CommonWealth’s Jack Sullivan and Bruce Mohl discuss the Boston Globe’s extensive coverage of Sen. Brian Joyce, and particularly the story last month suggesting the Milton lawmaker expanded his house without […]
The Codcast: The Globe v. Joyce
Posted inTransportation
T terminating parking contract early
THE MBTA IS PREPARING to terminate early its contract with its existing parking lot operator and sign a new deal that is expected to grow the $40 million business and […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Abysmal voter turnout a sad statement
A VANISHINGLY SMALL number of voters will be visiting the polls for today’s Massachusetts state primary. And you know what? It’s our fault. In our dreams, election days are supposed […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
Putting body cameras to the test
There is a certain irony to the drama over body-worn cameras now playing out in court in Boston. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins vowed to issue a decision by […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics, Transportation
Being smart is not enough
This is the third 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 around […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Mass. health care spending up 3.9%
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Spending on health care in Massachusetts rose to $57.2 billion in 2015, growing more slowly than in 2014 but for the second straight year outpacing the […]
Posted inThe Download
A finger on the trigger warning
College campuses, often held up as the ideal locales for free-flowing discussions, are circling the wagons around students some say are too sensitive to hear discussions on issues that could […]
Posted inPolitics
Joyce absolved of wrongdoing
SEN. BRIAN JOYCE obtained all the required permits to renovate his home, according to a report by the Milton Town Administrator that rebuts questions raised in a newspaper article over whether the lawmaker clandestinely […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Boston police unions overstate case for “long guns”
BOSTON POLICE UNIONS got quite a bit of attention last month when the presidents of three unions cosigned a letter to Mayor Martin Walsh and Police Commissioner William Evans demanding more patrol […]
Posted inEnvironment
Offshore wind firms eye New Bedford
STATE OFFICIALS ON TUESDAY signed a non-binding letter of intent with three companies who all agreed to use the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal as a staging area if they […]
Posted inThe Download
Johnson-Weld ticket in danger
The first presidential debate is just 20 days away and right now it appears Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump will have the stage all to themselves. Libertarian candidate […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Labor is the backbone of democracy
THIS LABOR DAY, if you want a close up view of our nation’s widening chasm between the rich and the rest of us, all you have to do is take […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Top Baker aides on party guest list
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE LIST OF GUESTS invited to the July 3 bash thrown by two top Department of Conservation and Recreation officials using state resources is a veritable […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Blacks need to be savvier political players
LATELY, DONALD TRUMP has been making appeals to black voters. His argument to African-Americans is that the Democratic Party relies on black voters, but has failed to improve their economic […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Time to raise up Boston workers
THE BOSTON OFFICE market is booming. Multinational pharmaceutical companies continue to expand, top students continue to flock to world-class higher education institutions, and cutting-edge tech companies and new start-ups show […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 17: Eldridge stirs things up
State Sen. Jamie Eldridge has managed to liven up a quiet August on Beacon Hill. The Acton Democrat shared some thoughts on Democratic Party politics with an email to fellow […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: Eldridge stirs things up
State Sen. Jamie Eldridge has managed to liven up a quiet August on Beacon Hill. The Acton Democrat shared some thoughts on Democratic Party politics with an email to fellow […]
Posted inPolitics
A debate with a twist
This story has been updated to reflect correct PAC spending by the Massachusetts Teachers Association. KICKING OFF THE Labor Day weekend will be a debate Friday between combatants in a […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, Politics, State House News Service
Pot campaign bashed for appeal
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A FUNDRAISING APPEAL from the marijuana legalization campaign has drawn the ire of health care professionals and parents of children who died from opioid addiction after […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, State House News Service
Healey cuts deal with CVS on opioids
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CVS PHARMACY will require its staff to check the state’s prescription monitoring program database before filling certain abuse-associated opioid prescriptions under a newly announced settlement with […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Plan B for a pipeline
ONE OF THE BIG MYSTERIES on Beacon Hill is how Gov. Charlie Baker is going to accomplish one of his top remaining energy priorities – building a new natural gas […]
Posted inThe Download
Not very candid camera talk from police union
If the topic weren’t so serious, the situation would be laughable. In the wake of rising national concern over police conduct, in particular in dealings in the black community, law […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker says DCR suspensions send right message
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday applauded one of his cabinet secretaries for handing out one-week suspensions without pay to the top two officials at the Department of Conservation and Recreation […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
DeLeo pays Mintz another $100,000
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO’S campaign committee paid $100,000 in legal fees at the end of March to the same Boston law firm that represented him previously in his legal battles […]