National Teacher of the Year Sydney Chaffee is going to need that sabbatical that comes with the honor. The Codman Academy educator, the first Bay State teacher to win the […]
Charting common ground
Posted inCriminal Justice, Guns, State House News Service
Feds crack down on Lawrence drug network
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THIRTY PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED Tuesday on gun, drug, and immigration charges in a sweep that brought down a Lawrence-based network that Acting US Attorney William Weinreb […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Western Mass. needs regional economic development plan
THE MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET process demonstrates economic progress does not always create revenue for the Commonwealth. Total employment is eclipsing previous highs, unemployment rates are below four percent, and per capita […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Guns and hearing aids apparently mix
A gun advocacy group is opposing legislation allowing hearing aids to be sold over the counter because the measure is sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and it might, somehow, infringe […]
Posted inOpinion
Offshore wind moving too slowly
“GOOD THINGS COME to those who wait” is an old phrase extolling the virtues of patience. When it comes to bringing offshore wind energy to Massachusetts, it is advice we […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Brayton Pt closing ups need for gas
AS BADLY AS ALL OF US in Massachusetts have been needing improved access to natural gas, Wednesday at midnight our need–and the challenge to our economy and energy security–grow even […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
How to stop prison’s revolving door
A NEW REPORT from MassINC points to a major challenge for Massachusetts state government. Spending on corrections continues to increase significantly even as the inmate population declines. At the same […]
Posted inGambling, Opinion, Politics
Leave horse race fund for the horses
IT’S BUDGET SEASON at the Massachusetts State House and once again this year there have been some efforts to raid the Race Horse Development Fund to help address the state’s […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Democratic supermajority not so super
IN THE YEAR FOLLOWING a presidential election, the Massachusetts Democratic Party updates its platform. A party platform can stand as a defiant statement of goals and ideals, and a roadmap […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
MTA deserves ‘time out’ for bad behavior
AS REPORTED IN CommonWealth on Thursday, last weekend the Massachusetts Teachers Association decided to reject a resolution congratulating the 2017 National Teacher of the Year, Sydney Chaffee from Codman Academy, […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
T just doesn’t understand college students
EARLIER THIS WEEK, CommonWealth reported on the paltry sales of the MBTA’s university pass and the transit agency’s confusion about how to tap Boston’s student market. As a recent graduate […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 50: Ride-sharing redux
After several years of fits and stops, the Legislature finally passed a bill last summer that would regulate transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft with an eye on […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download, Transportation
The Codcast: Ride-sharing regs redux
After several years of fits and stops, the Legislature finally passed a bill last summer that would regulate transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft with an eye on […]
Posted inEducation, The Back Story
Mass. teachers union snubs National Teacher of the Year
SYDNEY CHAFFEE WAS WELCOMED to the White House last month. She was honored at an event in Boston by the governor and the state education commissioner. But the first Massachusetts […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker shuffles top T management
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION announced a reshuffling of the MBTA’s top management on Thursday to accommodate the return of the agency’s top manager to the private sector. Gov. Charlie Baker announced […]
Posted inGambling
Gaming Commission: Hands off horse fund
STILL HOPEFUL THEY CAN REVIVE thoroughbred racing in the state, the members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday said they intend to lobby lawmakers to leave intact a fund […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Can’t we all just get along?
Middle East peace seems as far off as ever. Partisan battle lines nationally have become even more stark since last November’s election, if that’s possible. But here in the Hub […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
House OKs 1 of 2 immigration bills
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE LEADERS indefinitely postponed a planned vote Wednesday on legislation recommended by Democrats as a response to President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown, even as […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Raise the tobacco sales age to 21
MANY PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO LEARN that tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable illness and premature death in Massachusetts and across the country, despite the strides we have […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
All aboard the private funding train
As state transportation officials flip over couch cushions to find money to fix, improve, and expand public transit, there may be a new template for funding some projects hiding in […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Senate reins in movie star spending
THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE put the state’s film tax credit in play on Tuesday, approving a budget amendment that would shave about $15 million off of the roughly $80 million in […]
Posted inTransportation
Drivers urge DPU to alter background checks
EDWARD HARUNK SAID driving for Uber gave him the flexibility to take care of his sick wife and bring her to doctor’s appointments whenever she needed. “Being an Uber driver […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Policy overload on fixing schools
When public policy goes one way and the premises of a culture go the other, you’ve got the formula for an unsustainable system of education. – Angus Campbell THERE IS […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Penn Station debate offers lessons for Boston
New York City is having its own North-South Rail Link debate, just on a much bigger scale. State and federal agencies in New York are pushing for a $20 billion […]