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 […]
Baker and the MBTA stage management crisis
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 […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment
Power incentives hit $4b
FACED WITH POWER plant closures, New England’s regional power grid operator is paying out an estimated $4 billion in incentives to ensure adequate supplies of electricity three years from now. […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, Transportation
Baker: No rush to hit T revenue button
THE BEST LINE of the morning at Gov. Charlie Baker’s breakfast speech on Thursday to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce didn’t come from the governor, but from Paul Guzzi, […]
Posted inThe Download
Say it ain’t snow
When did natives of the Caribbean take over key public works positions in Massachusetts? That has to be what happened, otherwise how else to explain the haphazard approach to clearing this […]
Posted inGambling
Wynn Resorts earnings fall sharply
WYNN RESORTS, WHICH is planning to build a $1.7 billion casino resort in Everett, announced lower-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, largely because of a falloff in revenue at its […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
MBTA: A textbook case of civic dysfunction
What is the value of holding a major civic event after a winter storm in a city where the wheels have gone off the mass transit system? When the history […]
Posted inPolitics
Rosenberg’s open door
THE PALATIAL OFFICE of the Senate president is big enough for the entire Democratic caucus of more than 30 lawmakers to occasionally gather for private sessions amidst its ornate wood […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
DeLeo has lots of jobs to hand out
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE RECENTLY GRANTED THE ability to hold his office indefinitely, House Speaker Robert DeLeo has 10 empty chairmanships to fill, along with a leadership position and the […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics
Baker seeks to slash MassHealth
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER unveiled his plan to bridge the $768 million budget deficit with nearly one-third of the spending cuts coming from MassHealth, the primary funding vehicle for the state’s […]
Posted inHealth Care, Olympics, The Download
Vaccines become campaign issue
The editorial pages of the Boston Globe and Wall Street Journal rarely agree on anything, but on Tuesday both newspapers criticized parents and politicians who think vaccines are potentially dangerous […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
The Sun comes up on Worcester
A former employee at the Telegram & Gazette is preparing to launch a digital daily news startup sometime between April and July. The Worcester Sun will appear online only during […]