rose of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts dismisses as fraternizing with the “Trump […]
Posted inEnvironment
Northern Pass clears federal hurdle
FEDERAL REGULATORS CLEARED THE WAY on Thursday for Eversource’s Northern Pass transmission project to receive one of the two permits necessary to begin construction of a line carrying hydroelectricity from […]
Posted inEducation
Charter school proposals would add nearly 5,400 seats
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FOUR GROUPS ARE LOOKING to open new charter schools in Massachusetts and four existing charter schools are hoping to boost their enrollment. The Massachusetts Department of […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Sizing up 3 options on ICE detainers
Debate over immigration policy has bubbled up for years at the federal level, and now the recent decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the case of Lunn v. […]