GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S chief of staff attended a private, executive session of the MBTA’s oversight board on Monday, stirring speculation that a candidate for the T’s general manager’s post was […]
Baker aide attends T board executive session
Posted inEconomy
Banking on the pot industry
AT LEAST ONE Massachusetts bank is offering services to the nascent legal marijuana industry in the state despite uncertainty over federal drug and banking regulations that still classify all pot […]
Posted inThe Download
The sorest winner
Another day, another circus act from the ringmaster who will soon be the leader of the free world. The latest mystifying feat under the big top? A Donald Trump tweet […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Zipcar founder Robin Chase on upending the status quo
This article is part of a series entitled The Future of Mobility, a joint project of CommonWealth and Meeting of the Minds, a San Francisco-based organization that seeks to build alliances around […]
Posted inThe Download
What’s happening at Plainridge?
For a long time, we’ve been hearing that the Plainridge Park Casino was a monumental slacker. The Plainville facility opened in June last year amid projections that it could bring […]
Posted inEducation
Teachers union president decries Trump and testing
BARBARA MADELONI, the president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, had a message last week for her union’s members in the wake of the presidential election: “let all of our students […]
Posted inGambling, State House News Service
Plainridge says it’s doing very well
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ONA PER-MACHINE BASIS, the slots parlor at Plainridge Park in Plainville has the highest revenue of any similar gaming facility in the country, the parlor’s general […]
Posted inThe Download
Power of the badge
The tensions between police and those they are charged with protecting continue to rise and it seems every encounter between those in blue uniforms and those in black skin has the […]
Posted inTransportation
S. Coast Rail oversight shifted from T to state
MASSACHUSETTS OFFICIALS on Monday shifted oversight of the South Coast Rail commuter rail project from the MBTA to the state Transportation Department and said they are now analyzing two route […]
Posted inPolitics
Leaders declare Mass. ‘no place for hate’
POLITICAL AND COMMUNITY leaders stood on the steps of the Massachusetts State House to speak out against acts of bigotry and violence that they say have surged in the wake […]
Posted inGambling
Audit: Plainridge Casino falls short in hiring goals
A NEW AUDIT says the Massachusetts Gaming Commission dropped the ball in its mandate to ensure that Plainridge Park Casino met its agreed-upon local hiring goals and that the state’s […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Taking on the gun lobby
IN TRYING TO understand the power of today’s gun lobby, I’ve found myself looking for answers in earlier issues in US history. More than 100 years ago, the Anti-Saloon League was successful in ushering […]
Posted inThe Download
Healey and Baker one-on-one?
They’ve enjoyed some friendly competition harkening to earlier days, two former Harvard hoopsters playfully trying out old moves. But could Charlie Baker and Maura Healey be heading toward a showdown […]
Posted inEducation
Students push for ‘sanctuary campuses’
UMASS AMHERST OFFICIALS, under pressure from students, said on Friday they were committed to making the campus a safe haven for undocumented students, faculty, and staff. But they stopped short of […]
Posted inThe Download
The ties that bind
The Trump campaign has been mired since its start in accusations of abetting bigotry and hatred and no one embodies that charge more than newly named chief strategist Steve Bannon. Bannon’s […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
The Trump threat on energy
WHILE DONALD TRUMP’S VICTORY has sent many shock waves, perhaps there’s none more immediate than those now coursing through New England’s progressive energy policy. That policy has led the nation […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
After election, Mass. can be beacon of light
OVER THE LAST week I have heard many heart-wrenching stories about children and adults expressing their sadness and fear based on the results of the national election. It is natural […]
Posted inEnvironment
Power grid operator sounds alarms
OFFICIALS CHARGED WITH KEEPING the lights on in New England raised alarm bells on Thursday about what might happen if the region’s natural gas pipeline infrastructure is not expanded. Gordon […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Eversource pushing big solar project
EVERSOURCE ENERGY, a fierce opponent of solar subsidies on Beacon Hill, is seeking state approval to build solar farms across Massachusetts. A spokesman for the utility said the net cost […]
Posted inThe Download
The left-right confusion of Trump
Prepare for the era of cognitive dissonance. Or maybe it’s the ultimate test of compartmentalization. Whatever one calls it, Democrats are trying mightily to figure out how it works and […]
Posted inPolitics
Healey slams Baker on Trump appointment
ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY, who campaigned vigorously for Democrat Hillary Clinton, took umbrage Wednesday with Gov. Charlie Baker’s reaction to the appointment by President-elect Donald Trump of Steve Bannon to […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
AG aide wins 5-3 vote for judgeship
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE First Assistant Attorney General Christopher Barry-Smith received confirmation Wednesday for a Superior Court judgeship despite strong opposition from gun rights advocates. The Gun Owners Action League […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Airbnb wants to be taxed in Mass.
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL campaign in the rear-view mirror and the airwaves now free of political ads, Airbnb is taking advantage of the void to press its […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 30: Airbnb wants to be taxed. Really
It’s almost Alice through the Looking Glass. An emerging industry leader that legally operates tax-free is asking – no, imploring – lawmakers to slap a levy on its business. That’s […]