Like Massachusetts, Rhode Island is struggling to cope with a sharp increase in overdose deaths. But, unlike Massachusetts, Rhode Island appears to know far more about what it’s up against […]
Rhode Island has better data on overdose problem
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Outsider act of Warren, Patrick hard to follow
To outsiders looking to make a splash in Massachusetts politics, Deval Patrick and Elizabeth Warren are guiding lights. Each ascended as political novices from relative unknown to statewide officeholders, winning […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
A power struggle over tax credit
With support for an economic stimulus package gaining steam on Beacon Hill, an interesting power struggle is developing over one of the state’s most popular tax credits. The historic rehabilitation […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Health care blame game or shell game?
The numbers in the rawest form are jaw-dropping. A relative handful of doctors – about 2 percent – account for one-quarter of the $77 billion Medicare paid out in services […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Outdated Cape Wind financial boondoggle
There are good reasons why Cape Wind has struggled to get off the ground for the past 13 years. Not only is the project outdated, but its location in the […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Another approach to college readiness gap
On a visit to Massachusetts last month, US Education Secretary Arne Duncan cautioned against resting on our laurels. Despite the Bay State’s nation-leading test scores, he chided, “Four in ten […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Is Warren Democrats’ not-so-secret weapon?
US Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the country’s feistiest Democrat, goes where the once cool Barack Obama cannot, parachuting into Senate races around the country to try to shore up the party’s […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Doctors are addressing state’s heroin crisis
Across Massachusetts, lives are being wasted. State Police have recorded nearly 200 deaths from drug overdoses since November, but the actual number could be even higher, as figures from the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Mass. GOP’s urban challenge
The road to the Massachusetts governor’s office used to run through the belt of suburbs between Boston and Worcester. Now, it runs through cities. And that shift makes the state […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Are casino odds slipping?
The state’s casino law, though not even three years old, is starting to look a little like an old sweater. Start pulling at that loose thread and it’s not clear […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Regional power play begins to take shape
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and his counterparts in the other New England states are pursuing a multibillion-dollar effort to import more natural gas and low-carbon electricity into the region. Few […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
What’s Walsh’s end game on casinos?
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh won a skirmish on Thursday in the fight to gain host community status for the two proposed eastern Massachusetts casinos, but does he really want to […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mixed message from primary care studies
Can more coordinated delivery of primary care make a difference in health care quality and costs? It may depend on who the patients are. There is tremendous interest in revamping […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Back Story
No good data on heroin epidemic
A correction has been made to this story and the accompanying chart. Information on the correction is available at the bottom of the story. Gov. Deval Patrick declared it a […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
McCormick tries Forrest Gump approach
When new candidates emerge on the scene, they often have to do something to set themselves apart. For Joe Malone running against Sen. Edward Kennedy in 1988, it was youth. […]
Posted inThe Download
Planet Harvard comes back to Earth
Harvard is used to being in the headlines for all the right reasons, like the stellar accomplishments of its students and faculty. However, in the past few days, administrators at […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Massachusetts not at end of wind energy pipeline
This winter found many of us trying to get inside from the cold, where the comforts of modern life awaited — warmth, lights, electronics, appliances, and a hot meal. You […]
Posted inThe Download
Pope wants a church rich in faith, not in wealth
Pope Francis I is affecting change in an institution that measures such seismic shifts in centuries, not months. Not only is he moderating the tone of the Catholic Church on […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The long shadow over Willie Lantigua
Former Lawrence mayor William Lantigua is laying the groundwork for a political comeback. Former Lawrence mayor William Lantigua has a number of former aides lining up behind a courtroom defendant’s […]
Posted inEnvironment
State seeks more data on Revere casino impact
State officials are ordering Mohegan Sun to provide more information on the environmental impact of its proposed casino in Revere, but casino officials insist preparation of the new report will […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
College presidents need to be paid well
Private colleges and universities – and the board members and presidents who lead them – must recognize that they operate within a new age of transparency and disclosure of executive […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
More Bridgewater follies?
We are getting a glimpse of the world behind the walls at Bridgewater State Hospital, and it’s not a pretty picture. A week after the state agreed to a $3 […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
DPH plays catchup on marijuana
Even as the Patrick administration was defending itself in court against charges it bungled the selection process for medical marijuana dispensaries, officials at the Department of Public Health were ordering […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Back Story
Marijuana business hard to figure
The business plans of the state’s 20 medical marijuana licensees are a study in sharp contrasts. Each of the companies was set up to grow and sell marijuana for medical […]