There are two ways you can tell the newspaper tong war is ramping up between the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald. They ignore each other. Or they don’t. And both […]
Thank God we’re a two-paper town
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized
The right question on Iraq
‘IF YOU KNEW then what you know now, would you have invaded Iraq in 2003?” Other than revealing basic IQ or blind family or party loyalty, is this question really […]
Posted inGambling, State House News Service
Crosby denies wrongdoing at Gaming Commission
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GAMING COMMISSION CHAIR STEPHEN CROSBY, under scrutiny for a potential conflict of interest during the awarding of an eastern Massachusetts casino license, adamantly denied any wrongdoing […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
What’s a money bill?
THE LEGAL BATTLE between the Massachusetts House and Senate over the constitutional authority to raise taxes in this year’s budget hinges on interpretations of a 137-year-old Supreme Judicial Court advisory […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Leveraging student debt as a campaign issue
In 2008, young voters by all accounts were the key to sending Barack Obama to the White House. While their numbers slid back in the election four years later, they […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Massachusetts can lead in inmate college education
MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO, Congress voted to make prisoners ineligible to receive Pell Grants, the funding program aimed at low-income college students. This summer the Obama administration expects to […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
Casinos, recusals, and the optics of ethics
During the Monica Lewinsky scandal, President Bill Clinton famously told a grand jury, “It depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is.” To paraphrase Clinton, Massachusetts Gaming Commission chairman Stephen […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
Sentencing reform takes over Beacon Hill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE’S TOP JUDGE AND PROSECUTORS, who are sparring over sentencing reform proposals, brought their battle to Beacon Hill on Tuesday as activists flooded the capitol […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Honeymoon over for Walsh?
The honeymoon may be nearly over for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. When he took office in January 2014, Walsh was an awe-struck neophyte whose thrill at being mayor was charming. […]
Posted inGambling, State House News Service
Walsh calls for reset on Boston casino license
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH, who is waging a legal battle against state gambling regulators, insisted again on Monday that the state may have to push the […]
Posted inArts and Culture, The Download
Throwing the book at the library president
It looked like a good-news story to revel in. The valuable pieces of artwork that were presumed missing from the Boston Public Library weren’t missing after all. They were apparently […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Part 2: What states are doing on energy
Second of three parts IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, policymakers across New England may commit tens of billions of ratepayers’ dollars to gas pipelines and electric transmission that will shape […]
Posted inThe Download
Media glare a tempting lure for academics
“Publish or perish” has long been the axiom in academia, where having research work appear in prestigious scholarly journals is often the yardstick used to determine tenure and other types […]
Posted inEconomy, Olympics, Politics
New Bedford proposed as site of Olympic sailing
THE GROUP ATTEMPTING to bring the 2024 Summer Olympics to Boston said Thursday that New Bedford will serve as the venue for Olympic and Paralympic sailing if their bid is […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker rules out new taxes for the T
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday announced an $83 million winter resiliency plan for the MBTA, urged the Legislature to pass a separate package of management reforms, and ruled out new […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
Baker administration revises T absence rate
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is now acknowledging that the MBTA absenteeism information cited in a report by the governor’s special advisory panel probably overstated the problem and that the reported comparison […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Another education storm brewing
It is, like a tropical depression, nothing to be concerned about yet but it has the potential to develop into a full-blown hurricane, the likes of which haven’t been seen in […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Deval Patrick’s education legacy
WHEN THINKING OF a governor’s last act before leaving office, pardons for long-time prisoners usually come to mind. For Deval Patrick, the last big move came five months after his […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics, Transportation
Tax debates rage across New England, but not in Mass.
THERE ARE TWO TAX DEBATES happening in New England that are worth watching, both for their substance and political theater. In Connecticut, big business has declared war on Gov. Dannel […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Public records reform gets Galvinized
Secretary of State Galvin, who oversees the state’s public records law, recently unveiled his nuclear option in his push for reform: threatening lawmakers with a referendum. There is no shortage of pending […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
Sheriff: War on drugs ‘joke’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SAYING MANY OF THOSE incarcerated in his facilities belong elsewhere, Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins on Tuesday said the War on Drugs was a “joke” and a […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
Walsh’s no-show casino strategy
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh refused on Monday to send any representatives to attend a meeting on Sullivan Square traffic issues that included officials from the Baker administration, the Massachusetts Gaming […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Healey backs lifting cap on solar subsidy
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY said Monday she backs an immediate lifting of the cap on one type of solar production subsidies in Massachusetts. In written testimony […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
O’Malley joins Sanders on Clinton’s left
Hillary Clinton remains very likely to win the Democratic presidential nomination next year. But the cakewalk she was hoping for now features two lesser mortals who will at least be […]