PHOTOGRAPHS BY MICHAEL MANNING THE MBTA RECENTLY DECIDED to replace all the cars on the Red Line rather than just a portion of them. The agency’s chief operating officer, Jeffrey […]
Is there room for nostalgia at the T?
Posted inHealth Care
Steward’s asset-light philosophy
NO ONE IS QUITE SURE what to make of Steward Health Care’s latest move. A for-profit health care company operating in a sea of nonprofits, Steward has always been something […]
Posted inOpinion
Grid in the balance
ON THE FACE of it, New England’s power system is in good shape. Over nearly two decades, the region’s competitive wholesale electricity markets have attracted investment in the power plants and […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Dump the millionaire tax
FORTY-THREE STATES IN this country tax the income of their citizens in some form. Of the states that tax wages, only eight, including Massachusetts, use a single rate rather than a […]
Posted inEconomy
Got robots?
Sixth-generation family farmers Dave and Steve Barstow have stretched the limits of what dairy farmers can do to stay afloat. They opened a store and bakery on their dairy farm […]
Posted inPolitics
What can the Mass. delegation do?
MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS RAN against the grain on Election Day and returned to Washington the nine incumbents who represent the Bay State in the House. They join fellow Democrats Elizabeth Warren […]
Posted inPolitics
A call to action
Photograph by Frank Curran What’s at the top of your agenda as you prepare to take over as the new president of the Boston NAACP? It really is a continuation […]
Posted inEducation
Rural schools caught in ‘death spiral’
ON A SUNNY October day, students play at recess outside Hawlemont Elementary School tucked into the wooded hills of Charlemont, which are electric with fall color. As they head back […]
Posted inEnvironment
Renewables not cheap
IN DECEMBER, A company called CleanChoice Energy mailed out a sales pitch to electricity customers in eastern Massachusetts. The letter acknowledged that 100 percent renewable energy from solar and wind […]
Posted inTransportation
T subsidy confusion
THE MBTA’S OPERATING subsidy per passenger seemed to increase last year compared to the year before, but officials say the primary difference was in how the figures were calculated. In […]
Posted inEducation, Microphilanthropy
Contributing to debate
Microphilanthropy is an occasional feature that calls attention to small acts of generosity that people do for the benefit of others and highlights little-known needs that could benefit from generosity, […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Political humor can be fun – and healthy
A LITTLE LAUGHTER goes a long way in politics. Donald Trump should keep that in mind as he takes over at the White House. Someone in his position needs a […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Lessons from Singapore
ON DECEMBER 6, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the results of the 2015 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an assessment administered in 72 nations every […]
Posted inOpinion
Correspondence, Winter 2017
Crime and punishment It seems like kids growing up in neighborhoods like this have a really tough choice: “Fit in” with those causing trouble or follow the law but potentially […]
Posted inGuns
Healey cracks down on more gun sales
ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY continued her crackdown on the sale of illegal guns in the state by forcing a Worcester gun dealer to stop selling illegal handguns and pay $35,000 […]
Posted inTransportation
No rush in replacing T’s general manager
THE HEAD OF THE MBTA’S oversight board declined to say on Monday whether the transit authority is looking to hire a new general manager. Joseph Aiello, the chairman of the […]
Posted inTransportation
T privatizes warehouse operations
THE MBTA’S OVERSIGHT BOARD on Monday approved a $7.1 million contract with a Virginia-based company to privatize the warehouse and logistics operations of the transit authority. Officials said the contract […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The challenge for Marty Walsh
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh may be getting a free pass so far with the lack of opponents to his reelection but don’t confuse that with his first term going unexamined and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Hodgson proposal little more than self-promotion
I WAS DISGUSTED to learn of Bristol County’s Sheriff Thomas Hodgson’s proposal to send prisoners off to work on Trump’s wall. Of course, even if construction on the wall ever […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Charter question defeat presents new challenge
IT’S A NEW YEAR and the people of Massachusetts have spoken. On Question 2, a ballot initiative which would have given urban students more charter public school options, the electorate said no. […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
The Partners premium
IT IS INTERESTING TO WITNESS Partners HealthCare and its efforts to fend off any policy approaches that may attempt to rein-in the unwarranted high prices the company receives from commercial […]
Posted inPolitics
Was Baker privately ‘With Her’?
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is heading to Washington later this month to attend fellow Republican Donald Trump’s inauguration. But would he have been happier to be attending Hillary Clinton’s swearing-in? Of […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Suffolk U. is stronger than you think
FROM A DISTANCE, Suffolk University appears to be an institution in disarray. Six presidents in as many years. Enrollment is down, especially at the law school. It is reeling from […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Clark’s lonely boycott
As Democrats try to figure out how to deal with President-elect Donald Trump, US Rep. Katherine Clark is taking a novel approach — she’s boycotting his inauguration. Clark said her […]