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 […]
A Romney redux?
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 […]
Posted inPolitics
The Rosenberg reign begins
WITH PLENTY OF nods to the past, but also a clear message of change, Stan Rosenberg took the gavel as Senate president on Wednesday. The 65-year-old Amherst Democrat arrives at […]
Posted inPolitics
Warren ‘chapped’ about income inequality
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN said on Monday that she is “chapped” about income inequality and what it is doing to America. At a meeting at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette with […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
Casino sausage
Watching the Greater Boston casino licensing process is a little like watching sausage get made. There are lots of rules and regulations and plenty of lawyers involved, but everything still […]
Posted inEnvironment
Utilities terminate Cape Wind power contracts
CAPE WIND FACED a potentially crippling blow Tuesday night as the state’s two largest utilities announced they were terminating their contracts to purchase roughly three-quarters of the power output of […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
For Patrick, a kick on the way out
Today’s Boston Globe story on the unveiling of Deval Patrick’s official gubernatorial portrait is headlined, “A last hurrah for governor.” Yesterday’s front-page takeout on his eight years in office offered […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Ed Brooke: A politician of integrity
Some men define their times; others are defined by them. Ed Brooke was a political leader who helped define his times, both here in Massachusetts and on the larger national […]
Posted inGambling
Walsh sues gaming panel over Wynn license
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH on Monday filed suit against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, suggesting the city was coming up short in its bid to extract more mitigation money from Wynn […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
CDCs applaud new tax credit program
As the year’s end brings a barrage of appeals from nonprofit groups hoping to capitalize on the spirit of holiday giving, the state’s community development corporations are making a pitch […]
Posted inEnvironment
Pipeline foes attack natural gas study
Groups opposing the construction of a new natural gas pipeline coming into Massachusetts on Tuesday attacked a draft study suggesting the pipeline is needed, with one critic saying the $250,000 […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Vermont pulls plug on single-payer
Earlier this year, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin told Vox that, for better or worse, the hopes of every advocate for single-payer health care rode on his state’s ambitious health care […]