Former Probation commissioner John O’Brien came to see then-Ways and Means Chairman Robert DeLeo in September 2007 lobbying for legislation that would give him much greater powers, a bigger salary, […]
O’Brien lobbied DeLeo for more power in ‘07
Posted inPolitics
Walsh, Mohegan ink casino deal
Mayor Marty Walsh, casting himself as a reluctant negotiator in the state’s casino sweepstakes, signed an agreement on Thursday with Mohegan Sun that would guarantee Boston at least $18 million […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Summer heat turns up on DeLeo
There’s nothing like a summer news lull to fan the flames of a good scandal, and it’s House Speaker Robert DeLeo ’s turn in the glare of the beating summer […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, The Back Story
Where’s Steward?
One big name is missing from the group of health care competitors that have banded together to fight the consent agreement negotiated by Partners HealthCare and Attorney General Martha Coakley. […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo calls out prosecutors, denies jobs for votes claim
House Speaker Robert DeLeo angrily insisted on Wednesday that the Probation jobs his office steered to candidates favored by fellow lawmakers played no role in his effort to gather enough […]
Posted inPolitics
Murphy: DeLeo told me to spare Probation
The House’s former top budget official testified on Wednesday that he was ordered by House Speaker Robert DeLeo in 2009 to spare the Probation Department from the type of drastic […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service, The Download
PARCC slowly gaining on MCAS, but hurdles remain
PARCC isn’t standing still. Heading into the second year of field testing in the spring of 2015, about 60 percent of Massachusetts school districts have opted to jettison MCAS for […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
New solar legislation goes the wrong way
Which state do you think has a more robust solar power sector, Florida or Massachusetts? If you bet on the Sunshine State, you’re wrong; in recent years, Massachusetts has emerged […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care, Politics, State House News Service
Mass. prison spending ranked 7th in US
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Massachusetts trailed only six states in per-inmate spending on prison health care in 2011 as an aging population contributed to the growing cost of care for […]
Posted inPolitics
Defense lays Probation problems on Mulligan
Defense attorneys in the federal corruption trial of former Probation commission John J. O’Brien suggested on Tuesday that Robert Mulligan, the retired chief justice for administration and management at the […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
Two takes on Boston casino deal
Marty Walsh blinked. Or maybe he scored big. How you view the news of an impending casino mitigation deal between Boston and Mohegan Sun depends on which account you read […]
Posted inPolitics
O’Brien judge denies prosecutors more time
The judge in the federal corruption trial of former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and two top aides on Monday denied most of prosecutors’ request for additional time to draw jurors […]
Posted inPolitics
SJC judges in dark about Probation hiring
Robert Mulligan and John O’Brien are squaring off in federal court over hiring practices, much as they squared off when Mulligan was the chief justice of administration and management at […]
Posted inPolitics
Curtatone, Ash upset with arbitration awards
The mayor of Somerville and the city manager in Chelsea rolled the dice and lost in seeking surrounding community casino mitigation payments from Wynn Resorts, but the two officials say […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Residency ruse
It’s the gift that keeps giving, the evergreen story that gets repackaged every so often and then met with varying degrees of outrage, some sincere and others as phony as […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, State House News Service
Commission to comment on Partners-AG deal
The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission said on Wednesday it plans to file comments on Attorney General Martha Coakley’s agreement with Partners Healthcare permitting the company to acquire South Shore Hospital […]
Posted inPolitics
Boston takes pounding from Gaming Commission
Caption: Gaming Commission members from left: Bruce Stebbins, Enrique Zuniga, James McHugh, and Gayle Cameron The Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Wednesday unanimously rejected a request from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh […]
Posted inPolitics
Rep. Petrolati’s wife will testify about qualifications
US District Court Judge William Young worked out a deal on Wednesday that will allow Kathleen Petrolati, the wife of state Rep. Thomas Petrolati, to testify at the trial of […]
Posted inPolitics
Defense: Mulligan played patronage like O’Brien
An attorney for former Probation Department commissioner John O’Brien on Wednesday accused Robert Mulligan, the former chief justice of the Massachusetts Trial Court, of practicing political patronage, playing fast and […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, The Download
Why Atlantic City casino woes matter here
Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen recently visited “Vegas-by-the-Sea” and found nothing good to say about Atlantic City’s casino experiment. In the time-honored tradition of journalists everywhere, Cullen tapped the consummate […]
Posted inPolitics
Wynn promises place to Suffolk Downs
If you lose your jobs, you can come work for us. That’s what Wynn Everett is promising Suffolk Downs workers as part of its “Suffolk Downs Employee Commitment.” Should the […]
Posted inPolitics
Shaky Ryan insists jobs used to help DeLeo
Defense attorneys on Tuesday raised questions about the accuracy of testimony by a top aide to former Probation commissioner John O’Brien, but legislative liaison Edward Ryan stood by his claim […]
Posted inPolitics
Witness for the prosecution
Robert Mulligan leaving the courthouse on Tuesday. Federal prosecutors at the trial of former Probation commissioner John O’Brien finally got their dream witness on the stand. After weeks of trying […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Income inequality, Beacon Hill style
It would be hard to swing a dead cat in the State House without hitting a member of the nearly all-Democratic Legislature who has railed in one form or another […]