A DIVIDED MASSACHUSETTS TEACHERS ASSOCIATION re-elected its firebrand president, Barbara Madeloni, at the organization’s annual meeting on Saturday, ensuring a continuation of the sharp critique of education reform efforts from the […]
Fiery teachers union president wins re-election
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker freezes non-essential spending
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION on Friday ordered the immediate suspension of all state spending on “non-essential” goods and services in an array of categories, including outside consultants, […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Offshore wind, but not Cape Wind
Two recent news headlines should be central to the important debate over legislation that will determine whether or not Massachusetts has access to clean, reliable, and affordable sources of energy […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 2: What makes a world class city?
Is hosting big events like the IndyCar race or Olympics the mark of a world-class city, or more of a distraction from the things that give Boston a global edge […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: What makes for a world-class city?
Is hosting big events like the IndyCar race or Olympics the mark of a world-class city, or more of a distraction from the things that give Boston a global edge […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Baker should embrace pre-Common Core standards
MICHAEL JONAS TRIED tried to paint Charlie Baker as a cautious governor on the issue of Common Core (“Baker’s Common Core Caution”). Instead, he managed to imply that Gov. Baker’s […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Senate passes transgender bill 33-4
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BY A 33-4 VOTE, the Massachusetts Senate on Thursday afternoon passed legislation establishing protections for transgender people using public accommodations. The bill (S 735) bans discrimination […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Double-whammy for Gateway Cities
CLARK UNIVERSITY IN WORCESTER this week unveiled a series of new data profiles suggesting Gateway Cities are being hit with a real estate double-whammy: housing prices that are relatively low […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
The ghost of Stephanie Pollack
Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack has plenty on her plate with trying to distribute a finite pot of money to deal with state’s aging transportation infrastructure as well as find the […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
Baker’s Common Core caution
IT’S NOT JUST the presidential election that Gov. Charlie Baker plans to sit out. Baker says he is also staying out of a fight much closer to home: A looming […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
South Shore Senate race decided — for now
Patrick O’Connor will be the new state Republican state senator from the Plymouth and Norfolk District, but the 31-year-old Weymouth town council president may want to hold off on new […]
Posted inTransportation
AAA says marijuana OUI laws useless
THE RESEARCH ARM of AAA says states that set legal limits for marijuana driving impairment have no scientific basis for the standards and urged a national effort to adopt uniform […]
Posted inPolitics
Rosenberg sitting out marijuana referendum
SENATE PRESIDENT STAN ROSENBERG, who has not joined the group of powerhouse politicos that has come together to oppose legalization of recreational marijuana, says he has yet to be convinced […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Is the Green Line Ext. back on track — or not?
The Boston Globe’s headline was “State OK’s a cut-down Green Line extension.” The Boston Herald went with “Green light for $2.3 billion MBTA extension plan.” CommonWealth’s take was: “Boards give […]
Posted inTransportation
Boards give yellow light to Green Line Ext.
TWO STATE TRANSPORTATION BOARDS on Monday gave what might be called a yellow light to the Green Line Extension, essentially allowing a scaled-back version of the project to proceed on […]
Posted inTransportation
T takes risk with new construction method
IN AN ECHO of the recent debacle over ballooning costs for the Green Line extension, the MBTA is eyeing yet another public construction method the agency has little experience with […]
Posted inOpinion
Carbon pricing is smart policy
IT’S UNUSUAL TO find consensus of opinion among a group as big and diverse as the one that includes the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Lloyds of London, CalPERS, […]
Posted inTransportation
T cuts Green Line Ext. costs $622m
THE MBTA REVEALED ON MONDAY that it has pared back the cost of the proposed Green Line Extension by $622 million, but Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said it’s still unclear […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Echoes of abuse
Vulnerable children. Sexual predators. Secret payoffs. They were the toxic ingredients of a generational scandal 15 years ago that was blown open by the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team and one that […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
The case for automatic voter registration
IT JUST MAKES good policy sense that every eligible resident in Massachusetts should be registered to vote — automatically. In fact, automatic voter registration (AVR) should be among the Commonwealth’s […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Episode 1: All-night service on the T
The inaugural episode of our podcast, named The Codcast after the sacred cod hanging in the chamber of the House of Representatives, tackles a proposal by three advocates for all-night […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Green Line Ext. is really an innovation extension
WHAT DO ALTAEROS ENERGIES, Voxel8, and Autonomous Marine Systems have in common? For starters, they’re all startup companies developing “firsts” in their respective fields: the world’s first fully-functional airborne wind […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
The Codcast
The inaugural episode of our podcast, named The Codcast after the sacred cod hanging in the chamber of the House of Representatives, tackles a proposal by three advocates for all-night […]
Posted inGambling
Wynn says construction will start this summer
STEVE WYNN TOLD FINANCIAL ANALYSTS on Thursday that Wynn Resorts will resolve an environmental challenge from Somerville and start building its $2 billion Everett hotel and casino this summer. Wynn […]