Photographs by Mark Morelli I’VE ALWAYS HAD MIXED FEELINGS about gambling. I had no moral concerns about it; indeed, for years my wife and I had enjoyed a day or […]
Building a government agency from scratch
Posted inGun ownership, Guns
Mass. chiefs approve most gun permits
ONLY A TINY fraction of Massachusetts residents who apply for firearms licenses or identification cards are turned down, suggesting the state’s reputation for restricting gun use may be overstated. Just […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Gateway Cities preoccupied with panhandling
IN NEW BEDFORD, the City Council considered requiring panhandlers to get licenses to ask for money in the city. Manchester, New Hampshire, banned the exchange of items of value between […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
The art of the non-deal deal
ON MAY 31, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a new law to avert a proposed 2016 state ballot initiative that would have redistributed as much as $450 million annually from Partners […]
Posted inUncategorized
Fusion: The next big thing
GREATER BOSTON IS on a roll, propelled by innovation. The US Chamber of Commerce recently named the region number one in the nation for “fostering entrepreneurial growth and innovation.” Our […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Slow, steady on military sex assaults
SHORTLY AFTER TAKING HER SEAT in the House in 2007, US Rep. Niki Tsongas of Lowell attended a luncheon for soldiers wounded in combat. Tsongas approached some women at the […]
Posted inEconomy
Sandwich shop struggling on Boston Common
THE EARL OF SANDWICH is struggling financially at its Boston Common restaurant location, with losses mounting and revenues declining. The city of Boston hasn’t taken a hit—rental payments to the […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Opinion
The income-growth challenge in Gateway Cities
IT’S POSSIBLE FOR an economy to grow in ways that expand opportunity and promote broadly shared prosperity. We know that’s possible because it’s exactly what happened in the United States […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Microphilanthropy
Addressing hunger at Bunker Hill CC
Microphilanthropy is an occasional feature that calls attention to small acts of generosity that people do for the benefit of others and highlights little-known needs that could benefit from generosity, […]
Posted inPolitics
To caucus or not to caucus
CAUCUSES ARE NOT clandestine cabals requiring a secret handshake and special door knock to get into the room, except perhaps for the Democratic and Republican legislative caucuses. In Massachusetts, in […]
Posted inEconomy
Boston garage sale stirs worries
THE CITY OF Boston used to sell off rundown municipal garages for development all the time by itself, but it’s taking a different tack with the old Winthrop Square Garage, […]
Posted inEducation
Southbridge schools get fresh start
THE NEWS WAS not unexpected when the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted in January to put the Southbridge schools into receivership. The small central Massachusetts district of […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Opinion
Harvard’s blank canvas
I WAS STANDING on the roof of the Doubletree Hotel along Soldiers Field Road, looking down at what could easily be described as a whole lot of nothing. But that […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Temporary helistop coming as early as Sept.
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ONE OF THE POTENTIAL FRUITS of General Electric’s deal to move to Boston – a full heliport – could be established in Boston and a state […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA board gives $15m lift to Keolis
THE MBTA’S OVERSIGHT BOARD on Monday approved a series of maintenance, repair, and scheduling changes for commuter rail service that are expected to improve on-time performance and boost the income […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
On college costs, little relief in sight
US students carry $1.2 trillion in college debt — and Massachusetts is set to do its part to keep that staggering figure growing. The Globe reports today that all of […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker signs transgender legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Friday afternoon signed into law legislation protecting transgender people from discrimination in public places, less than a day after the legislation hit […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker ‘rightsizes’ the state budget
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER signed a $38.92 billion annual budget on Friday, slashing $256 million in spending from a plan approved by the Legislature last week as part […]
Posted inEnvironment
Pipeline firm makes case for more natural gas
THE COMPANY TRYING TO EXPAND a major natural gas pipeline coming into New England said on Friday that the growing opposition in the Legislature is failing to recognize that more […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, Economy, Politics
Top pols say just vote no
THE STATE’S TOP elected officials from both sides of the aisle made a powerful political appeal to oppose the ballot question that would legalize the adult use and commercial sale […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Guns, Opinion
A time to heal
THE MURDER OF two black men at the hands of the police earlier this week and the killing of five law enforcement officers in Dallas Thursday night is a double […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Mass. should insist on burial of NH power line
AS MASSACHUSETTS WORKS to reduce reliance on carbon-generated electricity, neighboring New Hampshire is fearful of becoming a muddy doormat between Quebec and Boston. Hydro-Quebec wants to export more of its […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Baker emotional about tragedies
What follows is a statement Gov. Charles Baker delivered prior to a press conference on Friday dealing with a marijuana legalization ballot question. Baker, who spoke without notes, seemed on […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 10: Crunch time for ride-hailing bills
Sen. Eric Lesser of Longmeadow, one of the members on the panel that wrote the Senate’s final version, and Christopher English, policy analyst and project manager for the city of […]