THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL recently heard testimony from firefighters, mothers, nurses, and others on a proposed change to the city’s fire code that would allow public buildings with sprinkler systems to […]
Boston should stamp out flame retardants
Posted inEconomy, Health Care, Opinion
Combating inequality with the ballot
NEXT YEAR, THOUSANDS of residents across the Commonwealth will head to the polls to cast their vote in the November election. They will make their voices heard on a variety of […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
MassDOT to get FAST cash
No one is rending their garments quite yet, but there is much gnashing of teeth at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The MBTA is trapped in a black hole of […]
Posted inTransportation
T refuses to release Green Line report
STATE TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS are refusing to release a consultant’s report on what went wrong with a contract for the Green Line extension to Somerville, saying the document “was prepared under […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Transportation
Straus offers up T financing plan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS MBTA OVERSEERS consider paths forward for the Green Line Extension, a top House official has proposed a locally-based financing scheme for that and other transportation […]
Posted inTransportation
Uber CEO touts social responsibility
UBER CEO TRAVIS KALANICK is a billionaire, ranking 290th on the Forbes list of richest people with a net worth of $6 billion, but he says the success of his […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, State House News Service
Nearly 99,000 clean energy jobs in MA
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE CLEAN ENERGY SECTOR now employs nearly 99,000 workers in Massachusetts, after five consecutive years of growth, according to a report out Tuesday from the Massachusetts […]
Posted inUncategorized
Grid operator confident about this winter
THE POWER GRID OPERATOR IN NEW ENGLAND said it expects to have sufficient supplies of electricity this winter despite concerns about the inadequate capacity of natural gas pipelines coming into […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
T gets an “F” for its contracting approach
A consultant hired by the MBTA said the transit agency got played by the firm hired to build the Green Line extension to Somerville as a contracting approach designed to […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Consultant: T got snookered on Green Line
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE ENABLED a major contracting group to take advantage of it, leading to ballooning Green Line Extension costs, according to a consultant brought in to assess […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
State deer hunt begins in Blue Hills
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS THE FIRST LEGAL HUNT in the Blue Hills Reservation in about a century got underway Monday, the state’s environmental chief said the controlled hunt will […]
Posted inEducation
Courting big change in schools
EDUCATION POLICY DEBATES these days are heated and issues are often cast in black and white. That makes David Welch either a behind-the-scenes hero or the villain behind the curtain. […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Millionaire’s tax could raise extra $2.2b
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BAY STATE MILLIONAIRES could pay as much as $2.2 billion in additional state income taxes under a proposal to tax some of the state’s wealthiest individuals […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Rosenberg warns T on fare hike
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH MBTA FARE HIKES on the table to address a budget gap and repair backlog at the public transit system, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg said Monday […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Marty hearts Hillary
Hillary Clinton came to Boston yesterday for the kind of stop any Democrat running for president is eager to make — for a rally where the city’s mayor endorses your […]
Posted inOpinion
Making room for refugees
THIS WEEK, MILLIONS of Americans will sit down to dinner with friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving. While there were a number of precursor national holidays, it was President Lincoln’s […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Keolis GM knows winter is coming
GERALD FRANCIS, the general manager of Keolis, the French company that operates the MBTA’s commuter rail system, is a man with an ambitious plan. He wants to make Eastern Massachusetts […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Rosenberg delights in inadvertent joint joke
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATE PRESIDENT STANLEY ROSENBERG was trying to make a point Tuesday about the futility of taking legislative action on recreational marijuana when he got hung up […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Baker, Patrick administrations play blame game
THE BAKER AND PATRICK ADMINISTRATIONS are pointing the finger at each other in the wake of a bond rating agency’s decision to change its financial outlook for Massachusetts from stable […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
T ad policy tries to steer clear of controversy
The MBTA, which already has its hands full trying to transport passengers across eastern Massachusetts, on Monday tried to avoid being drawn into ancillary ideological battles by banning controversial advertisements. […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
S&P lowers Mass. outlook to negative
STANDARD & POOR’S left the credit rating of the state of Massachusetts intact on Monday but changed its outlook for the state from stable to negative because of concerns about […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Baker unveils new development approach
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A NEW WORKING GROUP will facilitate the revitalization of the city of Lynn, using expedited permitting and coordinating development of sites with cross-jurisdictional issues, the Baker […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Transportation
T bans political, e-cigarette ads
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT surfaced Monday as a central theme in two protests: one speaking out against an ad on the MBTA that some say is designed […]
Posted inOpinion
How to deal with the complexities of terrorism
I RETURNED FROM a recent business/pleasure trip to Europe to observe a nation nearly unhinged by the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. The reaction to the Paris events, based in […]