The documents, signed by former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and his top aide Elizabeth Tavares, were basically form letters. Some of the letters notified people that they were not being […]
Prosecutors use letters to buttress mail fraud
Posted inPolitics
SJC: Coakley opinion defies ‘common sense’
The state’s highest court on Tuesday ruled that a ballot question to repeal the Massachusetts casino law should be put before voters in the fall, calling Attorney General Martha Coakley’s […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, The Download
Massachusetts maxes out on minimum wage, but is $11 enough?
Gov. Deval Patrick puts his John Hancock to the legislation, Massachusetts will have the highest state minimum wage in the country. By 2017, minimum wage workers can look forward to […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Keeping animals in crates, cages raises health concerns
“You can’t have good human health without good animal health, and you can’t have good animal health without good human health” said the late great Dr. James Harlan Steele, one […]
Posted inPolitics
Reps say Probation jobs needed leadership support
State Rep. Harold Naughton of Clinton testified today in the federal corruption trial of former Probation commissioner John J. O’Brien and two top aides that it was common knowledge among […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Bulger speaks out on Probation probe
The federal corruption trial of former state Probation Department commissioner John O’Brien is lurching toward its third month. Now, as the trial builds toward a climactic confrontation between O’Brien and […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
No need to fear Common Core
Grit is a term we should be using a lot in education, especially when discussing the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). I am completing my ninth year […]
Posted inPolitics
O’Brien attorneys call for Probation mistrial
Attorneys in the federal corruption trial of former state Probation Department commissioner John O’Brien asked for a mistrial Friday after a prosecution witness said he has been discussing testimony in […]
Posted inPolitics
Mulligan, Probation aide met at judge’s home in ‘06
Robert Mulligan, the former chief justice for administration and management of the Massachusetts Trial Court, was aware of hiring irregularities at the state Probation Department in 2006, but didn’t feel […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
Casino support rebounds
All the recent polls have been indicating support for casinos in Massachusetts is slipping, but a new Boston Globe survey indicates voters would back the state gaming law by an […]
Posted inPolitics
Wynn land issue resolved
A co-owner of the Everett property where Wynn Resorts wants to build a casino has pledged that he has no secret partners, resolving a long-running standoff that had threatened to […]
Posted inThe Download
On warpath over Redskins
The pressure on Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder just got ramped up exponentially after the US Patent Office revoked his team’s trademark on the name, calling it “disparaging” to Native […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
PACs and caps
A campaign finance package the Legislature advanced Wednesday afternoon would double the state’s limits on contributions to political candidates. The change would allow candidates to accept $1,000 checks from donors, […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
MBTA’s olympic change orders
Boston 2024 is going full tilt at its dream of securing the 2024 Olympics. Washington DC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are also in the running. Los Angeles has hosted […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Coakley, Grossman play Whack-a-PAC
The three Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls who emerged from this weekend’s state convention came together Monday evening in a sharp clash over campaign finance. The sparks flying between Attorney General Martha […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Dem state convention produces few winners
The Democratic State Convention in Worcester this weekend proved Will Rogers’s point when he said, “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.” Most […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, The Download
Criminalizing politics
US District Court Judge William Young keeps telling the jurors in the trial of former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and two of his top aides that the case is not […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
California tenure case a win for students
On Tuesday, teachers unions and education reformers clashed yet again in newspaper headlines around the country. Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers called it a “sad day for […]
Posted inThe Download
Hollywood East moves a little west
It wasn’t that long ago that area newspapers and other media outlets were filled with stories about the burgeoning movie industry and plans to open sprawling production facilities and sound […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Justice or payback?
For some lawmakers on Beacon Hill, the federal trial of former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and two of his top aides is not what it appears. For them, the case […]
Posted inGambling
Spinning the casino poll numbers
The latest poll on casino gambling in Massachusetts brings troubling news for the casino industry, while it’s sure to lift the spirits of opponents hoping to keep casinos out of […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
Bay State liquor licensing foibles
Massachusetts lawmakers probably thought they had dispensed with national embarrassment when they criminalized upskirting in record time. They forgot about the state’s bizarre liquor licensing laws, which require cities and […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Prosecution struggles in Probation Department case
Former Probation Department commissioner John O’Brien is on trial at a South Boston federal courthouse for allegedly running his department like a criminal enterprise. Federal prosecutors claim that O’Brien oversaw […]
Posted inPolitics
Prosecution struggles in Probation Department case
Former Probation Department commissioner John O’Brien is on trial at a South Boston federal courthouse for allegedly running his department like a criminal enterprise. Federal prosecutors claim that O’Brien oversaw […]