STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ACTIVISTS AND KEY SENATORS say a 2013 tax law capped fare hikes at the MBTA at 5 percent every two years, while a key House lawmaker […]
Senate, House split on T fare hike size
Posted inUncategorized
Forecast: Electricity demand flat next 10 years
THE REGION’S POWER GRID OPERATOR issued a report on Thursday forecasting that New England’s thirst for electricity will remain flat for the next decade, but the fuel source for that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
District attorneys back Baker on opioid bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ELEVEN COUNTY PROSECUTORS who deal with the fallout of the opioid addiction epidemic on a daily basis threw their support behind Gov. Charlie Baker’s substance abuse […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Social Security recipients deserve more
What follows is a slightly edited version of a message Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent out on Thursday to supporters via email. Three weeks ago, the Social Security Administration made a […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Freedom’s just another word for sponsorship
What do you get when you mix patriotism with the free market? A whole lot of outrage. Those heart-tugging moments when a soldier in fatigues stands on the Fenway dugout between […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Hingham spends $40,000 tracking anonymous letter
AN EMPLOYEE OF THE TOWN OF HINGHAM stepped forward this week to say he wrote an anonymous letter mailed to the three members of the Board of Selectmen earlier this […]
Posted inTransportation
Improving the ‘Amtrak experience’
LIKE MANY PEOPLE who live between Boston and Washington, I ride Amtrak. So when I got a call a few weeks ago asking if I would participate in a focus […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Baker’s coattails and other Mass. election outcomes
Gov. Charlie Baker’s coattails aren’t long enough just yet. Even though the wildly popular Republican got out on the campaign trail for Rep. Geoff Diehl, he couldn’t match the star […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Boston voters dropkick Murphy, oust Yancey
BOSTON VOTERS HEWEDÂ to the old adage that the only constant is change, voting out of office the two longest-serving members of the City Council. Longtime at-large councilor Steve Murphy is […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Straus says MBTA can raise fares 10 percent
One of the leaders of the Legislature’s transportation committee said Tuesday that state law allows the MBTA to raise fares 10 percent next year, twice the level that transit advocates […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Deficit-ridden MBTA eyes energy savings
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BESET BY BILLIONS of dollars in unmet capital needs and persistent operating budget deficits, the MBTA is poised to save money in electricity procurement. At an […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Feds require transgender access to girls’ locker room
Federal education officials ruled on Monday that an Illinois school district violated antidiscrimination laws by requiring a transgender student who identifies as a girl to disrobe and shower behind privacy […]
Posted inGambling, State House News Service
Lottery officials move toward fantasy sports
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FRAMING IT AS INNOVATION that could open up a new revenue source and attract a younger customer, the Massachusetts Lottery Commission took the first step Monday […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
State education formula out of whack
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HIGH COSTS for employee health insurance and special education have reduced the resources school districts can invest in other areas, including extended learning time, books, technology, […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Uncategorized
Is Grand Prix of Boston about to hit the wall?
If it feels like we’ve seen this movie before. Mayor Marty Walsh gets out in front in support of the idea of a big sports event coming to Boston. Other […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Heating oil vs. natural gas
HOPEFULLY, NEW ENGLAND WILL BE LUCKY this winter. No Polar Vortex. No endless snowstorm piling nine feet of frozen fluff on Boston. But whatever our luck, there are certain unavoidable […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
GOP debate becomes a two-ring circus
When it comes to tagging a group with the circus label because of behavior that veers toward the clownish, it seems two can play the game. So it was that […]
Posted inGambling
No nightclub for Everett casino
WYNN RESORTS, which touts itself as an all-inclusive mecca that offers entertainment choices beyond gambling, has killed the planned nightclub at its proposed Everett casino because state alcohol laws require […]
Posted inGambling
Gaming Commission backs fantasy sports regulation
THE FIVE MEMBERS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS GAMING COMMISSION said on Thursday that they believe fantasy sports games should be regulated by the state, but added that more research is needed […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Beacon Hill’s snail pace of action
Procrastinating is a way of life on Beacon Hill. Almost 10 months into the first year of a two-year legislative session, there has been a lot of talk but very […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion, Politics
A Massachusetts lesson on gun safety
EARLIER THIS MONTH, I joined Sen. Ed Markey and several community leaders at Roxbury Community College in Boston to discuss ways to influence the national gun safety debate. We came […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
‘Charterizing’ Lawrence schools wrong way to go
I RECENTLY READ Jim Stergios’s critique of the approach that the Lawrence Public School system has taken to reforming the once failing district. He argued that instead of working with the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Globe should publish the DeLeo transcript
House Speaker Robert DeLeo accused the Boston Globe on Wednesday of deliberately distorting and misrepresenting comments he made in a 2010 deposition about Probation Department hiring, so I expected the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion, Politics
DeLeo calls for probe of leaked testimony
What follows is a statement issued by House Speaker Robert DeLeo in response to a Boston Globe story quoting sealed transcripts of his testimony before independent counsel Paul Ware, who […]