TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY STEPHANIE POLLACK said on Monday that the MBTA is scrapping its design for a new Auburndale commuter rail station in response to concerns that the proposal might negatively […]
Pollack: T scrapping Auburndale station design
Posted inThe Download
Getting Trump’s attention
Someone needs to take away President Trump’s cellphone or shut down his Twitter account. Stat. Trump raised the specter of recording his January dinner conversation with now-fired FBI director James […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Report: Inmate levels down but spending keeps rising
THE NUMBER OF INMATES in the state’s prisons and jails is going down, but the cost of operating those facilities is going up, largely because correctional institutions are adding more […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Boston reentry initiative hits the skids
BOSTON’S WIDELY ACCLAIMED prisoner reentry program, which is aimed at reducing recidivism by helping offenders who are released from prison with everything from employment and housing to addiction services, was […]
Posted inEconomy, Transportation
Prepare to be automated out of a job
WHAT SHOULD WE DO if we knew that, in the near future, a large sector of our country’s workers, currently employed with good-paying jobs, would be put out of work […]
Posted inEnvironment
Boston seizes clean energy opportunity
IT’S BEEN A sobering few months for clean energy advocates. Despite the Trump administration’s disdain for programs and policies intended to lower the carbon emissions that threaten the safety and […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 48: Plotting the future at DOT
Scott Hamwey’s job is figuring out the state’s transportation future. As the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s manager of long-range planning, he is charged with trying to plot a course for […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
The Codcast: Plotting the future at DOT
Scott Hamwey’s job is figuring out the state’s transportation future. As the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s manager of long-range planning, he is charged with trying to plot a course for […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Tracking assisted living ‘incidents’
Massachusetts assisted living facilities reported 305 cases of abuse, neglect, and exploitation involving residents in 2015 – and half of the reports were filed late. Reports are supposed to be […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
The downside of renewables
MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN about New England’s electricity markets and the distortions caused by policy makers. There are many lessons that elected officials and bureaucrats can learn by looking overseas […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Trump’s unhelpful hand to workers
It is easy to get fixated on the circus act that has taken up residence in Washington. With Ringling Brothers pulling down the tent after 146 years, as if on […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Mass. voters strongly back criminal justice reform
MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS STRONGLY support reform of the state’s criminal justice system, including elimination of mandatory minimum sentences and a greater emphasis on rehabilitation and education programs than incarceration, according to […]
Posted inPolitics
MassDevelopment CEO candidate withdraws
MASSDEVELOPMENT WAS PREPARING to name a new CEO on Thursday, but now officials say the candidate has withdrawn her name from consideration. State officials say Barbara Kroncke, a partner at […]
Posted inHealth Care
Steward, physician group swap fraud charges
ONE OF STEWARD HEALTH CARE SYSTEM’S largest physician groups has filed a fraud and breach of contract suit for as much as $60 million against the for-profit hospital chain, triggering […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion, Politics
Baker’s claim of soaring Medicaid rolls is faulty
WITH MUCH FANFARE last January, the Baker administration sounded the alarm that the Medicaid rolls were soaring because individuals were dropping their employer coverage and choosing instead to enroll in […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Opening the gate
Former FBI director James Comey now joins the growing ranks of law enforcement officials fired by President Trump, alongside former acting Attorney General Sally Yates and Preet Bharara, the former […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
Rosenberg: Put ed policy on hold until tax vote
EDUCATION POLICY INITIATIVES may take a back seat in the state Senate to a focus on boosting school funding through the proposed “millionaire’s tax” on high earners. Senate President Stan […]
Posted inEnvironment
Vineyard Wind brings in a big player
A BIG INTERNATIONAL ENERGY PLAYER is jumping into the competition for offshore wind power contracts with Massachusetts. Through a company in which it is the major shareholder, Iberdrola S.A., a […]
Posted inTransportation
Moulton: South Station expansion massive waste of $2b
US REP. SETH MOULTON on Tuesday called the expansion of South Station “a massive waste of $2 billion” and criticized the Baker administration for suggesting that it might be possible […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Pot sale prohibitions spread
Voters approved recreational marijuana last November, but is it possible that buying pot won’t be that easy? Foxboro on Monday night became the latest town to ban recreational marijuana growing […]
Posted inTransportation
Keolis met locomotive requirement last week
The MBTA’s commuter rail operator met its requirement for ready-to-go locomotives all last week for the first time since January, T officials said on Monday. Keolis Commuter Services is contractually […]
Posted inTransportation
Pollack takes issue with N-S Rail Link backers
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY STEPHANIE POLLACK said on Monday that she saw no inconsistency in pushing ahead with a $2 billion plan to expand South Station even as the state is spending […]
Posted inEnvironment, Transportation
Greenway sought 10 more years of state funding
UNDER PRESSURE TO WEAN ITSELF off of state funding this year, the nonprofit that runs the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway instead made a pitch to keep state funds flowing for […]
Posted inPolitics
Brown seeks donors for group attacking Warren
A CONSERVATIVE MASSACHUSETTS political action committee has sent out a fundraising request attacking Sen. Elizabeth Warren that includes an appeal to donors from former US senator Scott Brown, whose nomination as […]