WYNN RESORTS led everyone to believe it put construction of its $2.1 billion Everett casino and hotel on hold when Somerville challenged a key environmental permit, but the worksite on […]
Wynn project shifts into gear
Posted inGambling
An unlikely spot for a $2.1b hotel
ON ONE SIDE is a massive power plant. On the other is a commuter rail line and a group of big box stores. To the rear is an MBTA repair […]
Posted inGuns, The Back Story
AG’s gun communications lacking
Two weeks after Attorney General Maura Healey announced her crackdown on assault weapons sales, there is still confusion over how and when she issued her directive, whether she did or […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Paid family leave is good for business and communities
AT SOME POINT in everyone’s life, a serious personal or family medical emergency happens. Individuals receive an unexpected diagnosis. An elderly parent’s health rapidly declines. A family member faces a […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Weld outshines Johnson in CNN town hall
FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR Bill Weld is a typical political alpha male. Always has been. He proved that by once jumping headfirst in a not-so-clean Charles River as a display of […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 13: Rosenberg laments broken system
When you cut through the Beacon Hill weeds, Senate President Stan Rosenberg’s message is clear: The system for reviewing and considering legislation is badly broken, and he’s not happy about […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
The Codcast: Rosenberg laments broken system
He offers plenty of wonky background on the details of Joint Rule 10 and bill-reporting deadlines, but when you cut through the Beacon Hill weeds, Senate President Stan Rosenberg’s message […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
House, Senate lawmakers trade fire
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE HOUSE AND SENATE may be done trading major policy proposals for the year, but the back-and-forth between members of both branches is only heating up. […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Energy bill a solid step forward
IF YOU’RE DISGUSTED BY POLITICS in this country, take heart. This is Massachusetts. The state’s clean energy bill, passed in the wee hours of July 31, is an important step […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, State House News Service
Fentanyl fuels rise in opioid deaths
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FENTANYL HELPED FUEL an increase in opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts over the first six months of the year, according to state public health officials whose […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Criminal Justice, State House News Service
Pot supporters say ballot question about fairness
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS PROPONENTS GATHERED outside the State House Wednesday to urge support for marijuana legalization and condemn arguments against it as rooted in fear, opponents of a […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
The inconvenient truth of energy policy
THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE just enacted some of the most ambitious clean energy procurement legislation in the nation. It is a significant step to meet the Commonwealth’s emissions reduction goals and […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion, Transportation
Davey: Continue state subsidy for Greenway
THE GREENWAY CONSERVANCY, a not-for-profit entity charged with programming and maintaining the Rose Kennedy Greenway, has recently generated headlines that have called into question the appropriate level of state support […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
Boston pols square off on pot question
They aren’t exactly a murderers’ row of top-shelf political muscle. But when the heavy hitters are all lined up on the other side, you go with the team you’ve got. […]
Posted inGambling
Wynn construction could start this week
WYNN RESORTS is expected to move ahead with construction of its $2.1 billion hotel-casino complex in Everett this week after Somerville decided not to seek reconsideration of an environmental permit […]
Posted inThe Download
When it comes to the T, follow the money
Nothing happens with the cash-strapped MBTA without a reference to money — absolutely nothing. Monday’s meeting of the Fiscal & Management Control Board was a case in point. Outside of […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Driverless car revolution is coming
This is the second 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 inTransportation
T to pay $400 million for mandated safety system
MBTA OFFICIALS SAY a mandatory $460 million system to ensure rail safety is on track to be installed by 2020 but though they claim it’s an 80-20 split with the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Energy bill: Winners & losers
The energy legislation approved by the Legislature late Sunday night radically reorganizes the state’s energy market in favor of clean energy, calls for hydroelectric and offshore wind power contracts worth […]
Posted inTransportation
T union claims cash uncollected
THE HEAD OF the MBTA’s Carmen’s Union ramped up his assault on the agency’s move to privatize money collection, claiming the first week of a new system resulted in untold […]
Posted inThe Download
Sausage making on Beacon Hill
The Legislature approved five of the so-called “Big Six” bills by the end-of-the-session deadline of midnight Sunday, but the process left a lot to be desired. Like college students who […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Uber, Lyft regulations approved
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A LATE-NIGHT DEAL struck between House and Senate lawmakers to regulate app-based ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft would not ban those services from operating at […]
Posted inEnvironment
Lawmakers give late-night OK to energy bill
HOUSE AND SENATE LAWMAKERS approved a compromise energy bill Sunday night that they hope will pave the way for an offshore wind industry and sharply increase imports of electricity from […]
Posted inEducation
Strangeness continues at Suffolk
THE SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY board of trustees waited a full day before commenting on the firing of president Margaret McKenna, and then said almost nothing. Robert Lamb, the chairman of the […]