For journalists, the Big Dig is the gift that keeps on giving. For state transportation officials, it is the never-ending nightmare. The latest problem for the $15 billion project is […]
MassDOT has some concrete problems
Posted inEducation, Politics, The Download
UMass gives, takes away, and gets testy with Patrick
With student loan debt pushing past $1 trillion, Vice President Joe Biden, University of Massachusetts Amherst Chancellor Robert Holub, and representatives from the New York, Maryland, and Texas state university […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, The Download
Emails reveal Mitt’s embrace of health care mandate
Maybe David Axelrod flew to Boston a week too early.The Wall Street Journal checks in today with what it bills as the most complete inside look at Mitt Romney’s pro-health […]
Posted inEconomy
State identifies tax credit recipients
The state for the very first time is identifying by name the recipients of eight state tax credits, allowing the public to see which businesses taxpayers are subsidizing. The report […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
It’s on: Brown-Warren rumble now full tilt
If anything was made clear by Saturday’s coronation of Elizabeth Warren at the state Democratic convention it is that the general election showdown between her and Sen. Scott Brown is […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Warren: Nowhere to hide
Last week Elizabeth Warren could at least point to a poll indicating voters didn’t care about the media’s obsession with her alleged Native American ancestry, but this week there was […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
A May surprise for Warren
After months during which virtually everyone anointed Elizabeth Warren as the Democratic nominee for Senate and ignored her potential primary opponent, Marisa DeFranco, suddenly there’s a storm over Gov. Deval […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, State House News Service
State officials announce Lawrence school turnaround plan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Lawrence public school students will be expected to spend more time in the classroom under a plan state education leaders plan to announce Wednesday to reverse […]
Posted inUncategorized
Patrick defends support for green power firms
Gov. Deval Patrick gave a spirited defense of his and President Obama’s support for renewable energy companies, embracing the notion that the state and federal governments should subsidize the development […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
Lawrence sets bold turnaround plan
If states are the laboratories for democracy, the Lawrence schools are now the laboratory for overhauling a failing urban school district. State and local officials gathered in the Merrimack Valley […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, The Download
Mitt Romney’s ebony and ivory triumph
At first, Mitt Romney’s recent campaign stop in Philadelphia was a head-scratcher. A group of residents gave him a rousing Philly “welcome,” while Mayor Michael Nutter could only wonder at […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Assets, not need, should define Gateway Cities
Recent efforts on Beacon Hill to expand the Gateway Cities definition to include more communities are understandable and even expected. The Legislature is a collection of communities all with different […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download, Transportation
The Salvucci salvation
Beacon Hill has been wrestling with the MBTA’s chronic budget shortfalls for a year now, and with two months left to shore up the T’s budget, legislative leaders remain at […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Back Story
Newton’s green gambit
Newton received a lot of favorable publicity earlier this month when it announced that the city would be the first in the state to purchase all of its electricity from […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Warren takes a pounding but keeps on ticking
Elizabeth Warren continues to take a pounding about her alleged Native American ancestry, but does it matter? A poll released this week by David Paleologos of Suffolk University indicates Warren […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
The latest trend: Being a Gateway City
Just as wearing a bright day dress is the latest fashion statement, being called a Gateway City is apparently the latest hot trend among the state’s cities. State legislators were […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, The Download
Pilgrim relicensing reaches critical mass
Nuclear power plants are a lot like baseball umpires: It’s far better for everyone when you don’t hear their names. But the Pilgrim power plant in Plymouth is receiving a […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, State House News Service
Creem proposal would ban bottled water
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Sen. Cynthia Creem thinks she has a solution to the long-stalled effort on Beacon Hill to expand the state’s bottle redemption law to include water: just ban […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Deval Patrick to Cory Booker: I got this
Who ya gonna call when the young’uns can’t get the job done? Gov. Deval Patrick. Newark Mayor Cory Booker, he of the political twitterati and recent fun-filled “I got this” […]
Posted inTransportation
Hurdles face ferry transfer plan
In addition to a cool reaction from a top Patrick administration official, a key aspect of the House’s plan to rescue the MBTA from its fiscal crisis is getting a […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Taking on Boston’s fun police (and the mayor)
Skim over most of today’s Herald story on the launch of the Future Boston Alliance, a new non-profit geared toward loosening the city’s regulations and making Boston a more lively, […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Download
Mass. energy innovation is heard loud and clear
Massachusetts is living up to its reputation as a center of clean energy innovation and entrepreneurship, but it’s also showing that in the zeal to go green there’s a danger […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Convention center chess
The House rolled out a major economic development package this week, but one key proposal that has been kicking around Beacon Hill for two-and-a-half years was noticeably absent – the […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, The Download
The Big Lug is in trouble
It’s the ninth inning, bases loaded, no outs, and the Big Lug (aka Curt Schilling) is on the mound, trying to keep the dreams of his video game company alive. […]