AT LAST MONTH’S second annual Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform Summit, we heard two opposing views on the public safety impact of mandatory sentences for drug offenders. One camp, represented by […]
We need to reverse course on mandatory minimums
Posted inEnvironment
It’s time to sunburn National Grid
DURING A 2014 LEGISLATIVE HEARING, one state senator in Massachusetts compared our current utility structure to a Soviet system—bureaucratic, opaque, and inefficient with little public accountability. Hearing National Grid prevaricate […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, Opinion
New England governors should lead region to a sustainable energy future
THIS WEEK THE New England governors will meet in Connecticut to discuss potential solutions to one of our region’s most serious economic challenges: the high cost of electricity and energy. […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
What do Hillary Clinton, the Globe’s Pulitzer, and Demi Moore have in common?
Income inequality seems to be a recurring theme in the news today in everything from presidential politics to Pulitzer Prizes to the for-sale sign on Demi Moore’s New York co-op. […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
Globe donates ad space to mayor
The Boston Globe donated a full-page ad to Mayor Marty Walsh on Wednesday to promote One Boston Day, his way of marking the anniversary of the Marathon bombings and to […]
Posted inPolitics
House-Senate split goes beyond rules
SENATE PRESIDENT STANLEY ROSENBERG and some of his colleagues indicated on Thursday that the Senate and House are in sharp disagreement over more than just legislative rules. The two branches […]
Posted inEducation, The Back Story
Tracking the EMK Institute’s funding
THE NEW EDWARD M. KENNEDY INSTITUTE is a marvel of a museum, an architecturally breathtaking building that attempts to educate visitors about the role and operations of the US Senate. […]
Posted inEnvironment
New England needs 2 new natural gas pipelines
WE NEW ENGLANDERS are a hardy bunch. We put up with nasty winters, brutal traffic, and we waited nearly a century for our beloved Sox to beat the dreaded Curse […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Baker, Rosenberg go nuclear
There’s a new credo on Beacon Hill, apparently: If things aren’t going your way, blow it up. In the Legislature, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg appears to be following through on invoking the […]
Posted inPolitics
Senate ups ante in battle with House
IN A SHARP escalation of the infighting gripping Beacon Hill, the Senate took a major step Wednesday toward remaking the legislative process by ending the longstanding system of joint committees […]
Posted inPolitics
House plan exempts T from Pacheco Law
THE HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE unveiled on Wednesday a $38 billion spending plan for the coming fiscal year that tracks fairly closely to Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposal and even gives the […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Education programs needed for prostate cancer
TOO MANY MEN are still trying to run away but they cannot hide from prostate cancer. I was one of those men—until a diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2008 brought […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Deval Patrick gains with Bain
Deval Patrick never made any secret of his desire to return to the private sector after leaving the governor’s office. After toe dipping in academia at MIT and a false […]
Posted inPolitics
Beacon Hill showdown looming
AN INCREASINGLY ACRIMONIOUS battle between the House and Senate over legislative rules is heading toward a breaking point, as Senate President Stan Rosenberg said on Tuesday afternoon that the Senate […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Baker all-of-the-above on energy
BAKER ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS checked “all-of-the-above” on the energy front on Tuesday, telling lawmakers on Beacon Hill that they favor expansion of the region’s natural gas pipeline capacity, back the importation […]
Posted inPolitics
Push on for changes in Public Records Law
FOR THE FIRST TIME in a long time, momentum seems to be building for making changes in the state’s Swiss-cheese Public Records Law. Attorney General Maura Healey, a newcomer on […]
Posted inEducation, Environment
Bruce Smith wants to take rowing to a new level
FOR BRUCE SMITH, rowing is more than just a sport. It’s a way of life, or a way of changing lives. He admits few people view rowing the way he […]
Posted inPolitics
Markey’s strategy in Washington
IT WAS A COLD February 5 when Ed Markey took the stage in the Radio and TV Gallery of the US Capitol. There were only a few reporters there to […]
Posted inPolitics
Rosenberg opens things up
WHEN STAN ROSENBERG took the reins as the Massachusetts Senate President in January, he vowed to bring a new era of shared decision-making, openness, and transparency to the 40-member body. […]
Posted inPolitics
Polling standards changing rapidly
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION of Public Opinion Research is a rather staid institution. Its annual conference is four days of panel discussions on complex statistical problems in the field. (Sample conference […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Rainy day fund taking hits
THE STATE’S RAINY DAY FUND is set aside for years when the economy is tanking, tax revenues are falling, and officials are scrambling to fill budget gaps. That’s what happened in […]
Posted inPolitics
Tom Brady hitting lecture circuit
IS NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS quarterback Tom Brady laying the groundwork for life after football? After four Super Bowl victories and three Super Bowl MVPs, we certainly hope not. But the […]
Posted inOlympics, Politics
First out of the blocks
You were the first to formally move for ballot questions on the Olympics for Boston voters. The Boston 2024 organizers have now called for a statewide referendum. Does that affect […]
Posted inEducation
Fixing failing schools
(Illustration by James Steinberg) DEVIN SHEEHAN, THE vice chairman of the Holyoke School Committee, welcomed Rob Curtin to the board’s monthly meeting in early March, but no one there was […]