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 […]
The Codcast: Crunch time for ride-hailing bills
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
Stop poking the Bear
The Boston Globe recently ran an opinion piece about Russia by a former diplomat that was anything but diplomatic. The piece was witty and terse – and mean. Perfect for […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Guiding principles for transportation
This is the first 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 […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Lawmakers speed leaner budget along
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Responding to instability in the stock market that has shredded revenue estimates for next year, House and Senate leaders on Thursday will seek passage of a […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, Transportation
Fingerprints fail in Senate Uber bill
AFTER AN EXHAUSTIVE debate that dragged on for nearly five hours, the state Senate passed Uber-friendly regulations for the runaway ride-hailing industry but not before beating back an impassioned plea […]
Posted inEnvironment
Senate energy debate could get heated
THE HOUSE PRECLUDED MOST DEBATE on its energy bill, but the more free-wheeling Senate looks as if it will take on some major policy issues in its deliberations on Thursday. […]
Posted inThe Download
In emergency, break glass, remove Contompasis
Boston Schools Superintendent Tommy Chang made the announcement about the new interim headmaster for the embattled Boston Latin School, but if you look closely, you can see Mayor Marty Walsh’s hand […]