Massachusetts, which cautiously and methodically inched its way into casino gambling, is looking at moving into overdrive as lawmakers consider legalizing online gambling. The state’s three approved casinos, of course, […]
Scrambling the golden egg
Posted inEnvironment
Preparing for a shrinking Boston
SETTLED BY EUROPEAN COLONISTS in 1630, Boston was founded on the narrow Shawmut Peninsula behind the protective landforms of what are today Stellwagen Bank, Winthrop, Hull, and the 34 Boston […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Spare service programs from budget ax
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S FISCAL 2018 budget eliminates all funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service, the parent organization of flagship national service programs such as AmeriCorps and Senior Corps. As […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
China-based T supplier keeps rolling
The Chinese company building Orange and Red Line trains for the MBTA scored another US victory, winning a $137 million contract to build 45 double-decker rail cars for the […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Don’t forget about transmission
EARLIER THIS MONTH my company, Anbaric, announced a new partnership with the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan that enables funding to create up to $2 billion in renewable energy transmission and […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Fact-checking the T’s structural deficit
Over the last two weeks, the MBTA has repeatedly cited the existence of a “structural deficit” to make the case for its controversial spending cuts and privatization initiatives In a […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Baker’s sweet talk on health care
Do you get more with honey than vinegar? That old adage is the framework for a Boston Globe editorial teeing up the challenge facing Gov. Charlie Baker in the unfolding […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Baker pushes 2-track S. Coast rail approach
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE The Baker administration has agreed on a course for the first phase of long-promised commuter rail service to the South Coast, working under an approach that […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Baby, you can’t drive my car
General Motors wants to own the driverless car market. So much so they have pushed legislators in at least six states, including Massachusetts, to file bills that would only allow the […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Gorsuch is threat to public education
FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, opposition to Betsy DeVos as President Trump’s nominee for secretary of education was front and center in the news – and that was largely thanks to educators. […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker to T: Cut spending but not service
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Tuesday that MBTA officials should continue to search for savings at the agency, but he indicated he didn’t want spending cuts to disrupt service. The […]
Posted inTransportation
5 takeaways from new Orange Line car
MBTA OFFICIALS on Tuesday unveiled a three-quarters mockup of the 152 new Orange Line cars that are on order and due to start arriving at the end of this year. […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Codcast: Goldberg wants to keep her sight on pot
State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg says when she talks to counterparts around the country, there is one aspect of her job that stops them in their tracks: Her office’s regulation of […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker: Health bill could cost state $2b by 2022
THE REPUBLICAN HEALTH CARE BILL pending in Congress could cost Massachusetts $1 billion in federal revenue in 2020, a figure that could rise to nearly $2 billion by 2022, according […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Baker backs off commuter rail cut
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE ELIMINATION OF WEEKEND COMMUTER rail service will no longer be considered an option to close the MBTA’s looming budget deficit after Gov. Charlie Baker on […]
Posted inTransportation
T report recommends management, oversight changes
THE MBTA SHOULD REVAMP its top management structure and a board should continue to provide direct oversight of T operations after 2020, according to a draft strategic report issued on […]
Posted inTransportation
Savings estimates from commuter rail cuts vary a lot
THE INABILITY OF MBTA OFFICIALS to say definitively how many passengers ride commuter rail on weekends is making it difficult to push for elimination of the service. The T last […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Communities seek change on pot opt-out
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE UNCERTAINTY OVER THE PROCESS cities and towns must follow to opt out of the sprouting legal marijuana market has sparked confusion across the state and needs […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
T offers up other paratransit options
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LAST WEEK MBTA OFFICIALS presented some tough medicine the agency could take to zero-out its $42 million structural deficit for the coming fiscal year, including slashing […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Senator ‘No’
US Sen. Elizabeth Warren sounded a little tempered last week when asked whether she’d be campaigning hard against the reelection of the state’s Republican governor, Charlie Baker, next year. That […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
For marijuana law, now the ‘Grown-Up’s Hour’
MANY OF US have listened to Longfellow’s poem that reminds us that there “Comes a pause in the day’s occupations, that is known as the Children’s Hour.” Now that democracy […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Trump budget shows shocking values
A BUDGET PROPOSAL is a statement of beliefs and priorities, a document that says, “these are the things we value.” President Trump’s proposed budget says we don’t value women, seniors, […]
Posted inTransportation
Carmen’s chief sets record straight
IT’S TIME TO set the record straight on why the Boston Carmen’s Union agreed to open up its contract with the MBTA, negotiate amendments that greatly benefit the T, and […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 40: Getting around in the age of Trump
Beth Osborne, a senior advisor for Washington-based Transportation for America, was in town recently to discuss transportation needs with state officials and policy advocates. Osborne, a former undersecretary in the […]