Town meeting members in Chelmsford voted overwhelmingly to install artificial turf fields at two schools, with $1.2 million of the project’s cost coming from the town’s Community Preservation Act funds. […]
Chelmsford goes artificial with preservation funds
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Democracy in action
Anyone who has lived in Massachusetts for more than 24 hours knows the phrase well: “All politics is local,” an observation uttered by the late House Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Bombs and guns
THE IMAGES AND SOUNDS from the gruesome scene that unfolded along Boylston Street in Boston are now seared in many people’s minds: The explosions, the smoke clouds that suddenly enveloped […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Job insecurity
Johnny Ramos is back working as a security guard again, and state officials are now hedging on whether they’ll have him removed because of a felony conviction 34 years ago […]
Posted inEnvironment
Here comes the sun
Gov. Deval Patrick on Wednesday called for a dramatic boost in Massachusetts solar energy production while directing his aides to find ways to temper the hefty subsidies being paid by […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
Investigators charge 3 Tsarnaev friends
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICETHREE CURRENT OR FORMER UMASS-DARTMOUTH CLASSMATES of surviving marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have been charged by federal prosecutors with conspiring to obstruct justice and destroy evidence. […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The GOP goes gonzo for Gomez
Gabriel Gomez, the ex-Navy Seal, private equity man, and telegenic son of Colombian immigrants, steps into the spotlight as Massachusetts Republicans’ dream come true. He represents the best attempt yet […]
Posted inPolitics
Poll finds strong support for shutdown of Boston
A NEW POLL INDICATES Massachusetts residents overwhelmingly support state leaders and law enforcement officials who locked down parts of Greater Boston during the manhunt for a Marathon bomber. The poll […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
MGM casino gets Springfield’s backing
SPRINGFIELD, the only Massachusetts city weighing two competing casino bids, has put its chips on MGM Springfield. On Tuesday Mayor Domenic Sarno announced that he had concluded a host […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Voters yawn, Markey marches forward?
Polls don’t actually vote. Special elections go sideways sometimes. But barring some cataclysmic shift, Ed Markey has a pretty good shot at becoming the Democratic nominee for US Senate tonight […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Harvard econ study debunked
Just how soporific is the US Senate primary that is coming to a head tomorrow? The Bay State showdown that’s getting national attention these days is not the sleepy Senate […]
Posted inEconomy
House budget includes 3-step judicial pay raise
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE approved a three-step pay raise for judges and other court personnel in the budget it approved this week for the coming fiscal year. The raise, if it […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Marathon bombings cloud immigration debate
About 2,000 immigrants swore allegiance to the United States yesterday as they raised their hands to take the oath of citizenship in the World Trade Center on the South Boston […]
Posted inEnvironment
Senators: Patrick needs to do more on emissions
PATRICK ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS unveiled a snazzy new dashboard this week showcasing their efforts to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, but a group of Democratic senators say much more needs […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Correcting the Marathon record
While the Globe is fixated on the Washington blame game and the Herald is aghast at welfare benefits going to a suspected bomber, newspapers from outside Boston are starting to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Is it bribery absent a willing recipient?
LOST IN THE OVERWHELMING COVERAGE of last week’s Boston Marathon bombings was the acquittal of former Probation Commissioner John J. O’Brien on all state corruption charges, a statement by […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Uncategorized
Hacking AP: Separating the tweets from the chaff
In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings last week, more than half of young people in Boston aged 18-29 used social media as their news conduit of choice. Daily […]
Posted inEconomy
Cap on film tax credit voted down by House
The Massachusetts House rejected a bid to cap film tax credit expenditures at $40 million a year, with a top House leader saying a cap would end up killing the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
When the Sun revolves around the Globe
The editorial boards of the Lowell Sun and the Boston Globe don’t share much common ideological ground. Over the past two days, though, both papers have endorsed state Rep. Dan […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
The search for broader meaning
It’s inevitable that the horrific events of the last week, after reaching a certain denouement on Friday night, would give way to follow-up musings that look for some broader message. […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Tax analysis misses competitive reality
I READ WITH INTEREST the cover story in Commonwealth magazine’s Spring issue titled “Fear and loathing on the tax trail.” This piece offers an interesting retrospective view on our state’s […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Economy
Court budget falls short, but reaction is muted
THE STATE’S COURT SYSTEM did not get a lot of loving in the House budget. The state’s trial court is asking for what it calls a “maintenance budget” of $589.5 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Gun measure goes down
After false reports of an arrest in the marathon bombing case, yesterday proved to be a hurry-up-and-wait day in Boston. In Washington, however, it was a day of decisive action. […]