The Honorable Kevin McCarthy Majority Leader United States House of Representatives H-107, U.S. Capitol Building Washington D.C., 20515 Leader McCarthy, Thank you for the opportunity to provide initial input […]
Baker letter to House on ACA
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Baker’s record on records
Over the past two years, Gov. Charlie Baker has responded to 33 requests for public records by either withholding the information in its entirety or releasing it in redacted form. […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Tito is in
After keeping politicos guessing for months, and then recently saying he’d make a decision by the spring, Tito Jackson is diving into the race for mayor of Boston this afternoon, […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker to tax short-term rentals
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Gov. Charlie Baker intends to include in his budget due later this month a proposal that would tax short-term rentals offered through online portals like Airbnb […]
Posted inPolitics
Now Beacon Hill may mess with time
BEACON HILL REGULATES just about everything – cars, pot, schools, taxes, death – and now lawmakers are looking at making their influence known in one more of life’s essentials: time. […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mass. health care costs moderating
THE MASSACHUSETTS HEALTH POLICY COMMISSION reported on Wednesday that health care is becoming more affordable, but not for everyone. As recently as 2009, Massachusetts spent more per person on health […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Salem is taking on climate change
THE MORE THINGS change, the more they stay the same. For centuries now the economic health of the city of Salem has been tied to the ocean. In the immediate […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Ewwww!
The gasp you hear over the lurid allegations about President-elect Donald Trump is not the collective electorate. That’s more of a shudder. No, the group inhale is from members of the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Center: FY18 budget gap $615.7m
The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center estimates the state’s funding gap for the coming fiscal year will be $615.7 million and recommends two policy changes to introduce greater transparency into […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Governor’s fix-it man exits
This Conversation interview with Gov. Charlie Baker’s chief of staff, Steve Kadish, is from CommonWealth’s Winter 2017 issue. Kadish announced this week that he is leaving his post after two […]
Posted inEconomy
Home wreckers
Photographs by Mark Morelli FOR MOST HOMEOWNERS, their house is their past, present, and future, the hard shell around their nest egg. That shell requires regular attention and occasional investment, […]
Posted inEconomy
Mom-and-pop economic development Â
Photographs by Meghan Moore JOSE ROSARIO CAN barely walk a step without pointing to some of the changes he’s made since becoming the owner of Universal Auto Repair in Lawrence. […]
Posted inTransportation
Is there room for nostalgia at the T?
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 […]
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 INÂ 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 […]