IT’S EASY TO take ordinary conveniences like making a telephone call for granted. Advances in technology have made communication cheaper and higher quality than ever before. But one group has […]
The high toll of inmate phone calls
Posted inEconomy
Financial insecurity hits Mass. seniors hard
MASSACHUSETTS MAY HAVE come out on top in a recent US News & World Report ranking of states, but it’s a different story when it comes to economic security for […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Picking winners and losers
IN THIS ISSUE OF CommonWealth, we by happenstance ended up with three features that take an in-depth look at three forms of government intervention in the state economy. All of […]
Posted inEconomy
More unclaimed money
THERE’S ANOTHER UNCLAIMED money fund in the state treasurer’s office that most people have never heard of. Unlike the traditional abandoned property fund, which consists of money left behind by […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Letters to editor, Summer 2017
PREP SCHOOL CLAIM SPECIOUS While I applaud Michael Jonas’s commitment to presenting all sides of the ongoing debate that surrounds the operation and performance of Massachusetts’s public vocational- technical high […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Baker won’t commit to health care assessments
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said Monday he has not yet decided whether he will sign off on $200 million in new employer fees he has linked to […]
Posted inThe Download
Gerrymandering goes to court
Get ready for what may be the granddaddy of all redistricting court cases. Massachusetts takes pride in the many great things it has given to the country, from the first […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Many newborns facing opioid withdrawal
ON THE SECOND FLOOR of the Tufts New England Medical Center is a room with no light and no sound but for the high-pitched screams of babies. Nurse Christine Lavoie […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
The invisible hand of Gordon van Welie
OUR GRID OPERATOR, ISO New England, celebrates its 20th anniversary this month. For two decades, the ISO has been in charge of keeping the lights on throughout the region, coordinating […]
Posted inEconomy, Health Care, Politics, State House News Service
Lawmakers rush overdue budget to Baker
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LARGELY DISCARDING SPENDING plans they approved in the spring, the House and Senate on Friday sent Gov. Charlie Baker a $40.2 billion state budget that holds […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Dempsey pitches higher pot tax
THE HOUSE’S TOP BUDGET OFFICIAL on Friday made a pitch for a higher tax rate on recreational marijuana during a press conference unveiling the Legislature’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal. Rep. […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Warren the redistributionist
THE CURRENT ISSUE of The Atlantic carries an article by its national editor, Franklin Foer, entitled “What’s Wrong with the Democrats.” In it, he argues that the Democratic Party should become […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 57: Pot politics
After a dumbfounding outburst by House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Wednesday evening, it appears the House and Senate are finally getting down to business. A fiscal 2018 budget is slated […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Codcast: Pot politics
After a dumbfounding outburst by House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Wednesday evening, it appears the House and Senate are finally getting down to business. A fiscal 2018 budget is slated […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawmakers signal budget accord reached
THE LEAD BUDGET NEGOTIATORS for the House and Senate announced a deal Thursday evening to resolve differences between the branches over an annual state budget for the fiscal year that […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Top House leader unaware of budget, pot links
THE HOUSE’S TOP POT negotiator said on Thursday he’s not aware of anyone from either the Senate or House who has tried to link the negotiations over the budget and […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Authorities offer financial help to state
Gov. Charlie Baker is asking some of the state’s independent authorities for help in balancing the fiscal 2017 budget, but it appears only three have stepped forward. The Massachusetts Development […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
Don’t know much about history
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that not all Americans are created equal in their familiarity with the founding documents of their nation or the principles that undergird the […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
DeLeo puts pot talks on hold until budget done
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO said Wednesday evening that he asked House members of the committee negotiating marijuana legislation to pull out of talks with the Senate until an agreement is […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Let’s rehabilitate moms, not lock them up
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, I met Sylvia, a smart, talented mother with dreams – like most moms – for her family, despite experiencing homelessness. Formerly in prison for a non-violent drug […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The blandness of Bay State politics
For years here in Massachusetts, we prided ourselves on putting the fun in dysfunctional government. Recall the days of “Toga!, Toga!” chants during all-night budget debates, the one-day coup of […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Where Mass. ranks on education tests
IN THE SEASON OF GRADUATIONS, it is worth looking at how Massachusetts and Boston stack up against international competitors in education. According to global university rankings and international school achievement […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
My flag won’t be flying this July 4th
THERE’S NO FLAG flying above the front porch of our place in Maine this year. That flag was a personal expression of belief in the fundamental integrity and stolidity of this great […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Mega booze store out for self
MASSACHUSETTS LAWS AND regulations governing the sale of alcohol are partially based on the idea of maximizing carefully considered controls and oversight to help reduce negative impacts associated with over-consumption. […]