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 […]
The Codcast: Rosenberg laments broken system
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 […]
Posted inGun ownership, Guns, State House News Service
Last-minute bid to derail Healey gun rules
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY would be stripped of her authority to regulate firearms under a bill filed Friday afternoon by the state Senate minority leader. Sen. […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
We must preserve nuclear power plants
The following is a letter sent to Gov. Charlie Baker, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg by a group of scientists, environmentalists, and academics. As scientists, environmentalists […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
VMT is the way to go
THE COMMONWEALTH IS ABOUT TO TAKE an important step toward making our state’s approach to transportation funding more stable, fair, and transparent. The Legislature has included language in its recent transportation bond bill that directs the […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Flexibility needed in educating English language learners
AS A NATIONAL leader on education, Massachusetts has the burden and privilege of leading the pack as we learn to meet the needs of our diversified student population in today’s […]
Posted inThe Download
Deja vu at Suffolk U
A correction was added to this story clarifying that the Suffolk trustees sent a letter to the Suffolk community Thursday evening. That letter said McKenna had been terminated but did […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Obama’s legacy wrapped up in Clinton’s success
PHILADELPHIA – PRESIDENT OBAMA’S night at the Democratic National Convention was all about legacy lengthening. He warmly embraced party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the conclusion of his speech when she appeared […]