FOR NEARLY TWO decades, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) has served as a measure of minimum proficiency for high school graduation with a design that reflects what was state-of-the-art […]
Testing the tests
Posted inOpinion, The Back Story, Transportation
Five takes on the T
EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT the collapse of the T and wondering whether, to borrow a phrase from departing GM Beverly Scott, even God Jr. could get the trains running on time […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Put the T in receivership
THE MBTA IS broke and broken. It is structurally insolvent. Breakdowns and late arrivals are, indeed, unacceptable, but the bulk of the T’s troubles are not about Dr. Beverly Scott, who resigned […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Let’s not let this crisis go to waste
AFTER DECADES OF underfunding the T, it finally collapsed completely under the weight of repeated winter storms and, as I write this, is still badly crippled. The T does not […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Everything is riding on the T
THE SYSTEM-WIDE MBTA failures during the recent snowstorms should serve as a call to arms for everyone in Massachusetts. Quite literally, our prosperity is on the line. I’m not talking […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Slow-motion train wreck
There has always been a Through the Looking Glass unreality to how things work (or don’t) on the MBTA. So think of oversight of the moribund transit agency as something […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
MBTA chief steps down
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott submitted her resignation on Wednesday amid widespread service problems on the transit system in the wake of record snowfall, catching transportation […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo says no to taxes
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DeLeo laid out his agenda for the upcoming legislative session on Wednesday, saying he will look to expand early childhood education, maintain local aid, increase drug abuse […]
Posted inGambling
Wynn issues $50m clarification
STEVE WYNN HAS been saying his proposed Everett casino will generate $50 million a month for Massachusetts, but aides say that number reflects gaming taxes paid directly to the state […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Baker and the MBTA stage management crisis
Paging Harry Truman. The 33rd president delivered one of the most recognizable lines about leadership in American history, so famous that it has become a cliché. “The buck stops here.” If Truman isn’t your […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
The real Olympics debate
EVALUATING THE COSTS as well as the benefits of hosting the Olympic Games needs to extend beyond considerations of economic or infrastructure changes. We should talk also about an even larger […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Aloisi’s fixes for the T
THE RECENT MELTDOWN of MBTA service has left a lot of people wondering about its reliability as a mobility alternative for people, especially in harsh winter weather conditions. One of […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
MBTA still unsure when it can resume operations
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH ITS RAIL service shut down, MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott on Tuesday defended the transit system’s response to historic snow amounts and said she would […]
Posted inThe Download
How do you solve a problem like the T?
On Monday, the snow pounded Boston all day long and the roads were a mess, but the MBTA limped along until it was shut down around 7 p.m. Today, the […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Remember the Big Dig
AS THE SON of a history teacher, my father taught me early on that a strong appreciation of history is essential for understanding the issues and challenges of the present. […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Pregnant workers seek fair job treatment
SHOULD A PREGNANT worker expect her employer to offer “reasonable” relief from her workload or from certain tasks? Elizabeth Guyer, a former nurse practitioner who worked in Harvard University’s student […]
Posted inPolitics
DCR has another lease problem
THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT of Conservation and Recreation, which has had a lot of difficulty managing leases of state property in the past, has another problem on its hands. Newton Country […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker calls snow unprecedented
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE RECORD-BREAKING SNOWFALL totals are stressing roofs across Massachusetts, hurting retailers, and eating into time Gov. Charlie Baker expected would be spent on his first state budget […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Baker’s Trojan horse?
Gov. Charlie Baker has made no secret of his disdain for the way the state’s health connector has been run, both on the campaign trail last year and since the […]
Posted inOpinion
In praise of Brian Murphy and public service
WHAT DO YOU think about when you think about public service? Do you think about the toil and sacrifice of men and women who place themselves in harm’s way to […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Why I went from no to yes
IN THE BEGINNING of 2014, I was one of the co-founders of No Boston Olympics, a group of volunteers formed to oppose Boston’s Olympic bid. By December I had left […]
Posted inThe Download
Brian Williams’ Stolen Valor
Audiences and readers are down, followed out the door by advertisers, trailed by revenues, which in turn kills jobs. That is the tale of newspapers, magazines, and television network news, […]
Posted inEducation, The Back Story
Is state takeover of Holyoke schools coming?
IN 2012, THE chronically low-performing Lawrence school system became the first district put into state receivership under a 2010 education law that gives the state sweeping new powers over struggling […]