WELL, THAT DIDN’T take long. Less than 24 hours after conservative senators Jerry Moran and Mike Lee joined Rand Paul and Susan Collins in opposing the Senate’s “repeal and replace” […]
No popular options for repeal or replace
Posted inThe Download
Baker (still) flying high
It’s great to be on top. Just ask Gov. Charlie Baker. The Republican governor has maintained his No. 1 ranking in the latest Morning Consult poll showing America’s Most and […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker vetoes $320 million from budget
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Ten days ago, the Democrat-controlled Legislature approved what would be the state’s first budget in excess of forty billion dollars – $40.2 billion to be exact. […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawmakers reach pot compromise
FIRE UP THE SMOKING lamp. House and Senate negotiators finally reached a compromise on amending the voter-approved law legalizing marijuana in Massachusetts, agreeing to levy a tax of up to […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
Hingham drama
For a small, toney town, Hingham generates an awful lot of news. The latest comes in Sunday’s Boston Globe with the recounting of a suicide by a distraught 26-year-old man […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 58: Trash talk
Stephen Lisauskas, a vice president at Waste Zero, a North Andover company that advises municipalities on ways to reduce their trash disposal costs, says cities and towns can fairly easily […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Trump calling national monuments into question
BEARS EARS, Canyons of the Ancients, Craters of the Moon, Giant Sequoia – the names alone conjure mystery, majesty, wonder, and timelessness. These are just four of the 27 national […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Sanchez named House Ways & Means chairman
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BOSTON DEMOCRAT REP. JEFFREY SANCHEZ will succeed outgoing Rep. Brian Dempsey as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, a pivotal fiscal affairs and policymaking […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion, Politics
Employers can help with student debt
AS THE STUDENT DEBT CRISIS worsens, elected officials are turning to college affordability as their primary policy solution. New York is implementing tuition-free public higher education through its Excelsior Scholarship, […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Getting to yes on MassHealth
MASSACHUSETTS HAS A unique culture when it comes to health care. Over the last quarter century, we have seen the business, provider, payer, consumer, and academic sectors come together to […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Eminent domain reform needed in Massachusetts
UNDER OUR SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT, there are various powers that are absolute and from which there are no appeal. One example of such a power would be the president’s pardon […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: Trash talk
CommonWealth ran a cover story in January 2015 that featured a photo of a dump truck unloading trash at a massive landfill in New Bedford. The headline, drifting in the […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Time to update state school funding formula
FOR SOME POLICYMAKERS and the public, a billion-dollar budget such as the one granted to Boston Public Schools last fiscal year appears robust — even excessive. But teachers like me […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Package store leader has it wrong
FRANK ANZALOTTI, who leads Massachusetts’ package store trade association, has it wrong. Not only does he misunderstand calls to reform outdated Commonwealth alcohol laws, he misrepresents Total Wine & More’s […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Tired of waiting, Dempsey exits House for lobbying firm
THE PERCEIVED HEIR APPARENT to House Speaker Robert DeLeo said on Thursday that he is stepping down to take a top job at the high-powered lobbying firm ML Strategies, a […]
Posted inThe Download
Another side to pot billboard
A billboard dispute in South Boston is proof that people can look at the same image and see something very different. The billboard carried this message: “States that legalized […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
ACLU campaign to spotlight crucial role of DAs
THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION of Massachusetts says it plans to mount a campaign this fall urging voters to hold the state’s elected district attorneys accountable for the way the […]
Posted inThe Download
Galvin throws shade on Millennium tower deal
Long ago, Beacon Hill insiders used to call then-Rep. William Galvin the Prince of Darkness because of his penchant for intrigue and political machinations. But now Galvin is coming to […]
Posted inPolitics
The independence of independents
THE RANKS OF political independents continue to swell in Massachusetts, while the number of Democrats and Republicans remains roughly steady. Younger voters are choosing to remain “unenrolled” when they register […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Senate retreat to hear from criminal justice experts
LEADERS OF THE SENATE, including President Stan Rosenberg and William Brownsberger, the Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, have made clear their support for a range of […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Baker faces Medicaid conundrum
Is half a loaf better than none at all? Usually the answer is yes. But Gov. Charlie Baker doesn’t seem so sure when it comes to his proposal to deal […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawrence’s Rivera facing tough reelection fight
Photographs by Meghan Moore THE MARCHERS PLOD ALONG, wearing matching maroon shirts and holding campaign signs, fronted by the candidate himself, Mayor Daniel Rivera, who waves to onlookers, his gut […]
Posted inGambling
Are thoroughbreds a good bet for the state?
TEN HORSES SHOOT OUT of the gate with Simply Mas moving quickly to take the lead. The pack bunches up at the first turn, with Worth the Worry moving up […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Economy
The promise of MASS MoCA
Photographs by Michael Manning TWO YOUNG MEN from Brooklyn tentatively inch down the hallway, holding onto a handrail because it’s so dark. They turn a corner and the room in front […]