STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Justice Robert Cordy plans to retire in August, the court announced Wednesday, creating the first opportunity for Gov. Charlie Baker to make an […]
Cordy to retire from SJC
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
A fare warning
Is the MBTA’s plan to raise fares running into signal problems? The agency, now under full control of Gov. Charlie Baker through the the Fiscal and Management and Control Board […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker administration making public records progress
A clarification has been added to this story. THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is making significant progress in fulfilling the governor’s pledge to make it easier and cheaper for the public to […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Providing opportunities for all
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER introduced a major economic development package last week. Reading the tea leaves, one conclusion can be drawn for sure: The administration is serious about empowering its leaders […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Are dashboards the right tool to measure progress?
YOU RUN A government agency or nonprofit. You ask management experts how you can assess your “bottom line,” given that earning profits is not your mission. You want to know […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
We’re on to New Hampshire
Well, that will leave a mark on Donald Trump. The consensus front-runner right up until the first votes were cast is now leading from behind. The Iowa caucuses handed him a humbling […]
Posted inEnvironment, Transportation
Kinder Morgan’s pipe dream is economic nightmare
THE JANUARY 22 opinion piece (“CLF’s contradictory philosophies”) by Anthony Buxton, an attorney for the energy company Kinder Morgan, argues that the Conservation Law Foundation’s (CLF) policy positions on MBTA […]
Posted inTransportation
All aboard
WHEN IS ENOUGH enough when it comes to crowded trains? For about 20 percent of those who ride the MBTA, apparently there is nothing that will stop them from trying […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Suffolk-cating presidents
Suffolk University is in a constant identity crisis. Of course, when you have five presidents in six years, that’s bound to happen. And, if the university’s board of trustees has its […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Why Suffolk community stands behind Margaret McKenna
MARGARET MCKENNA IS the fifth president Suffolk University has had since 2010; now, seven months into her first term, the chairman of Suffolk’s board of trustees wants to fire her. […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
What gives with T’s sweetheart deal?
The Pioneer Institute released a report this week highlighting what it called a “sweetheart deal” for MBTA employees, but union officials are saying the deal isn’t as sweet as the […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
More thoughts on the Seaport District
MY RECENT THOUGHT PIECE on how to address the growing mobility mess in the Seaport/Innovation/Fort Point Channel District (the District) triggered a fair amount of reaction, and prompted me to […]
Posted inPolitics
Senate puts teeth into public records reform
THE STATE SENATE unveiled its version of Public Records reform, potentially the first major overhaul since the law was enacted in 1973, placing a hard time limit on responses, requiring courts […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Committee approves millionaires tax
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE LEGISLATURE’S COMMITTEE ON REVENUE on Thursday morning gave its stamp of approval to a proposed constitutional amendment that would establish a 4 percent surtax on […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Cape Wind mounting comeback
CAPE WIND, the controversial Nantucket Sound wind farm given up for dead last year when it lost a lucrative pair of utility contracts, is trying to mount a comeback. Jim […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
Walsh cashes in his chips
Maybe it was the heady feeling of closing the deal to bring General Electric to town or perhaps the realization that he needed to cut his losses that pushed Boston […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker budget’s focus is fiscal restraint
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S ANNUAL BUDGET PROPOSAL filed Wednesday featured the administration’s focus on fiscal restraint, with an emphasis on limiting overall spending growth and growing state government’s […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker diverts $150m from rainy day fund
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION said on Wednesday that it is steadily reducing the state’s reliance on one-time revenue solutions, but nevertheless wants to balance the fiscal 2017 budget using $150 million […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Baker: Tax credits should help local firms
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Wednesday that he is filing legislation to pare back the cost of the state’s film tax credit and increase the reach of another tax break […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
House moves on driver’s license sanctions
THE HOUSE MOVED on Wednesday to form a conference committee with senators to resolve differences between the two branches on a criminal justice reform bill that earlier this month seemed […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Healey questions legality of Sovaldi pricing
A correction has been added to this story. ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY is warning the maker of a breakthrough hepatitis C drug that the company’s $1,000-a-pill price may constitute an […]
Posted inThe Download
Football heading for trouble
Looking to stop the flow of tears falling into area beers, NECN’s Broadside host Sue O’Connell offered this on-the-bright-side tweet on Sunday night: “Hey #PatriotsNation, the good news is your […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Criminal justice reform bill stalls
A BILL TO end the mandatory suspension of the driver’s license of any drug offender, which looked like it was sailing through the State House as a consensus-winning, early step […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
State board votes 6-4 to close charter
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IN AN EMOTIONALLY CHARGED GYMNASIUM filled with parents and bureaucrats, the state’s education board voted narrowly on Tuesday to revoke the charter of Dorchester Collegiate […]