MASSACHUSETTS HAS THE best schools in America and some of the highest performing districts. We would not stand for it if three-quarters of the third-graders in Newton or Weston or […]
Achievement gaps tell disturbing tale of two states
Posted inOpinion
Have you gone on a pilgrimage?
Photographs from Jarrett Barrios’s Facebook page. HE’S IN A SELF-IMPOSED NEWS BLACKOUT so he won’t be reading this. At least not for a while. My friend Jarrett Barrios — a […]
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
Boston says it’s studying whether to rebuild Long Island Bridge
A SPOKESWOMAN FOR Boston Mayor Marty Walsh issued a statement saying the city is doing a cost-benefit analysis on rebuilding the Long Island Bridge, which is a shift from the […]
Posted inTransportation
Running the numbers on the Fairmount Line
A REPORT RELEASED THIS WEEK by the Boston Foundation pegged weekday ridership on the Fairmount Line at 2,257 passengers in June 2016, which is about 15 percent higher than counts […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
An investment in government transparency
LAST TUESDAY WAS tax day, and like many people I got to wondering where my hard-earned money went. Sure, there is the broad mission statement enshrined in the Constitution’s preamble […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 46: No Boston Olympics, revisited
It was just two years ago that the Greater Boston region was in the thick of a high-stakes showdown over whether to proceed with a bid to host the 2024 […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Codcast: No Boston Olympics, revisited
It was just two years ago that the Greater Boston region was in the thick of a high-stakes showdown over whether to proceed with a bid to host the 2024 […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
A Republican path to ACA reform?
IF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP and Congressional Republicans were to decide that fixing rather than destroying the Affordable Care Act, especially its private health insurance marketplaces, was in their self-interest, could […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story, Transportation
Boston abandons Long Island Bridge
A correction has been added to this story. BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH appears to be backing away from plans to rebuild the bridge to Long Island, partly because of opposition […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Tackling transportation in the suburbs
IF GREATER BOSTON HAS AN ACHILLES HEEL, it’s transportation. This was the number one issue when we launched the N2 Innovation District in Newton and Needham and it remains a […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Millennium marches on
Millennium Partners on Wednesday moved one step closer to building its fourth ultra-luxury project in Boston’s downtown core when the City Council voted 10-3 to seek an exemption from a […]
Posted inPolitics
Advocates hail challenge to Baker on public records
TWO ADVOCATES for greater government transparency are applauding the state supervisor of public records for questioning Gov. Charlie Baker’s assertion that his office is not subject to the Public Records […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Shadow vs $: It’s the wrong debate
THE WINTHROP SQUARE DEVELOPMENT proposed by Millennium Partners is not about the shadows on the Public Garden. It’s about the fact that every major development proposal in Boston seems to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Does it matter if Hernandez was gay?
How does a reporter write about an issue he or she hasn’t covered without explaining what the issue is? It’s a conundrum facing many outlets in the aftermath of the suicide […]
Posted inGambling
Wynn: Building in Boston is expensive
STEVE WYNN TOLD FINANCIAL ANALYSTS on Tuesday that he has been very surprised at how much it is costing to build his hotel and casino in Everett. As previously reported, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Legislators call for broader criminal justice reform
LAWMAKERS GATHERED OUTSIDE the House chamber Tuesday to declare their commitment to wide-ranging criminal justice reforms, further evidence of a push on Beacon Hill for changes that go beyond a […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
The great union loophole
NEWLY SEATED SUPREME COURT JUSTICE Neil Gorsuch once wrote, “There is something distinct, different, and more problematic afoot when the government selectively infringes on a fundamental right.” The Massachusetts union […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Transportation
The inside story of No Boston Olympics
Two years ago Boston was in the midst of an epic showdown over whether to proceed with a bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. In January 2015, Boston was […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Democrats’ circular firing squad
Yes, there was the sure-bet presidential contest that slipped away. And both branches of Congress are firmly in Republican hands. But despite all that — or, perhaps more accurately, because […]
Posted inTransportation
T trying to speed up Green Line trains
THE MBTA IS WORKING ON WAYS to speed up service on the Green Line by coordinating traffic lights, consolidating stops, and using technology to prevent bottlenecks. T officials estimate they […]
Posted inTransportation
Mysterious malady plagues commuter rail wheels
JUST AS THE MBTA’S COMMUTER RAIL operator is starting to get a handle on its shortage of working locomotives, the company is facing a mysterious problem with the wheels on […]
Posted inPolitics
Pot panel looks to let ex-cons in
THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE shaping the state’s new marijuana law wrapped up its final session of hearings Monday with an impassioned plea from a convicted drug felon to change the laws […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Uber ego
Uber is what many describe as a “disruptive technology,” that emerging portion of the so-called gig economy that is challenging traditional models of commerce with little regard for the niceties of […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
DCR is an agency without a vision
KUDOS TO THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION for stepping in to help the Department of Conservation andRecreation (DCR) focus on its core expertise – parks and parkways stewardship – by taking management […]