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 […]
Baker shuffles top T management
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 […]
Posted inUncategorized
T missing out on college student market
MBTA OFFICIALS said on Monday they are struggling to come up with a pass that would be attractive to local universities and their students and at the same time produce […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA unions pressed for pension concessions
STATE TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS on Monday pressured the MBTA’s major unions to agree to concessions that would reduce retirement payouts by about $1 billion over the next 18 years and prevent […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Baker under fire from all sides
The race for governor is taking shape. On the Democratic side, you have three like-minded liberals who detest President Trump. On the Republican side, you have a popular, middle-of-the-road incumbent […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
LGBTQ youth need our supportÂ
GROWING UP ASÂ an “out” teen on Cape Cod, there was no gay/straight alliance at my high school and the nearest LGBTQ youth resource was nearly an hour drive away. I […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Victims have stake in criminal justice debate
CRIME VICTIMS are the only participants in the criminal justice system who did not, by their own action or choice, put themselves there. At the same time, they are often […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 49: Dorchester Booming, mostly for the better
It’s boom time in Dorchester. That’s what Bill Forry of the Dorchester Reporter told Bruce Mohl and me when we sat down to talk with him about what’s going on […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Codcast: Dorchester booming, mostly for the better
It’s boom time in Dorchester. That’s what Bill Forry of the Dorchester Reporter told Bruce Mohl and me when we sat down to talk with him about what’s going on […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Logan signs parking deal with CLF
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE AGENCY THAT MANAGES LOGAN AIRPORT agreed Thursday to invest in reducing emissions from cars and planes as part of its plan to create 5,000 new […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Back Story
Few answers on corrections spending Â
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER and the state’s sheriffs offered no clear explanation this week for why corrections funding is going up as inmate populations are declining. The puzzling spending pattern was detailed in a study released on Monday by MassINC, […]
Posted inGambling
Group pitches horse park feasibility study
A GROUP OF HORSE ENTHUSIASTS staked a claim on Thursday to casino tax revenues that they would like to tap for a feasibility study of a horse park in central […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawsuit challenges Lowell at-large voting
A CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP has brought a federal lawsuit against the City of Lowell alleging that its electoral system has led to a stark lack of minority representation in city […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Latest numbers undercut need for health care tax
THE LATEST DATA for the state’s MassHealth program indicate enrollment has stabilized, suggesting the assumption behind Gov. Charlie Baker’s health care tax on employers – that Medicaid rolls are soaring […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Political polarization complicates Watergate comparisons
THE CASCADING INVESTIGATIONS into relationships between Russia and Donald Trump’s campaign and staff rings loudly with echoes of Watergate. Trump sometimes seems to invite the parallel, tweeting about taping White […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Second thoughts on Globe property
Something must be amiss at the Boston Globe’s property on Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester. First, Winstanley Enterprises of Concord struck a deal to buy the 16.5-acre property and then pulled […]