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 […]
Top pols say just vote no
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 […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Advice for Beacon Hill energy conferees
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE AND SENATE are to be commended for passing important energy legislation in recent weeks. Both bills represent the most important steps forward to date to further the […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download, Transportation
The Codcast: Crunch time for ride-hailing bills
The House and Senate have finally named their representatives to the conference committee that will hammer out a compromise on competing bills to regulate ride-hailing companies but whatever the final […]
Posted inThe Download
HuffPo’s indictment of Ortiz
Mayor Marty Walsh and his minions may be disavowing any role in jumpstarting a Huffington Post takedown of US Attorney Carmen Ortiz, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t thrilled to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, State House News Service
Baker plans budget amendment on licenses
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER CONCERNS WERE RAISED in the Legislature and the press, Gov. Charlie Baker plans to file a state budget amendment seeking to ensure that those in […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Gambling, Politics, The Back Story
The oddball ballot question
One of the four questions certified for the November ballot is a political oddity. Most ballot question proponents are hungry for publicity, eager to get their point of view before […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Deal reached on transgender legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A deal to protect transgender individuals in places of public accommodation, such as restaurants, locker room,s and pools, was struck Wednesday between House and Senate negotiators. […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
UMass cost could rise 5-8%
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE University of Massachusetts students working this summer to pay for college could face a higher financial mountain to climb in the fall. After freezing tuition for […]
Posted inThe Download
If you build it, students will come
It is a vexing conundrum: On the one hand, Massachusetts proudly highlights its place in drawing hundreds of thousands of students to the state every year to enroll in our […]
Posted inEnvironment
Court: 2 Cape Wind approvals flawed
A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that the US Department of Interior erred twice in granting a key environmental approval for Cape Wind, but the judges decided not to […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
T cash handling mismanaged, report says
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MISMANAGEMENT OF THE MBTA’S cash handling operation in Charlestown left employees and assets vulnerable to intrusion, coercion, physical danger, and theft, according to a consultant’s review […]
Posted inThe Download
Globe throws Cape Wind under bus
The newspaper that once championed Cape Wind threw the project under the bus on Tuesday in an editorial that seemed like it was written by the Baker administration. The Boston […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
What Independence Day is all about
WE APPROACH INDEPENDENCE DAY 2016 at a time of great economic change and uncertainty, when most of the western democracies are struggling to deal responsibly with an unprecedented flood of […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Education, State House News Service
Common Core ballot question rejected
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A CITIZENS-BACKED INITIATIVE PETITION that sought to end the state’s use of Common Core learning standards was improperly certified by Attorney General Maura Healey and is […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Education
Anti-Common Core question tossed off ballot
DERAILING EFFORTS TO repeal use of the Common Core education standards in Massachusetts schools, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a question that would have jettisoned the curriculum frameworks cannot […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Senate sends budget to Baker
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH JUST HOURS REMAINING in the current fiscal year, the state Senate on Thursday evening voted 38-1 to send a fiscal 2017 budget to Gov. Charlie […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Senate approves energy legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AN ENERGY BILL PASSED 30-0 by the Senate Thursday evening would require the solicitation of long-term contracts for at least 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind by […]
Posted inEnvironment
Natural gas falls out of favor on Beacon Hill
AS THE LEGISLATURE RUSHES to embrace offshore wind and Canadian hydroelectricity, the Senate on Thursday voted 39-0 to cut off the chief means of financing new natural gas pipelines coming […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 9: Walsh’s Woes
CommonWealth’s Michael Jonas talks with Gin Dumcius of MassLive.com and Kyle Clauss of Boston magazine about the string of problems in the administration of Mayor Marty Walsh, capped most recently […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
The Codcast: Walsh’s woes
These are not the happy days of summer for Boston’s mayor Marty Walsh. The city’s first-term mayor is reeling from one crisis to another, whether it’s the botched IndyCar race […]