STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE DYING from opioid overdoses in Massachusetts each year continues to climb, according to a new state report projecting an estimated increase of […]
Opioid deaths continued to climb in 2016
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Worcester T&G by way of Tokyo
More than 120 Massachusetts daily and weekly newspapers learned on Thursday that they will report to ultimate bosses halfway around the world after the private equity firm that owns GateHouse […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Senators outline broad criminal justice reform agenda
SAYING THE TIME is right for the state to take a look at sweeping criminal justice reforms, a group of Democratic state senators is urging the Legislature to take up […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
ML Strategies breaks lobbying record
ML Strategies saw its lobbying fees soar to more than $4 million in 2016, setting what appears to be a single-year record among Massachusetts firms. ML Strategies, which is […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker launches search for new T leader
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Thursday that his administration is addressing long-term governance at the MBTA, launching a search for a new CEO/general manager and asking the agency’s existing oversight […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Shooting with impunity
Boston has become one of the safer big cities in the United States. In 2015, the city’s murder rate reached a 10-year low, with just 39 people killed. That number […]
Posted inPolitics
Senators to see average pay rise 39%
THE AVERAGE PAY OF A STATE SENATOR will likely rise about 39 percent this year to $110,942 under a new compensation scheme that rewards lawmakers with stipends for the leadership […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Pro-pot Jehlen to head marijuana panel
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A PRO-LEGALIZATION SENATOR will lead the Senate’s effort to make changes to the marijuana ballot law after Senate President Stanley tapped Somerville Sen. Patricia Jehlen to […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Baker remembers JFK
What follows is the prepared text of Gov. Charlie Baker’s speech on Wednesday in the House chamber to honor the centennial of former president John F. Kennedy’s birthday. I STILL […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Voices from Ohio on Medicaid expansion
OHIO IS ONE of 31 states that expanded Medicaid as permitted by the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare for nearly all low-income citizens. The state’s Republican governor, former presidential candidate John Kasich, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
1984? Try 10 years earlier
Critics of President Donald Trump’s 26-day tenure liken it to an Orwellian world, where “alternative facts” and “fake news” mean the opposite of what we’ve always believed. But with the […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Panel considers hospital price floor
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE OFFICIALS EXAMINING VARIATIONS in prices charged by medical providers on Tuesday floated the idea of setting a minimum rate for hospitals at the bottom end of […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Let’s go renewable
More than a quarter of the Massachusetts Legislature has signed on in support of bills that would require the state to obtain all of its electricity from renewable sources by […]
Posted inPolitics
Massie considering Democratic run for governor
BOB MASSIE, A veteran social justice activist who ran for lieutenant governor more than two decades ago, says he’s seriously weighing a run for governor in 2018. “I’m giving it […]
Posted inTransportation
Patriots set another record
SANDWICHED BY BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK winter storms, commuter rail officials had one more challenge to deal with last week: The highest one-day ridership in the history of the service with fans coming […]
Posted inTransportation
T considering privatization of core services
THE MBTA, which has already used privatization to cut costs in its warehouse and money room operations and to extract wage and work rule concessions from its largest union, is […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
School committees support stronger, lasting reform
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS from across the Commonwealth are a varied but pragmatic bunch. During this budget season they are focused on balancing budgets and working with school administrators to reallocate […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Is Trump crazy like a fox?
President Trump is taking an enormous amount of flak. The news is filled with stories questioning his policies and his judgment. Saturday Night Live is hilariously skewering the president and […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Why I’m joining the Democrats — and how they must change
AMERICAN POLITICS has changed. The driving force today is class – working people versus the wealthy, connected elite – and working people feel angry and left behind. They feel they’re […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Education must adapt to 21st century
Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. – Malcolm X THE PAST 25 YEARS have seen dramatic changes in our culture […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Eversource solar hikes unwarranted
I READ WITH INTEREST the story entitled “Eversource seeks higher fees on customers with solar.” In several instances, the utility’s stated reasons for its proposed fee hikes for customers with […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 36: Lessons from the teacher of the year
It was one thing when Sydney Chaffee was named Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. Now she’s been named one of four finalists for National Teacher of the Year, with announcement […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
The Codcast: Lessons from the teacher of the year
It was one thing when Sydney Chaffee was named Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. Now she’s been named one of four finalists for National Teacher of the Year, with announcement […]
Posted inEconomy, Gambling
Buzz building about Suffolk Downs sale
RESIDENTS OF EAST BOSTON and Revere say they are hearing a sale of Suffolk Downs is imminent, but officials at the track say they have nothing to report. “We’ve fielded […]