The following is a transcript of Chief Justice Ralph Gants’ keynote address at the second annual Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform Coalition summit on Monday, March 16th, 2015 at UMass […]
Gants argues against mandatory minimums for drug offenses
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Healey’s e-cigarette move lights up Legislature’s inertia
What happens when an unstoppable attorney general meets an immovable Legislature? She works around it. Attorney General Maura Healey’s plan to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to minors has once again highlighted […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Deval Patrick, living la vida loca
The whispering surrounding a future Deval Patrick campaign for president got full voice when Slate’s Reihan Salam recently put the former governor on a short list of alternatives to Hillary Clinton, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Crime brings together unlikely bedfellows
WHAT DO THE liberal Center for American Progress, tea party-infused FreedomWorks, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ultra-conservative Koch brothers have in common? Not much, but they have banded […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Gants blames DAs for lack of reform
THE STATE’S TOP judge went all-in on his call to eliminate minimum mandatory sentences for drug offenders, saying the state’s prosecutors “hold the cards” and are the biggest obstacle to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
On public records law, a full-court press
It is an issue that is uniting usually warring competitors, one that may have reached a breaking point in the same way some hope our winter of transit misery will […]
Posted inHealth Care
Steward reports $52m loss for 2013
STEWARD HEALTH CARE reported a net loss of nearly $52 million in fiscal 2013, according to financial statements the for-profit health care company released after more than a year of […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Olympics bad news for W. Mass
THE OLYMPICS IN Boston in 2024 sounds like a grand plan. It certainly would put Boston and the Commonwealth on the international map; but, leave western Mass off the same […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Boston Olympics? Yes!
IT’S TIME TO get serious about a possible Boston Olympics – and to ensure that the benefits of such a global event are shared fairly with all. While there is […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care, Opinion
Doctors should talk to patients about guns
IN 1991, PRESIDENT George Bush proclaimed March 30 as National Doctors Day, to salute physician leadership in the “prevention and treatment of illness and injury.” Physicians honor the designation; few […]
Posted inThe Download
Greater Braude
Jim Braude’s ease before the camera doesn’t come packaged with the polished pacing (or perfectly coiffed hair) of a television anchorman. It comes instead with a breezy manner and quick […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Healey comes out strong for renewables
What follows is a copy of Attorney General Maura Healey’s prepared remarks to the NECA Renewables Conference minus her introductory statement. Today, I would like to talk to you about […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
Keolis accused MBTA of meddling in hiring
THE TOP OFFICIAL at the state’s commuter rail operator raised concerns in a December letter to the MBTA that agency officials were undermining efforts to hire an experienced executive to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Tuning into two trials
There are two trials right now in Boston that are riveting those who live here as well as people across the country. In the US District Court on Boston’s waterfront, […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
$5m offered as compensation for poor transit service
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE PUBLIC TRANSIT RIDERS will see free access to the MBTA and the commuter rail for one day, while corporate and other passholders will see a 15 […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Tackling MBTA’s debt problem
THE MBTA’S EFFORTS to spare Boston-area riders fare increases and service cuts by restructuring its debt service payments made a bad financial situation worse, according to a new report by […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
MBTA critics pile on
The evidence is mounting, as if more was needed, that the MBTA is in an epic freefall. The agency is on its way to being a Harvard Business School case […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Budget briefing
SECRETARY OF STATE William Galvin ripped the Baker administration for proposing cuts in his budget that would make it impossible for him to run a presidential primary in March next […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Bump pays $115,000 to settle suit
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE AUDITOR SUZANNE BUMP has settled a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a former top aide who alleged that the Democrat fired her after she voiced […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
A roadmap to investing in transportation
FOLLOWING RECORD-SETTING STORMS that crippled transit systems, caused complete gridlock on the roadways, and frustrated commuters across the state, it is clear now to everyone that Massachusetts faces an enormous […]
Posted inOlympics, The Download
Is Deval worth $7,500 a day as Olympics ambassador?
Hillary Clinton charges $300,000 a speech, and that’s her special university rate. Her husband, Bill, earns about $189,000 per speech and once raked in $750,000 for a talk to a […]
Posted inOlympics, State House News Service
Patrick’s Olympic pay: $7,500 per day
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FORMER GOV. DEVAL PATRICK will be compensated $7,500 per day when he travels on behalf of the backers of a bid to bring the 2024 Summer […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Baker backs Patrick’s solar goal
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is committed to the installation of at least 1,600 megawatts of solar energy in Massachusetts by 2020, the governor’s energy chief said Monday. […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Charter battle heads to court
The debate over charter schools, which has been waged largely in the political arena, looks like it’s heading to court. The Globe reported on Sunday that three top Boston lawyers […]