The Download: Political Notebook – Flanagan may face challenge | No month off for task force
Political Notebook: Flanagan may face challenge | No month off for task force
State regulators earlier this year accused Flanagan of repeatedly misleading them as they tried to find out who was behind a phony mailer sent to voters in 2022, before he confessed it was him.
How my position, as a physician, on medical aid in dying changed
I was opposed to medical-aid-in-dying legislation — until I witnessed my parents’ painful deaths, despite help from hospice and palliative care.
Cannabis Commission unveils proposed leadership changes
“This is us first recognizing that we agree that there was a need for some clarity and this is our way of addressing some of that and providing clarity in terms of who does what,” said acting Commission chair Ava Callender Concepcion.
More consolidation of economic development agencies proposed
Senators are expected to vote Thursday on the $2.4 billion borrowing bill, which also includes $350 million in tax credits, a provision helping the prospects of a soccer stadium on the Mystic River waterfront in Everett, and the reauthorization of a long-running initiative boosting the state’s life sciences industry.
Steward hospital crisis is opportunity to reclaim health care as public good
Our health care system is under-resourced and overburdened. Every hospital and emergency department in the state, from small community hospitals to large academic medical centers, is affected by the reality that Massachusetts simply does not have enough beds for the number of patients. It’s time for the Commonwealth to reclaim health care as a public good.
Campbell explains why she settled Uber, Lyft case on eve of likely court victory
“A win in court might have given drivers restitution for pay they were owed in the past, but a successful ballot initiative would have wiped out its impact going forward,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell said
On Biden future, Healey steps out
Gov. Maura Healey, a former two-term attorney general, has generally taken a cautious, lawyerly approach to politics, but she stepped out by becoming the first Democratic governor to suggest President Biden consider giving up his reelection run.
Lawmakers should give worker-owned cooperatives a boost
Worker-owned cooperatives are emerging as a powerful force in the Massachusetts economy. The Legislature can help but
MBTA contactless payment coming to subways, buses Aug. 1
Starting August 1, MBTA riders will be able to tap a credit card or mobile wallet to pass through subway gates or board above-ground trolleys and buses, officials announced Tuesday.
MassDOT reverses course, includes $243m for I-90 Allston project in capital plan
The explanations left many observers scratching their heads, and some wondering whether the MassDOT staff simply forgot to include funding in the capital investment plan for one of the Healey administration’s highest transportation priorities.
DPU unveils plan to speed up municipal electricity aggregation approvals
Municipal aggregation plans allow cities and towns to negotiate electricity rates on behalf of their residents. The plans have gained tremendous popularity as the cost of electricity has risen and the aggregation efforts have often yielded lower prices than the basic service provided by utilities and the rates of retail suppliers.
Legislators wary of ‘nuclear option’ with cannabis commission
“I want to underscore, as someone who has been in the government for a long time, that receivership is a really big deal,” said Rep. Rob Consalvo of Boston, one of the vice chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Policy.
Barnstable at the center of offshore wind debate
Many in town are asking why a residential beach community has become the onshore epicenter of the offshore wind business in Massachusetts.
Senate preps for economic developent debate, including Everett soccer stadium
The Senate’s bill authorizes $2.444 billion in borrowing, giving the executive branch flexibility to put as much of that amount into use as it determines is necessary and wise, and $350 million in tax credits mostly to be deployed in the climate technology sector.
In the face of climate change, mitigation is no longer enough
The world is at a crossroads. Now is the time to meet our greatest global threat with renewed courage and new ways of thinking. We must work together and take local action on the ground.
Marty Walsh, Biden’s former labor chief and ex-mayor, gets married
Walsh and Lorrie Higgins, who have been together for about two decades, quietly married in March, almost a year after he left public service for the private sector, according to their marriage certificate. A local justice of the peace performed the ceremony.
Audit faults MBTA for CharlieCard misuse by transit ambassadors
The ambassadors, who work for a private contractor that operates under the name Block By Block, help passengers buy tickets and navigate stations and also serve as the T’s eyes and ears monitoring safety hazards and maintenance needs inside the subway system.
Environmental justice in climate legislation
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon’s Jennifer Smith is joined by Rusty Polsgrove, an organizer with Arise for Social Justice, and by John Walkey, director of climate justice and waterfront initiatives at GreenRoots, to discuss the role of environmental justice in climate legislation. They focus especially on the environmental justice community designation, and why environmental advocates wish it had a larger presence in the current climate bill.
Advocates press for more emphasis on environmental justice populations
Environmental justice populations, broadly speaking, tend to be low-income communities and communities of color hit hard by the impacts of climate change. Getting to a clear definition in Massachusetts, let alone its policy implications, has been a long road through several climate bills.