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 […]
Baker replaces another authority chief
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 […]
Posted inEnvironment
In shift, Eversource backs W. Mass. rate relief
EVERSOURCE IS PROPOSING significant changes to a $96 million rate hike request that would have the effect of lowering bills for customers in western Massachusetts and raising them for customers […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Charting common ground
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 […]
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 […]