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 […]
Self-taxation for conservation started on Common
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 […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Charter narrative gets story wrong
A narrative is like a room on whose walls a number of false doors have been painted; while within the narrative, we have many apparent choices of exit, but when […]
Posted inThe Download
A web of lies
Donald Trump is being paid millions of dollars by the Russian government, according to ABC News, showing why he’s been deferential to Vladimir Putin. “October Surprise: ABC Uncovers ‘Millions’ of Payments […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Could raising charter cap help district school students?
ON NOVEMBER 8, Massachusetts voters will decide whether to lift the cap on charter schools operating in the state. Measure 2 is surely the most hotly contested issue on the […]
Posted inThe Download
CNN caught with pants down
Partisan commentators may make for lively TV, but CNN is discovering that they can also work as spies inside a news organization. CNN announced on Monday that it severed ties […]
Posted inTransportation
Business unusual at the T
IT’S A MANTRA spoken so often these days it could be a bumper sticker. “The MBTA is open for business,” Brian Shortsleeve, the agency’s chief administrator and acting general manager, said […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
Outsider’s perspective on pot legalization
When you’re struggling with a decision, sometimes it’s helpful to get an outsider’s perspective. The CBS news magazine 60 Minutes on Sunday reported on marijuana legalization, which is on the […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Bridj offers MBTA late-night service
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A private transit company that already shuttles people around greater Boston during the daytime has proposed to do the same at night, in a partnership with […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
A vote for students
AT THE OUTSET, I make two admissions: I am not a fan of making public policy via ballot initiative and my children currently are enrolled in private, independent schools. I […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Situational awareness key to safe, self-driving cars
This is another in 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 […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Rearranging the electoral map
Last in a series MAPS ARE ONE OF THE OLDEST WAYS known to humankind to illustrate a location or make a point. Like the great Medieval stained glass windows depicting […]
Posted inTransportation
T officials: No new revenue needed now
MBTA OFFICIALS GATHERED in public on Friday to brainstorm a strategic plan for the future, and they quickly concluded that new revenue to fund capital improvements is not the answer […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 24: 2 pollsters talk shop
Americans love polls. Except when they don’t say what they want them to say. “I’m not sure the polls have changed,” says data expert John Johnson,CEO of Edgeworth Economics in […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
The Codcast: 2 pollsters talk shop
Americans love polls. Except when they don’t say what they want them to say. Donald Trump could not tout his poll numbers enough when he was winning the surveys and […]
Posted inEducation
Arne Duncan calls charter schools part of the Mass. solution
WADING INTO A battle that has become increasingly contentious and has divided Democrats like no other domestic policy issue, President Obama’s longtime education secretary, Arne Duncan, said allowing more charter […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
A wasted vote of conscience
IN THIS PERIOD of discontent with the Republican and Democratic nominees for president, many Massachusetts voters are talking about writing in their own candidate when they enter the voting booth […]
Posted inThe Download
Yes and no on Question 4
The reviews are in and it appears the view is near-universal – Question 4, as written, is a dumpster fire that would legalize having and using pot but not the ability to […]
Posted inEnvironment
Gas pipeline dealt possibly fatal blow
THE PUSH FOR A NEW PIPELINE into New England may have been dealt a fatal blow when Connecticut officials called off a process to procure more natural gas largely because […]
Posted inThe Download
Laboring forward?
There is no broad resurgence of the US labor movement. But when you’ve been pushed back on your heels as much as unions in this country have been, you’ll take […]