THE MBTA IS HOPING to spend $870 million on capital projects this fiscal year, which is 17 percent more than the agency spent last year but still $330 million short […]
T capital spending rising, but still lags
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Baker confirms probe of environmental police
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE of Energy and Environmental Affairs is investigating allegations of environmental police officers spending portions of the work day at home and receiving overtime […]
Posted inPolitics
2016 Election live-blog
5:19 PM:Where to find us this evening as results come in. That wraps it up for us here, but the night is just getting started. Steve Koczela will be on […]
Posted inTransportation
Orange Line trains turn around faster
MBTA OFFICIALS ON MONDAY said they have found a way to speed up their aging Orange Line trains as they wait for newer, faster vehicles to start arriving in late […]
Posted inEducation
Suburbs and the charter school question
HINGHAM DOES NOT look much like the sort of place where a charter school is likely to pop up. While charters schools in Massachusetts are concentrated in lower-income urban communities with struggling district schools […]
Posted inTransportation
T hires GLX manager at $280,000 base salary
THE MBTA ANNOUNCED on Monday that it has hired a Chicago-based construction official to oversee the $2.3 billion Green Line extension into Somerville and Medford, paying him a salary that […]
Posted inThe Download
Come(y) again?
The October surprise that threatened to upend the presidential race days before Election Day has turned into the November 180 that could return the contest onto the trajectory it been […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Robbing MIT to pay international reactor
THE DECADES-LONG QUEST to produce inexpensive carbon-free energy from nuclear fusion is making tangible progress. There is much work ahead but recent research is bringing the elusive goal into clearer […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
A charter convert
I WAS MAYOR of Springfield and chairman of the city’s school committee when the Massachusetts Education Reform Act passed in 1993. As a Democrat, and now a Boston resident, I […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Pro-charter vote doesn’t diminish district commitment
ON NOVEMBER 8, I will vote yes on Question 2, the referendum that would allow for controlled expansion of charter schools in Massachusetts. I have always embraced any social invention, […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Mobilizing voters in JP and Roxbury
IN DEEP BLUE MASSACHUSETTS, the outcome of this year’s presidential election is likely a foregone conclusion. But if this year’s campaign has taught us anything, it is that marginalized communities […]
Posted inEnvironment
Eversource confident on gas pipeline project
EVERSOURCE ENERGY officials confidently predicted this week they would begin construction of the $3 billion Access Northeast natural gas pipeline in 2019 and floated several possible ways to finance it. […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
State gains approval for big Medicaid overhaul
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT today approved a huge infusion of money to Massachusetts and big restructuring of the state’s Medicaid program, known as MassHealth. The five-year $52.4 billion waiver is major […]
Posted inPolitics
Veterinarian group opposes Question 3
FOR THOSE WHO CARE about the humane treatment of animals, Question 3 appears to be a no-brainer. The initiative calls for state requirements to ensure that animals raised for eggs, […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Real Democrats support charter schools
WITH JUST DAYS until America selects a successor to President Obama, a longstanding kerfuffle has broken into the open on his longstanding, crystal clear opposition to artificial caps on public charter […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 25: Charter School question at the wire
Lots of the focus is on Boston, home to about one-quarter of the state’s 40,000 charter school students and the place that is likely to see the most charter school […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: Charter school question at the wire
The vitriol and division that have been the hallmarks of the presidential race nationally have found their way to the state ballot question in Massachusetts on expanding charter schools. The […]
Posted inEducation, The Back Story
Malden charter seeks damages from departing teacher
ONE MIGHT HAVE expected Mystic Valley Regional Charter School to throw Matt Kowalski a goodbye party after seven years as a dedicated social studies teacher at the Malden school. Instead, […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Self-taxation for conservation started on Common
THIS NOVEMBER, THE CITIZENS OF BOSTON will have the historic opportunity to enact the Community Preservation Act. Already adopted by 161 cities and towns in the Commonwealth, and on the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Pot proponents hit critics on ‘scare tactics’
A LAWYER WHO helped draft the initiative to legalize adult recreational use of marijuana said critics of the referendum are using decades-old scare tactics to defeat the proposal and twisting […]
Posted inThe Download
It’s Weld’s move
After months of one of the most bizarre — and ugly — presidential campaigns in modern times, decision time has finally arrived. For American voters? Yes. But also for Bill […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
MBTA is trying to plan for 2040
A $7.3-BILLION BACKLOG in critical state of good repair investments, a century old system plagued by performance and reliability failures, major investments delayed and/or facing cost overruns…and then over 100 […]
Posted inGambling
Wynn wants to partner with locals
LAS VEGAS CASINO DEVELOPER Steve Wynn said on Wednesday that his company is courting “local personalities” to operate food and beverage operations at the $2.1 billion hotel/casino complex under construction […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Charters offer high-quality choice
MY SUBURBAN FRIENDS are asking for my stand on Question 2. I tell them my “yes” vote is based on one critical measure: There are simply not enough high-performing district […]