A raspy-voiced Hillary Clinton shared the news with supporters at Long Beach, California, rally as the word broke yesterday that the Associated Press tally of her pledged delegates and superdelegates […]
History and demagoguery
Posted inTransportation
T board ends commuter rail refunds
COMMUTER RAIL PASSENGERS will no longer be able to get refunds on unused tickets, a change that puts them on the same track as other MBTA riders and could save […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA says it can’t reconcile fare data, cash deposits
MBTA OFFICIALS ACKNOWLEDGED on Monday that they still can’t reconcile what their fare machines are telling them is being collected and the money actually being deposited in the bank, a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion, Politics
DA O’Keefe amazed at limited DeLeo leak inquiry
I write in response to the recent article that ran under the headline, “Gants calls off DeLeo leak inquiry.” This article carried the sub-headline, “Law enforcement officials tell SJC they […]
Posted inEnvironment
New pipe could help curb gas leaks
IN LATE MAY, the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy released its version of draft energy omnibus legislation. Climate Action Business Association, a Boston-based business group, responded by calling […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
A Trumped-up convention
So how, in a year in which there is no statewide election, with a Republican governor sailing along with near-historic approval ratings, does a Massachusetts Democratic convention get attention? Trump. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Why Boston drove Ali fight out of town
HE CALLED HIMSELF Muhammad Ali because his given name, he said, was “a slave’s name, and I’m no longer a slave.” In 1965 he was still called Cassius Clay, his father’s […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Harnessing the ‘Third Way’ to improve communities
WHEN I WAS in graduate school studying urban planning in the early-2000s, there was a lot of talk about how cities need “good” schools, but surprisingly little discussion or study […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 5: The politics of energy, Cape Wind
The Senate’s point person on energy, Sen. Ben Downing and the developer behind Cape Wind, Jim Gordon share their concerns about the House energy bill, which calls for the state’s […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
No mandate needed for municipal utilities
FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, through changes in the electric industry more revolutionary than the ones we are facing today, Massachusetts municipal utilities have set the standard for excellence in […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: The politics of energy, Cape Wind
The Senate’s point person on energy and the developer behind Cape Wind share their concerns in this week’s Codcast about the House energy bill, which calls for the state’s utilities […]
Posted inGambling
Only 10 boat slips at Wynn casino
THE PROPOSED WYNN RESORTS hotel and casino in Everett will feature just 10 slips for boats to pull up and dock. The number seems small given all the concerns about […]
Posted inEnvironment
Beaton: More hydro needed in energy bill
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION’S point person on energy said on Thursday that he would like to see more emphasis on hydroelectricity in the Legislature’s energy bill and indicated he shared House […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Harshbarger says democracy needs a shot in the arm
SCOTT HARSHBARGER MAY have the right diagnosis, but it’s less clear that he’s landed on the cure. The former attorney general and one-time Democratic nominee for governor says democracy is […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion, Politics
Could breakup of Partners be way to go?
WITH GOV. CHARLIE BAKER now having signed off on the legislative deal to avoid the SEIU ballot initiative which would have drastically taken commercial insurance monies away from Partners HealthCare, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The straw man Hitler argument
Eric Fehrnstrom gamely attempts a straw man defense of a candidate many in his party — including the man he long toiled for — find increasingly indefensible. The essence of […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
House backs transgender bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IN A MAJOR VICTORY for equal rights activists, legislation aimed at preventing discrimination against transgender individuals in all public places, including bathrooms, passed the House on […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Investing in quality education for all
OUR COMMONWEALTH’S CONTINUED success depends on our investments today to help our children grow up strong and resilient. While discussions of resilience usually focus on social and emotional wellness and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Gants calls off DeLeo leak inquiry
AFTER FEDERAL AND STATE law enforcement officials said they didn’t do it, the Supreme Judicial Court is calling off its inquiry into who leaked to the press the confidential transcript […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Time to get fully on board with police body cameras
TAMIR RICE. MICHAEL BROWN. WALTER SCOTT. These are just some of the high profile police-involved shootings that caught the nation’s attention and highlighted some of the more extreme interactions between […]
Posted inOpinion, State House News Service, The Download
Gorillas in our midst
Bloom County, the edgy political comic strip that now lives on social media, cut to the heart of the problem over the killing of a gorilla at a Cincinnati zoo […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Why I’m joining the United Independent Party (for now)
“DEMOCRACY IS NOT a spectator sport,” said my hero, John Gardner, from my days as CEO of Common Cause. He meant that it is our job as citizens to remind […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker administration mum on emission plans
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION told lawmakers on Tuesday that it would comply with a Supreme Judicial Court decision mandating specific reductions in the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, but said it was […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker: I’d sign House transgender bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ON THE EVE of House debate on the issue, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday he would sign transgender anti-discrimination legislation crafted by House leaders. “No one […]