As the demands for Department of Children and Families Commissioner Olga Roche to step down grow louder, so do the voices of support. But the fate of DCF does not […]
DCF and the court of public opinion
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Dan Rivera means business in Lawrence
With a business card that reads “City of Lawrence, Mayor & CEO,” Daniel Rivera is determined to bring in new companies and help existing ones add jobs in a municipality […]
Posted inHealth Care
Board gives thumbs down to Partners acquisition
The board of a relatively new state commission set up to rein in health care costs gave a unanimous thumbs down on Wednesday to Partners HealthCare’s proposed acquisition of South […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Download
Spreading the green to fight climate change opponents
Liberal angst greeted Citizens United, the 2010 Supreme Court decision that opened up massive outside spending in federal, state and local politics. As big money becomes more deeply entrenched in […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Bills pass, then idle in legislative limbo
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE In the amount of time it’s taken for Beacon Hill Democrats not to reach agreement on veterans’ services and drug compounding pharmacy regulation bills, Roz Savage, […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Comcast: Is bigger better?
Comcast’s proposed $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner is getting lots of negative reviews, but the monopolistic nature of cable service today makes it difficult for customers to see what’s […]
Posted inThe Download
Derek Jeter is just the ticket
Leave it to a Yankee to spotlight the absurdity of Massachusetts ticket scalping and reselling laws. Shortstop Derek Jeter, a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer, announced the upcoming season – […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Back Story
Coakley skips solar debate
The Boston Globe reported earlier this week that Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposal to expand solar power development in Massachusetts will drive up the cost of electricity, adding about $1 to […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
Can the Bay State think big about the Olympics?
With the Sochi Olympics as a backdrop, the Legislature’s Olympics special commission ponders whether the state’s capital city is up to the challenge of hosting the world’s premier sporting event […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, State House News Service
Gun group critical of report for DeLeo
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE The state’s largest gun owners group released a critique on Tuesday of a task force’s recommendations to reduce gun violence, concluding that experts appointed by House […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Barros, key Walsh supporter, takes cabinet post
Marty Walsh swept into Boston City Hall by assembling a team of former campaign rivals behind him. Endorsements from former mayoral hopefuls Felix Arroyo, John Barros and Charlotte Golar Richie […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
Losing your shirt – and your home – at the casino
It’s a well-known truism in the casino world that the house always wins. Less well known is the fact that sometimes, apparently, what the house wins is your house. On […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
House rules
The Massachusetts House expelled Rep. Carlos Henriquez of Boston on Thursday because the representatives couldn’t tolerate having a colleague who was serving time in jail for assault and battery against […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Where are the most “swingers” in Massachusetts?
Read the original post on massincpolling.com Democrats have had a lock on the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation (as well as every statewide office) for some time now, with the exception of […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Is CVS a leader – or merely reading the smoke signals?
Ed Sweda must be dusting off his costume and doing a little dance. Sweda is the longtime archnemesis of Big Tobacco and, as senior counsel for the Group Against Smoking […]
Posted inEducation, The Back Story
BPS to replace a fifth of teachers
The Boston Public School system is about to launch a dramatic overhaul of its teaching staff, replacing a fifth of its 4,500 teachers. The unprecedented teacher turnover headed into the […]
Posted inPolitics
Henriquez expelled
A correction was added to this story. Former Rep. Paul Kujawski lost a reelection bid in 2010. The Massachusetts House on Thursday voted 146-5 to expel jailed Boston Rep. Carlos […]
Posted inPolitics
House panel backs Henriquez expulsion
THE HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE issues a report setting the stage for a Thursday vote to expel Rep. Carlos Henriquez from the body. The committee voted 9-1 that House Speaker Robert […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Bay State is a bottom-dweller on budget planning
What do Massachusetts and Alabama have in common? They both are lousy at using the best tools available to craft state budgets. That news may come as a shock to […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
House panel backs Henriquez expulsion
The House Ethics Committee issues a report setting the stage for a Thursday vote to expel Rep. Carlos Henriquez from the body. The committee voted 9-1 that House Speaker Robert […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The declaration of independents
Massachusetts has a large, and growing, block of independent voters. They call out like a siren to ambitious outsider politicians, ambitious individuals who set out to vanquish partisan politics. These […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The whirling revolving door
What do you call a long-time congressional staff member? A chump. Lawrence Lessig , the Harvard law professor who has been on a crusade against the corrupting influence of money […]
Posted inEducation
Pricey foreign study
James Romanelli, a senior at Boston College, paid full BC tuition last year, plus the cost of housing, to spend a semester at the Copenhagen Business School. So he was […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
44 gun recommendations
The committee created by House Speaker Robert DeLeo to explore ways of reducing gun violence in Massachusetts made 44 recommendations on Monday, most of them nuts and bolts proposals to […]