Jimmy Carter had brother Billy. Barack Obama has Uncle Omar. Carter’s headline-grabbing younger brother produced countless headaches for the White House as his elder brother fought for reelection in 1980. […]
How do you solve a problem like Uncle Omar?
Posted inEnvironment, Transportation
State, local officials prep for ethanol trains
Most of the ethanol that is mixed with gasoline in Massachusetts enters the state by ship or fuel truck, but that will change next year when Global Petroleum Corp. begins […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Feudin’ Republicans
The weeks leading up to Labor Day are slow ones on the presidential campaign trail. Real news is scarce, with candidates spending most of their time cozying up to well-heeled […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Blown out of proportion
With the benefit of hindsight, today’s Boston Globe headline gets it about right: “Tired Irene Slaps N.E.” That put a pithy — and accurate — coda on the killer-Hurricane-turned-whimpy-tropical-storm that […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Here comes Irene
Mother nature is pumping some life into the usually sleepy August news cycle. Earlier this week, an earthquake shook the East Coast and dominated front pages. But there’s nothing like […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Hurricane reading list
Stuck inside this weekend? Here’s some reading to get you through the hurricane and up to speed on Massachusetts policy and politics. CASINOS Beacon Hill leaders have written legislation that […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
CrazyKhazei like a fox?
CrazyKhazei has been outed and he’s none other than Eric Fehrnstrom, one of the architects of Sen. Scott Brown’s stunning victory last year and a key adviser to Mitt Romney’s […]
Posted inUncategorized
Psychologist withdraws SJC appeal on license
A female psychologist who had sex with a former patient is withdrawing her court appeal seeking the return of her license. Brookline psychologist Mary O’Neill acknowledged having a sexual relationship […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Back Story
Gambling bill could end up in court
The last time casino gambling legislation looked like a sure thing in Massachusetts, the gambling push devolved into back-biting and chest-thumping among the state’s top political leaders. That’s unlikely this […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Is Massachusetts ready for the Big One?
Will the aftershocks from yesterday’s 5.8 Virginia earthquake that rumbled through the Northeast Corridor get people thinking more seriously about natural disasters as more than comic fodder for bloggers and […]
Posted inTransportation
T’s salary structure has little flexibility
The choice of Jonathan Davis as the T’s interim general manager makes sense, but it demonstrates again how much of a straitjacket the transit authority’s pay structure is.Davis, the T’s […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Herald having difficulty covering itself
It’s a good thing we’re a two-newspaper town — especially when one of those two papers is the subject of a very public libel lawsuit. The Herald reports today that […]
Posted inEconomy
Have you noticed a change in downtown Boston?
In five months on the job, the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District says it has hauled away 32,000 pounds of trash and removed 1,500 graffiti sites. It has organized art […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Warren picks the medium for her message
As part of her exploratory moves towards announcing a Senate bid, Elizabeth Warren has been avoiding the press. Her statewide listening tour among potential supporters has been reported only by […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Uncategorized
Menino breaking even on golf courses
Kudos to the Menino administration for significantly narrowing the losses associated with operating Boston’s two municipal golf courses. Tax records indicate the Fund for Parks and Recreation, a nonprofit arm […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, The Download
Evergreen Solar, R.I.P.
The editorial obituaries for Evergreen Solar, which filed for bankruptcy protection this week, varied depending on the politics of the newspaper. The Boston Herald said the bankruptcy means the state’s […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download, Transportation
Crowd control in the Facebook era
The shooting of a homeless man by San Francisco transit police prompted reactions that have propelled Bay Area Rapid Transit into the history books. Last week, BART’s spokesman, (who apparently […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
UMass chief calls debt ‘untenable’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEThe growing cost of covering debt is crowding out the ability of the University of Massachusetts’s five campuses to invest in faculty, staff and other projects and […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
The truth about Portnoy’s complaints
You have crossed the line of tastelessness when even Howard Stern, who has made a fortune personifying tastelessness, says you’ve crossed the line. That’s what happened yesterday to Barstool Sports […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Elizabeth Warren in my living room
Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren, who now looks likely to join the Democratic field of contenders for the US Senate seat held by Republican Scott Brown, began touring the state […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Texas jobs governor?
Numbers are tricky monsters, especially in politics, where the only truth is that everything is up for debate. So it is that Texas Gov. Rick Perry can run for president […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
They have their exits and their entrances
T-Paw is gone and Rick Perry is the man. Oh yeah, and the lady from Minnesota is popular with party die-hards in Iowa, but don’t take her too seriously. The […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, Opinion, Transportation
Gas tax debate takes new turn
Aloisi suggests links between gas tax increase and T fare hike By James Aloisi Ronald Reagan used to say that political campaigns are won by those who make their case […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Warren teases some more
Elizabeth Warren whipped the Massachusetts political world into a frenzy yesterday with a post on Blue Mass Group. She didn’t announce her candidacy for the US Senate, but her “Coming […]