The Massachusetts Senate is slated to unveil its ride-sharing bill this week, which should provide a hint of how contentious the negotiations between the two branches will be as the […]
Ride-sharing showdown looms
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Northern Pass is not a green answer
WELL-MEANING POLICYMAKERS in Massachusetts are looking north, seeing in Canadian hydropower a quick solution to the need for more green energy. But one state’s environmental solutions may be another state’s […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 7: The everyday terrorism of urban gun violence
Just over a week ago, 17-year-old Raekwon Brown was fatally gunned down just steps from Jeremiah Burke High School in Dorchester, where he was a student. Three others, including a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
The Codcast: The everyday terrorism of urban gun violence
Just over a week ago, 17-year-old Raekwon Brown was fatally gunned down just steps from Jeremiah Burke High School in Dorchester, where he was a student. Three others, including a […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Baker says T has ‘significant climb’ ahead
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS AT THE MBTA are moving the transit system “in the right direction,” Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday, but an “enormously significant climb” remains ahead. Speaking […]
Posted inGambling, State House News Service
Committee OKs Lottery move online
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS LOTTERY would be authorized to offer its products online and on mobile applications, something the Lottery has said is essential to maintaining and growing […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Time to crack down on wage theft
THE PUSH TO raise the minimum wage in the United States has grown in prominence, gaining widespread national attention in this year’s presidential primaries. But, you may not have heard […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Utilities seek cut of hydro, wind contracts
Tucked inside the House energy bill is what industry folks call an adder, a special add-on fee paid by electric ratepayers to their utilities to compensate them for carrying out […]
Posted inPolitics
Panel gives Baker’s economic development bill a haircut
STATE HOUSE NEWS A scaled-down version of Gov. Charlie Baker’s economic development bill cleared a key House-Senate committee on Wednesday and included a new provision that would allow families […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
Making noise — and a splash — on guns
For a newspaper opinion page, it’s the closest thing there is to shouting something from the rooftops. Today’s Boston Globe — both online and in print — leads with a […]
Posted inEnvironment
Hydro-Quebec officials push Northern Pass
TOP OFFICIALS AT HYDRO-QUEBEC said on Wednesday in Boston that the company’s Northern Pass project represents the best, most complete solution to New England’s need for clean energy. Eric Martel, […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Uncategorized
DeLeo: Policy differences could hinder budget deal
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Wednesday said policy differences between the House and Senate loom as an even larger obstacle than a revenue shortfall to a […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion, Politics
Teacher licensure system needs overhaul
TEACHER LICENSURE IN the Commonwealth is a time-consuming, complex system, costing millions of dollars each year, and it is in need of reform. Massachusetts offers 47 different kinds of teacher […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
House energy bill must be scaled up
IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS, Massachusetts has the opportunity to reorient the energy system away from risky over-reliance on fossil fuels and toward a stable clean energy future. The opportunity is […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
SJC decision raises emissions questions
WE ARE FACING the daunting challenge of meeting the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets of the Global Warming Solutions Act. And now the recent Supreme Judicial Court decision, Kain v. […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
Ortiz sides with Walsh on records
US Attorney Carmen Ortiz, whose office is suspected of being the source of leaks for Boston Globe stories about her investigation of union strong-arming tactics, is now saying that investigation […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker names Budd, Gaziano, Lowy to SJC
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Announcing his three Supreme Judicial Court nominees on Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Baker said the moment marked a unique opportunity for a first-term governor to begin establishing […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
State budget hole grows larger
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE DEALING A SEVERE BLOW to legislative negotiators charged with reaching a state budget accord this month, the Baker administration disclosed Tuesday this year’s state budget hole […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
The unobstructed view of hindsight
In the aftermath of the Orlando massacre, fingers are being pointed and questions asked about why federal law enforcement officials didn’t detain — or at the least keep track of […]
Posted inTransportation
T outsources security at revenue facility
STATE HOUSE NEWS FOLLOWING IDENTIFIED VULNERABILITIES at its Charlestown revenue facility, the MBTA shifted security from the MBTA Transit Police Department to the private firm G4S, which is in the […]
Posted inTransportation
Problems with privatization at T parking lots
MBTA OFFICIALS made the case on Monday for privatizing the agency’s warehouse and parts operations even as they continued to investigate what appears to be a major loss of money at […]
Posted inTransportation
T warehouses called management failure
MBTA OFFICIALS ON MONDAY described a massive management failure at the agency going back decades that has left the authority with a costly and inefficient warehouse system that often leaves […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
A toxic mix ignites again
Vigils and makeshift memorials will dot the country today as Americans try to reckon with the worst mass shooting in the nation’s history. But such expressions of unity and concern […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Bringing the real world into the classroom
IN HIS REMARKS on General Electric’s relocation to Boston, Mayor Marty Walsh heralded a new era for public-private partnerships in education, saying that with GE’s help “we’re going to reinvent […]