The print version of the Boston Globe cut its political losses today, abandoning its stand-alone Friday Capital section and tucking the slimmed-down remains into the back of Metro. For those […]
Globe cuts political losses
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
The price of leadership
CORRECTION: Several corrections were made to the original version of this story, all of them dealing with the pay of leadership positions in the House. Specifically, Rep. Jonathan Hecht’s leadership […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
The hazing of Frank DePaola
“Thank you, sir, may I have another?” That is the infamous response from a pledge to the Omega fraternity in the movie Animal House as he gets whacked repeatedly with a […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Baker pushes regional energy approach
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION said on Wednesday it plans to work with utilities in Massachusetts and neighboring states to purchase renewable energy and expand the region’s natural gas pipeline infrastructure. In […]
Posted inEnvironment
Cape Wind developer mum on project
THE DEVELOPER OF the troubled Cape Wind project quoted Mark Twain on Wednesday, saying reports of his death are greatly exaggerated. But he had very little to say about efforts […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Waging the war on poverty
IN 2015, THERE are emerging signs of bipartisan energy to address poverty. While contemplating a third presidential run, Mitt Romney vowed that a potential campaign would include a pledge to […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Battle for MBTA’s soul underway
As the task to slice and dice the MBTA’s historic collapse gets underway, a battle royale has erupted anew between two camps of transportation influencers who can be loosely described as […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Lottery cuts will decrease local aid
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE LOTTERY OFFICIALS say budget cuts ordered by Gov. Charlie Baker and the Legislature to close a mid-year budget shortfall will cut gambling profits by $35 […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
Holyoke students being shortchanged
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER Mitchell Chester is not ready to recommend that the Holyoke Public Schools be put into receivership, but he has not ruled it out […]
Posted inThe Download
Eavesdropping on Instagram
The police and school departments in Lowell are preparing to hire a company to monitor social media use within the city’s borders, scrubbing public posts on Twitter, Facebook, and other […]
Posted inEducation
Guerrero’s trying time at Dever
THE GOOD NEWS for Guadalupe Guerrero, one of four finalists for the Boston school superintendent post, is that, as the only candidate with prior experience in the district, he is […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
A short and long-term plan
THE RECENT MBTA meltdown has impressed upon the general public the critical importance of a reliable transit system to their daily lives. The T’s utter failure to provide reliable service […]
Posted inOlympics, The Download
An elephant in the Olympics financing room
There has been all sorts of talk about the costs of a Boston Olympics, with elected officials left and right stamping their feet, drawing lines in the sand, and otherwise […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Transportation
Baker creates MBTA commission
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER moved to put his administration’s stamp on the MBTA by appointing a special commission to investigate how past finance, maintenance, and management practices led to the wintertime […]
Posted inThe Download
Bill O’Reilly’s ‘war zone’ claims
Fox news host Bill O’Reilly criticized NBC anchor Brian Williams for falsely claiming that he was nearly shot down in a helicopter covering the invasion of Iraq in 2003. But […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Baker talks more broadly about the T
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER, who has avoided discussion of long-term solutions in favor of focusing on short-term fixes for the snow-battered MBTA, said Thursday he is not […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Should electric ratepayers pay for gas pipelines?
THERE SOON MAY be a new charge on your electric bill for natural gas pipeline construction. The novel idea first surfaced last summer as the six New England states began […]
Posted inOlympics, The Download, Transportation
Blizzard burying Olympics bid?
It’s easy to forget in the mind- and finger-numbing midst of Snowmaggedon about Boston’s 2024 Olympic bid – easy to forget, that is, if you don’t pay attention to everyone decrying […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
On Fairmount Line, opportunity knocks
THE BLIZZARD OF 1888 left Boston gridlocked, and over 1,000 people died in its wake. Tragic as the storm was, there was a substantial silver lining. This catastrophe is often cited as the impetus […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Beacon Hill’s MBTA fix: Let them ride the T
Nonplussed by the plight of the poor, a French aristocrat once said “let them eat cake.” With hundreds of thousands of people struggling during the MBTA’s winter crisis, Massachusetts legislative leaders […]
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
Rosenberg sees transportation disconnect
SENATE PRESIDENT STANLEY ROSENBERG said on Tuesday that the problems at the MBTA are straight out of “Democracy in America,” the book Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in the 1800s which […]
Posted inHealth Care
Partners surrenders
PARTNERS HEALTHCARE HAS agreed to end its controversial pursuit of South Shore Hospital and will hold off on acquiring two Hallmark Health hospitals on the North Shore for the time […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
Gaming Commission challenge fails
A federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Caesars Entertainment against Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby. The ruling uses language that could spell trouble for […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Cape Wind, on life support, deserves better
THE HEADLINES DO NOT look good for the country’s first offshore wind farm. On Jan. 7, National Grid and NSTAR announced that they would be canceling their contracts to buy […]