STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE passed a $39.56 billion fiscal 2017 budget Wednesday afternoon, shipping its spending plan to the Senate which plans in May to debate its […]
House passes budget 156-0
Posted inGambling
Attorney says he briefed Wynn lawyer on Lightbody
THE THREE DEFENDANTS in the Wynn Resorts land fraud trial rested their case on Wednesday after calling just one witness and playing an audio tape of the grand jury testimony […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Man vs Woman
Well, there’s no more skirting around about how the presidential election will play out between now and November. “She is a woman. She is playing the woman card left and right,” […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Assessing risk in the state’s energy debate
THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL ENERGY POLICY issue pending before the Commonwealth – rivaled perhaps only by the solar debates – has been the proposal to expand natural gas pipelines into New […]
Posted inGambling
Commission crunches casino numbers
A CONSULTING FIRM working for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission estimated on Tuesday that the state would net less tax revenue overall if the commission approves a commercial casino in Brockton […]
Posted inEducation
Reach higher
IF YOU DON’T believe in the power of education to change lives, Michelle Obama wants to have a word with you. For the First Lady, the transformative power of education […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Riders confess to fare evasion
How does the MBTA figure out how many commuter rail riders aren’t paying their fares? It asks them. A survey of 1,655 commuter rail riders at the beginning of March […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
House nixes gas tax hike, film tax credit cut
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE on Monday shot down proposals to increase the gas tax and put a cap on the state’s film tax credit program as they […]
Posted inGambling
Charlie (bleeping) Lightbody
FEDERAL PROSECUTORS are alleging in US District Court in Boston that some of the owners of a piece of land in Everett defrauded Wynn Resorts by concealing the involvement of […]
Posted inTransportation
The T wants you – to snitch
THE MBTA’s COMMUTER RAIL operator thinks it has a secret weapon in the effort to recoup as much as $35 million in lost revenues from fare evasion – snitches. That […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
T pension fund has negligible gains
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MBTA RETIREMENT FUND, which set its assumed annual rate of return on investments at 7.75 percent, will probably earn about a half-percent of return in 2015, […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. should boost renewable targets
MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE LEADERS are currently drafting an omnibus energy bill to secure new supplies of electricity as much of the region’s fleet of aging nuclear, coal, and oil power plants […]
Posted inThe Download
Labor pain for Walsh
Yesterday may have been the worst day of Marty Walsh’s tenure as mayor of Boston. He can only hope that the same is still being said a year from now. […]
Posted inOpinion
Offshore wind can be price competitive
For years, supporters have made a convincing case that offshore wind power can play a central role in scrubbing the air we breathe of millions of tons of carbon dioxide […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
Schilling pays the price of free speech
Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, a controversial righty on and off the mound, has opinions and is not shy about sharing them. Even playing here in the bluest of […]
Posted inGambling
Tale of the tape in Wynn land case
DEFENSE LAWYERS IN THE FEDERAL FRAUD TRIAL of three men accused of concealing the involvement of a convicted felon in the sale of land in Everett to Wynn Resorts plan […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Hydro-wind combo would save customers $171m
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A NEW STUDY ON THE IMPACT large-scale hydro and wind power imports could have on the Massachusetts energy market predicts significant savings for consumers, challenging the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
Retirement board ordered to give DiMasi $127,000
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER SALVATORE DIMASI, now serving out an eight-year prison sentence for federal corruption charges, is entitled to the return of about $127,000 in contributions […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Rent Faneuil Hall for $500 a day
The city of Boston is renting out historical Faneuil Hall at bargain-basement rates of $250 to $500 a day, a fraction of what function halls elsewhere around town charge. Democratic […]
Posted inThe Download
What’s on Baker’s combo platter now?
Gov. Charlie Baker isn’t crying over the demise of the $3 billion Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline that was going to bring cheap natural gas from Pennsylvania into Massachusetts via […]
Posted inEnvironment
Offshore wind better bet than hydro
IN A FEW WEEKS, the Massachusetts Legislature is likely to vote on a sweeping energy bill that will help determine how, from where, and from whom we get a substantial […]
Posted inGambling
What did Wynn Resorts know and when did it know it?
THE QUESTION OF WHEN WYNN RESORTS learned of convicted felon Charles Lightbody’s involvement in the casino company’s Everett land deal became harder to answer on Wednesday when witnesses in a […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Kinder Morgan pulls plug on pipeline
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CITING INADEQUATE COMMITMENTS from prospective customers, Kinder Morgan on Wednesday suspended further work and spending on its Northeast Energy Direct natural gas pipeline project, which held […]
Posted inPolitics
Scott Brown says Rizzo never endorsed him
FORMER US SENATOR Scott Brown, who was portrayed as a favorite of a Democratic pol in an attack ad designed to harm the candidate’s chances in a close Democratic primary, […]