“Make ticket-splitting great again!” It may not roll off the tongue easily. And the obvious allusion to a certain candidate’s slogan is actually the last thing he’d want to do. […]
Baker and Warren look for crossover votes
Posted inOpinion, Politics
FY18 budget shortfall could be $1b
IT IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED on Beacon Hill, certainly among budget writers, that the fiscal 2018 budgets passed by the House and Senate depend on unrealistic revenue projections. But it is […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
DeLeo unsure how Baker will balance budget
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Gov. Charlie Baker has told House Speaker Robert DeLeo not to worry about deficient tax collections blowing a hole in this year’s state budget. And the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download, Transportation
Uber bad behavior
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Criminal justice reform at the State House
STATE HOUSE NEWS FOR MONTHS, CRIMINAL justice advocates have said this legislative session is the time for Beacon Hill to tackle sweeping reforms aimed at reducing recidivism and incarceration rates, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Nipping and tucking
Charlie Baker is the state’s nip and tuck governor. State revenues were better than expected in May, but Massachusetts still faces an estimated $439 million shortfall that has to be […]
Posted inPolitics
May tax revenues $30m higher than expected
STATE TAX REVENUES in May came in $30 million higher than expected, but that still leaves Beacon Hill officials with a $439 million revenue shortfall to deal with before the […]
Posted inTransportation
Shortsleeve move to T board opposed
THE MASSACHUSETTS SENIOR ACTION COUNCIL and other advocacy groups on Monday came out against the appointment of Brian Shortsleeve to the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board starting July 1. […]
Posted inTransportation
$60m targeted for commuter rail overhauls
THE MBTA IS PLANNING to spend close to $60 million to nearly double the number of new or overhauled commuter rail locomotives in its fleet by the end of next […]
Posted inTransportation
T to accept donations, workers from businesses
THE MBTA’S FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT Control Board indicated on Monday that it plans to accept money and loaned workers from Massachusetts businesses to aid in the recruitment and retention of employees […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
WBUR, WGBH both doing well
Public radio is not a zero-sum game in Boston. WBUR and WGBH, Boston’s two public radio news stations, follow the same news and information format and run many of the […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
IRS, DOR undermining Earned Income Tax Credit
IN THE MIDST of new proposals for a major tax system overhaul, there’s one tax policy almost everyone agrees has been highly effective: the Earned Income Tax Credit. It delivers […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Baker replaces another authority chief
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER has engineered the appointment of a new president at Commonwealth Corporation, a quasi-public authority engaged in workforce training efforts. J.D. LaRock, a Northeastern University executive, was voted […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Transportation
We must learn from Seaport District failures
THEY WERE GATHERED in the spectacular replica of the US Senate chamber at the Edward Kennedy Institute, a panel of local thought leaders discussing how Boston’s past might inform Boston’s […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Mandatory minimum drug sentences costly mistake
SUPPORTERS OF MANDATORY minimum sentences for drug crimes are circulating a set of disconnected talking points on Beacon Hill that obscure the real issues. The debate is heating up as […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 51: Add parking, cut emissions
The Massachusetts Port Authority believes the best way to reduce emissions at Logan International Airport is to add 5,000 parking spaces. It sounds counterintuitive, but Massport CEO Tom Glynn makes […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Will district schools embrace charter-like reforms?
LONG BEFORE MORE than $40 million was spent last year making the cases for and against charter public school expansion, I was skeptical about using a statewide ballot initiative to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download, Transportation
The Codcast: Add parking, cut emissions
The Massachusetts Port Authority believes the best way to reduce emissions at Logan International Airport is to add 5,000 parking spaces. It sounds counterintuitive, but Massport CEO Tom Glynn makes […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Tito Jackson’s address? It’s complicated
TITO JACKSON, the Boston city councilor who is challenging Mayor Marty Walsh this fall, is not generally one to shrink from a tough question or dodge and weave around a […]
Posted inEducation
Boston teachers union will welcome Chaffee
THE MASSACHUSETTS TEACHERS ASSOCIATION may not be interested in hearing from Sydney Chaffee, the Boston charter school educator who was recently named National Teacher of the Year, but the Boston […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Mass. Democrats are energized
THIS SATURDAY, the Massachusetts Democratic Party will hold our largest ever platform convention. Nearly 5,000 delegates are mobilizing to debate, vote, and collectively decide the key issues that represent who […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
A U-turn on internet privacy
In March, US Rep. Michael Capuano took the House floor, channeled his best inner-Somerville (circa 1980), and ripped Republican lawmakers who were about to strip away internet privacy protections for […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Baker all talk on regional carbon limits
AS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP moves forward with his efforts to dismantle the Clean Power Plan and accelerate the extraction of coal, oil, and gas on federal lands, it’s worth taking […]
Posted inEnvironment
Seven suburbs blast Eversource solar proposal
SEVEN WESTERN SUBURBS of Boston are crying foul about an Eversource proposal that would cut the amount of money they receive for selling solar energy to the power grid, resulting […]