French President Francois Hollande vowed to “lead a war which will be pitiless” against ISIS, the Islamic terrorist group that claimed responsibility for Friday’s massacre of more than 125 people […]
Evil of Paris attacks clear, path forward not
Posted inUncategorized
Quebec premier pitches baseload hydro power
(A correction has been added to this story.) QUEBEC PREMIER PHILIPPE COUILLARD came to Boston on Friday to pitch hydro-electricity from his province as a source of baseload power for […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
House manufactures a solar industry crisis
YOU MAY HAVE HEARD that the Massachusetts House is attempting to pass a bill to continue our solar programs. If the House fails to act before the Thanksgiving break, a […]
Posted inOpinion
New England electricity market is working as is
2015 HAS DRIVEN SOME DRAMATIC ENERGY ISSUES to the forefront across New England with intense winter weather leading to electric price volatility, retirements announced of large power plants, and continued […]
Posted inThe Download
In news, you get what you pay for
The Spotlight movie, which focuses on the efforts of the eponymous investigative team at the Boston Globe credited with triggering the worldwide outrage over the clergy sex abuse scandal, is […]
Posted inEducation
Chester recommends “MCAS 2.0”
STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER Mitchell Chester proposed that the state develop a “next generation” testing system that combines elements of the Common Core-aligned PARCC test and the MCAS exam that Massachusetts […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Solar power rhetoric, lobbying heats up
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE House leaders are taking their effort to pass a solar energy bill before the winter recess down to the wire, fomenting an increasingly bitter and public […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Trump knows what he’s doing
For months, Donald Trump has been defending his plan to deport illegal immigrants by following the lead of former President Dwight Eisenhower, who took action to oust 1.5 million undocumented aliens […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Hingham letter investigation could turn criminal
HINGHAM OFFICIALS ARE HINTING that their $40,000 probe into who wrote two anonymous letters to the Board of Selectmen in April could possibly turn into a criminal investigation. One Hingham employee has already […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Debating veterans affairs
WBZ’s Jon Keller broached the idea that the Republican debate in Milwaukee should focus on veterans affairs, specifically what to do about the Veterans Administration, mental health issues faced by returning […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
From journalist to climate crusader
IN 2013, WEN STEPHENSON sat down with his son and daughter to explain why he might end up in jail. “How do you explain to your children that climate change […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Zombie politics
Stephen Murphy lost his at-large Boston City Council seat in last week’s election, but a delicious piece of gossip buzzing through political circles has him rising from the political dead […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
SJC seeks probes of DeLeo transcript leak
THE MASSACHUSETTS SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT told House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Monday that it was asking three state and federal law enforcement agencies and its former independent counsel to investigate […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Two cheers for a charter school’s “Got to Go” list?
Pushing unruly kids out of high-performing “no-excuses” urban charter schools isn’t exactly something that draws praise. Indeed, the typical reaction is quite the opposite, with harsh condemnation for the idea […]
Posted inOpinion
Heating oil vs. natural gas: Round 2
ANTHONY BUXTON AND BENJAMIN BOROWSKI’S opinion piece in Commonwealth argues that the region needs more natural gas pipelines because so many residential heating customers in New England use oil for […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics, Transportation
No MBTA fare hike until service improves
IF YOU DOUBT FOR A MINUTE that we continue to be mired in a mid-20th Century way of thinking about transportation, consider this: in a state that recently went to […]
Posted inEnvironment
National Grid proposes new rate structure
NATIONAL GRID on Friday proposed a radically different rate structure for delivering electricity to Massachusetts customers that relies more on fixed monthly charges and less on fees based on electricity […]
Posted inThe Download
Spotlight ****
The reviews are in, and Spotlight, the movie about the Boston Globe’s coverage of the pedophile priest scandal, is a hit with critics. Of 67 reviews of the movie on […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Senate, House split on T fare hike size
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 […]
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 […]