THE POWER OF INCUMBENCY is a time-tested benefit in contested elections. Studies have shown over and over that officials seeking to hold onto their seats at all levels are successful […]
Should incumbents get top ballot billing?
Posted inArts and Culture
Tea Party ship off to slow start
THE BOSTON TEA Party Ships and Museum, which re-opened in 2012 with the help of a first-of-its-kind $18 million loan from the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, is off to a […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Bridging the digital divide
Princeton is one of 45 municipalities across the state that do not have access to high-speed Internet service. The town’s broadband committee tried to get Charter, Comcast, or Verizon to […]
Posted inPolitics
Not your typical congressman
POLITICIANS DON’T TYPICALLY jump at the chance to mix it up in public with the chair of their state party. That should be doubly true for a young, no-name, first-time […]
Posted inPolitics
Naming rites: Pols as pals
CHARLIE BAKER AND MARTY WALSH don’t have a lot in common. One is a Harvard-educated Republican with blue-blooded ancestry here dating back to colonial days. The other is a Democratic […]
Posted inPolitics
Fix the broken Public Records Law
WE IN THE cradle of liberty think of ourselves as national leaders when it comes to government openness and democracy. After all, Massachusetts colonists used public “broadsheets” to inform people […]
Posted inEnvironment
Net loss
You served three terms as mayor of New Bedford, which made you one of the chief advocates for one of the biggest fishing ports in the country. Now, with the […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
A chance to lead on early education
“SUDDENLY, THE WORLD is waking up [to the fact] that it matters what you do with young children,” Abigail Adams Eliot told the Boston Globe in 1965. A Boston native […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Baker taps 3 for energy posts
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION on Monday filled three key energy and regulatory posts with officials whose backgrounds suggest they are likely to take pro-business positions on most issues. Matthew Beaton, the […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment
Electricity prices fall
IT’S STILL EARLY in the season, but electricity prices so far haven’t lived up to the hype that this winter will be one of the most expensive ever. ISO New England, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
A Romney redux?
If you take Elizabeth Warren at her (admittedly present-tense) word, that she is not running for president, it seemed as if our modest little Commonwealth could finally prepare for a […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
We need the Blue-Red connector
FOR A TRANSIT mobility system to work properly, it must meet a variety of metrics and objectives. One important objective goes without saying but is often either overlooked or taken […]
Posted inPolitics
Reporter’s Notebook
FORMER GOV. DEVAL Patrick’s trade mission to Singapore in December 2013 must have been grueling because an aide who accompanied him on the trip ordered up a massage and what […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
The tax man goeth
MICHAEL WIDMER IS a harried journalist’s best friend, a man a reporter can count on to return calls with good intel before deadline. The longtime president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers […]
Posted inEconomy
2024 Olympics campaign begins
BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT leaders on Friday launched what appears to be a very sophisticated campaign to win support for Boston playing host to the Summer Olympics in 2024. A day […]
Posted inThe Download
John Henry’s sweet deal
John Henry, the billionaire owner of the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Globe, appears to have negotiated a very sweet deal when he sold the Worcester Telegram & Gazette […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Patrick fires a shot in the dark at legislators
As Gov. Deval Patrick (until noon Thursday, that is) strolled out of the State House Wednesday evening on his not-so Lone Walk, there was likely one common thought running through […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Mass. health reform has many shortcomings
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE were surprised to discover that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) deprived some patients of their health plans and their physicians, despite government promises to the contrary. We […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker feels his way
HE GREETED MARTY WALSH with a big hug. He spoke from the heart as a fellow parent when he addressed the scourge of opiate addiction that took the life of […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, The Back Story
A warning on natural gas
JUST MINUTES BEFORE Charlie Baker became governor, the Patrick administration released a $250,000 study suggesting winter electricity prices are likely to remain very high for the next four years and […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
The most interesting man in the Bay State political world
With Massachusetts focused on Deval Patrick’s “Lone Walk” and Charlie Baker’s inauguration, one person has been out of the headlines in recent weeks: House Speaker Robert DeLeo. DeLeo is largely […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
New Bedford facing Cape Wind fallout
THE BLOW DELIVERED by National Grid and NStar to Cape Wind extends to New Bedford’s Marine Commerce Terminal that would have served as the major staging area for construction of […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo reelected as Speaker
LAST SUMMER, HOUSE Speaker Robert DeLeo defended himself aggressively against assertions by federal prosecutors that he was an unindicted coconspirator in the corruption trial that led to the conviction of […]