“I do not feel that that would have been a way to make meaningful and positive change, positioning the administration to come home to a signed executive order,” she said. “It’s my intention to partner with this administration.”
With chance she could be acting governor, DiZoglio drafted order on non-disclosure agreements
Posted inHousing
Milton makes interesting case on MBTA Communities Act
“This is a case about the separation of powers and the rule of law—about who sets the rules that govern the Commonwealth and how they do so,” says the Milton brief.
Posted inOpinion
Leave none of the Steward hospitals behind
We have been told that the state lacks the means to intervene in the closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center. If true, the state must do everything else it can invest in the health of the community and not just to put a temporary Band-Aid on the situation.
Posted inState Government
DiZoglio audit finds ‘unlawful practices’ at convention center authority
Most of the issues cited in the report occurred on the watch of a management team headed by David Gibbons and a board dominated by appointees of former governor Charlie Baker.
Posted inOpinion
What courage means to me
For 32 years, middle school students in Boston and beyond have written essays as part of a curriculum on courage launched by Stephanie and Jonathan Warburg in memory of their son Max, who died in 1991, at age 11, of leukemia. These 3 essays are from the 2024 anthology of the MAXCourage curriculum.
Posted inThe Codcast
The long road to topless equality
This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks to Nadine Gary and Kasyo Perrier of Go Topless about the case for changing the law to allow women to be topless anywhere a man can be. She also visits a topless equality rally on Beacon Hill.
Posted inState Government
A naked call to free breasts and minds
Organizers with the cheekily named “Equalititty” and GoTopless groups walked about with a simple proposition: In 2024, there isn’t a particularly good reason to bar women from taking their shirts off entirely in the summer heat wherever men are allowed to do the same.
Posted inEnergy
Nantucket Select Board no fan of federal wind farm regulator
“Those who say there are no risks posed by industrialization of ocean viewsheds to heritage-tourism and our sense of place have no reliable data to back their claims,” the board said.
Posted inOpinion
What higher ed leaders could learn from Project 2025
If we’re honest with ourselves, even those who find most of the ideas advanced in Project 2025 repugnant should agree that there are also ideas in the report worth paying attention to.
Posted inOpinion
Overall, we think the Steward outcome is pretty good
The faster Apollo is out the door the better. Though Apollo will certainly contest the Commonwealth’s $4.5 million fair market valuation for St. Elizabeth’s, state officials seem determined that any fight over money will not interrupt plans for an immediate seizure of the Brighton land and buildings.
Posted inOpinion
Boston’s White Stadium plan makes sense
I am skeptical of government spending on sports stadiums and arenas. But having studied the details of the proposal for a public-private partnership to revitalize White Stadium in Boston’s Franklin Park, I came to a conclusion you might not expect: This plan makes sense for Boston.
Posted inHealth Care
New owners lined up for Steward hospitals in Mass., Healey says
The sweeping transition and health care market restructuring plan that Healey announced Friday is expected to require significant involvement from the Legislature. The governor’s office said it has been working with lawmakers on “a fiscally responsible financing plan that includes cash advances, capital support, and maximizing federal matches” to support the transition to new operators.
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook: Super PAC shower in SJC clerk race | Healey’s departure bonus
In filings with state campaign finance regulators, Chinese Progressive Political Action (CPPA) and Ironworkers Local 7’s super PAC reported spending $4,000 and $3,000 on their respective candidates of choice. CPPA, which has money to spend thanks to a $10,000 donation from the health care workers union SEIU 1199, is backing attorney Allison Cartwright, while the South Boston-based ironworkers union is supporting Boston Councilor Erin Murphy.
Posted inEnergy
Healey all in on offshore wind, but what about Trump?
“We’ve heard a little bit about setbacks lately in this space and we’ve certainly heard people try to knock this industry,” the governor told a crowd at the groundbreaking. “But make no mistake about it. We are not going backward. We are going forward and Massachusetts is going to lead.”
Posted inOpinion
The compelling case for Massachusetts legislative reform
What’s the one thing businesses, climate advocates, and lobbyists can agree on? The need to overhaul the state’s broken legislative process. Here are six ideas to get the conversation started.
Posted inMarijuana
Cannabis commission, 2 members down, squabbles over who should lead
Three votes are needed to appoint an acting chair, but the three commissioners – Nurys Camargo, Bruce Stebbins, and Kimberly Roy – couldn’t agree on who it should be.
Posted inHealth
House, Senate come to terms on maternal health
The conference committee accord, which lead House negotiator Rep. Marjorie Decker filed just after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, is the first big piece of legislation to emerge from closed-door talks after lawmakers ended formal sessions this month with major loose ends.
Posted inState Government
Proposals would boost cost of parking, package delivery, rideshares
One of the initiatives would raise fees on rideshares; the other two would impose a new sales tax on privately owned parking spaces and assess a new fee on all retail deliveries.
Posted inOpinion
On Beacon Hill, rules seem made to be twisted, if not broken
The pile-up that occurred at the end of the Legislature’s two-year session, with a frenzy of action extending well past the supposed deadline at midnight on July 31, shows that Beacon Hill’s rules seem made to be broken.