Once upon a time, Scott Brown was riding high. He rocketed from backbencher within a Massachusetts state Senate Republican caucus that could convene in a phone booth to national political […]
Scott Brown’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week
Posted inThe Download
Globe stops shrinking
The Boston Globe, which has been steadily shrinking in size and scope for more than a decade, expanded on Friday, launching a special weekly section devoted to state, local, and […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
The Lottery’s reverse Robin Hood ways
Raise your hand if the Boston Globe’s story on Lottery spending inequity was news to you. Not a lot of arms in the air. The Globe rolls out the numbers […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Fisher is a plus for Baker
Halfway through a forum this week featuring Republican gubernatorial candidates Charlie Baker and Mark Fisher, I began to wonder why GOP officials fought so hard at their state convention to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Running unopposed in the Bay State and beyond
What’s the point of having an election if only one person wants to run? That’s just what will happen in five congressional “races” come November: US Reps. Michael Capuano, Richard […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Is editing our digital footprint a good idea?
The recent ruling by the highest court in the European Union on the “right to be forgotten” has sent ripples around the world and has prompted many US citizens to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Hearing on DeLeo’s gun bill draws a crowd
Supporters and opponents packed a State House hearing on Tuesday afternoon on House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s recently-filed bill aimed at reducing gun violence in the Commonwealth. The bill, which aims […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Outsiders running from behind this time in governor’s race
Political insiders have been striking out in Massachusetts governor’s races for decades. In the years since Foster Furcolo parlayed a job as state treasurer into a stint in the corner […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
A sudden burst of democracy on bottle bill
There’s nothing like the threat of a bit of direct democracy to get the slow-going wheels of representative democracy turning. For more than a dozen years, Beacon Hill lawmakers have […]
Posted inPolitics
Probation prosecutors drop 2 mail fraud charges
Federal prosecutors are scaling back their case against former state Probation Department boss John O’Brien, dropping two of 10 mail fraud charges that form the bulk of the case against […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, State House News Service
Baker, Fisher differ on health care, climate change
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE While they agreed on considering bringing the Olympics to the Boston area and in worrying about the impact of casinos, Shrewsbury businessman Mark Fisher and former […]
Posted inThe Download
What’s doing with Deval?
Everyone on Beacon Hill is wondering what’s going on with Gov. Deval Patrick. Is he bored with state politics? Is he headed back to the private sector? Is he laying […]
Posted inPolitics
Prosecutor’s age claim was off by 3 years
Kelly Manchester, the former girlfriend of state Sen. Mark Montigny, testified on Friday that she is currently 30 years old, which would have made her 24 when she got her […]
Posted inPolitics
Montigny ex-girlfriend says senator ‘opened the door’
The ex-girlfriend of Sen. Mark Montigny testified in the federal corruption trial of former Probation commissioner John J. O’Brien that the New Bedford Democrat “opened the door” for her to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, The Back Story
Welder at Back Bay fire cited before for no permit
A Malden welding company being sued for failing to obtain a city permit for work that spawned a fatal, nine-alarm Back Bay fire in March has apparently operated before without […]
Posted inThe Download
Racism trending
It was all too painfully familiar, making it that much more easy to believe. P.K. Subban, a black player on the hated Montreal Canadiens team playing in a near-lily white […]
Posted inPolitics
Ex-Sen. Hart sails at O’Brien trial
Former state Sen. John (Jack) Hart sailed through his second day of testimony at the trial of former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and two of his top aides. He acknowledged […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Gaming Commission vows no ties
Left with an even number of members for Greater Boston issues, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission decided on Thursday to pursue a multi-step, consensus-building plan to avoid a tie vote on […]
Posted inPolitics
Sen. Montigny contacted Manchester interviewer
Sen. Mark Montigny in 2008 personally contacted one of the people interviewing Kelly Manchester for a probation officer’s job, but it was unclear what role, if any, his recommendation played […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
What he reads about AG-Partners deal is not good
Many of you know from my comments in previous letters that I have been a fan of Will Rogers for as long as I can remember. As I read the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
The limits of grief on the gun control debate
Can the University of California Santa Barbara/Isla Vista massacre change the way the US thinks about guns? In a word, no. The demand by Richard Martinez, grieving father of one […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, State House News Service
Report: DCF made errors but not to blame in child’s death
Health and Human Services Secretary John Polanowicz and Child Welfare League’s Linda Spears announce DCF review findings. A long-awaited report from the Child Welfare League of America issued Wednesday found […]
Posted inPolitics
Coakley indicts man for Plainridge theft
Attorney General Martha Coakley on Wednesday indicted a former official at Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville for stealing $61,000 from the harness racing track’s money room. The alleged theft occurred at […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
T keeps expanding but police don’t keep pace
As the geographical footprint of the MBTA keeps expanding, the resources of the T’s police force keep getting stretched thinner and thinner. The transit agency is preparing to expand west […]