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 […]
Senate sends budget to Baker
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 […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Time to put a price on carbon
MASSACHUSETTS HAS BEEN A CASE STUDY for the positive relationship between economic growth, renewable energy procurement, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. As a leading state on climate change policy, […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Build the Middleboro line now
THE FALL RIVER Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently testified before the Fiscal and Management Control Board at MassDOT in support of a Middleboro rail extension to Fall River […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Boston Latin turmoil also moment of opportunity
THE RESIGNATION OF Boston Latin School headmaster Lynne Mooney Teta last week punctuates a tragedy that we all must feel compelled to address. Teta appeared to have ignored pleas from […]
Posted inThe Download
Supreme Court leashes prosecutors
In an 8-0 ruling, the US Supreme Court dramatically scaled back the power of federal prosecutors to charge politicians with corruption. The ruling overturned the bribery conviction of former Virginia […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Carmen’s union offers $24m savings plan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A MAJOR LABOR GROUP representing MBTA workers proposed a plan on Monday that it said would net $24 million in savings over four years for the […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
T scrambles to load new fare software
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FACING A FRIDAY DEADLINE, the MBTA and its software vendor are scrambling to load new fares into fare gates, vending machines, and systems on buses and […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Baker ups tax shortfall by $200m
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE APPARENTLY WORSENING TAX REVENUE shortfall facing state budget writers just days before the start of the new fiscal year will be adjusted on Monday by […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
There’s no getting around
THE TERM “HIDING in plain sight” has meaning beyond the obvious. Sometimes facts and realities that are part of our daily routine get overlooked, taken for granted, accepted as part […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
David Martin, former MassINC staffer and Democratic consultant, remembered
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE OFTEN THE UNSEEN hand behind politicians seeking to keep their campaigns on track and above board, David Martin passed away Saturday after a battle with cancer. […]
Posted inTransportation
South Coast Rail cost balloons $1b
This story was updated at 7 p.m. on June 27. RUNNING RAIL SERVICE from South Station to New Bedford and Fall River will take five years longer and cost $1 […]
Posted inThe Download
A question of mental illness
“Did they have a magic wand that somehow cured mental illness?’’ That poignant but simple question comes from state Sen. Kenneth Donnelly, a former Lexington firefighter, after the Boston Globe’s […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Long-term energy contracts make sense
The headline of a recent CommonWealth magazine story states, “Clean power will cost more.” Although presented as simple fact, the headline actually begs a more complicated question: “More than what?” […]
Posted inEnvironment
Senate’s ‘aggressive’ energy plan lets Cape Wind bid
THE SENATE UNVEILED an energy bill on Friday that is far more expansive than its House counterpart, increasing utility procurements for offshore wind and Canadian hydroelectricity, doubling the mandated growth […]