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 […]
What’s on Baker’s combo platter now?
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, […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Uber and out for taxi protectionism?
Years from now, public policy students or perhaps cultural anthropologists will sift through the history of the current debate in our capital city over what have become known as ride-hailing […]
Posted inTransportation
T parking fee probe expands to 3 stations
AN INTERNAL MBTA DOCUMENT indicates a probe of parking fee losses now extends to more than one station and refers to a terminated employee who had been working for the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Gambling
Witness: Wynn Resorts was told about Lightbody in 2012
TWO TOP OFFICIALS AT WYNN RESORTS were told in November 2012 that the owners of the Everett land they were seeking to buy included a man with a “checkered past” […]
Posted inThe Download
On weed, let’s stick to the facts
Facts are in short supply in the increasingly polarized debate over legalizing marijuana, which is why Jack Sullivan’s piece today in CommonWealth is refreshing. The article suggests the inability of […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Pass the GMO labeling bill now
MOST PEOPLE CARE what’s in their food. Whether the reason is dietary, religious, moral, or a concern about flavor, we like to know – and many need to know – […]
Posted inUncategorized
How high is too high?
WHEN PROHIBITION ENDED IN 1933, law enforcement officials found themselves in an awkward position. They knew driving drunk was a problem, but they didn’t know how to police it. How […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
The lessons of GE’s move to Boston
LURKING BEHIND GENERAL ELECTRIC’S DECISION to relocate its headquarters to Boston is the hotly debated issue of why businesses locate and grow in Massachusetts or decide to consolidate or expand […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Four arguments for four-year Boston City Council terms
THERE HAS BEEN a great deal of discussion and debate after the Boston City Council recently voted 12-1 in favor of extending their term length from two years to four […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Rivera’s take on School Department odyssey
LIKE MANY PROBLEMS IN LAWRENCE, the problem with the School Department headquarters and the lease at 237-255 Essex St. is old and complicated. This month, a 28-plus-year-old problem was resolved […]
Posted inGambling
Construction cost of Wynn rooms put at $1 million apiece
A TOP WYNN RESORTS OFFICIAL said on Friday that the construction cost of each room at the proposed Wynn Boston Harbor hotel will be $1 million, which is more than […]
Posted inGambling
Felon involvement in Wynn land deal called problem
THE LEGAL COUNSEL OF WYNN RESORTS pushed back on Friday against the notion that buying land for a casino in Everett from a convicted felon would not pose legal problems […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Selective House briefings
When House Ways and Means chairman Brian Dempsey opened the floor to questions from reporters at a Wednesday afternoon press briefing on the just-released House budget for 2017, he was […]
Posted inGambling
Wise guys offer their take on Gaming Commission
CHARLES LIGHTBODY AND DARIN BUFALIONO were grumbling in late 2012 about how wise guys are always discriminated against. Lightbody said it was unfair that people like him, a convicted felon, […]
Posted inUncategorized
A choreographed hiring process
The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency selected new executive director Timothy Sullivan in a matter of minutes in January, and internal documents obtained through a public records request show just how […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Bipartisan buzzkill
After the struggle to get medical marijuana off the ground, did anyone really think there would be little institutional resistance to legalizing recreational use and commercial sale of pot? Gov. […]
Posted inGambling
Was Lightbody’s involvement in land deal illegal?
THE HEAD OF THE INVESTIGATIVE ARM of the state Gaming Commission said she was “extremely concerned” when she learned reputed organized crime members may be part of the group selling […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
House panel unveils $39.48b budget
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE LEADERS unveiled a $39.48 billion annual budget proposal on Wednesday, a leaner spending plan for fiscal 2017 than that offered earlier this year by […]
Posted inPolitics
Time starting to run short for legislative bills
WITH THE STATE BUDGET expected to tie up the House the rest of this month, time is starting to run short for other bills to make it through the legislative […]
Posted inUncategorized
Quincy dumps GateHouse marketing bid
THE CITY OF QUINCY has told GateHouse Media, which owns the local Patriot Ledger and hundreds of other newspapers, that its bid for a city marketing contract is dead. A […]