The retailers argued that the 2021 Brookline bylaw was pre-empted by a state law approved in 2018 that raised the minimum age for purchasing a tobacco product from 18 to 21. The retailers pointed out that the Brookline bylaw effectively means someone born after January 1, 2000 will not be able to purchase a tobacco product regardless of their age.
SJC upholds Brookline’s phased tobacco ban
Posted inPolitics
Political notebook: ‘Java with Jimmy’ now Uber mouthpiece…Point person Peisch…Murphy’s law quest…Cain for Senate
‘Java with Jimmy’ now an Uber cheerleader Jimmy Hills, host of the online show “Java with Jimmy,” sits somewhere between a journalist and a talk show host. His episodes feature […]
Posted inHousing
Milton Planning Board eyes two zoning plans
Town officials haven’t said how they will deal with the attorney general’s lawsuit, but the debate at the Planning Board meeting suggested the town will seek to be reclassified as an adjacent community rather than a rapid transit community and in the meantime develop zoning plans to comply with both contingencies.
Posted inOpinion
Why we need more Parole Board members
The Massachusetts Parole Board, already stretched beyond its capacity to handle cases in a timely fashion, will soon have more because of a recent landmark Supreme Judicial Court ruling.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Healey faces heat over proposed reentry cuts
Being governor in times of plenty comes with the ability to make lots of people happy. When the revenue picture turns grim, Healey is learning, the mood quickly shifts.
Posted inHealth
Worcester Board of Health backs safe injection site
In the centers, individuals can use pre-acquired drugs free of legal consequences under the supervision of medical professionals who could intervene to prevent an overdose from turning fatal.
Posted inCourts
SJC asks, do you have to put down a dying dog?
The state animal cruelty statute, among other things, criminalizes an owner or person caring for an animal who unnecessarily fails to “provide it with proper food, drink, shelter, sanitary environment … or knowingly and willfully authorizes or permits it to be subjected to unnecessary torture, suffering, or cruelty of any kind.”
Posted inMedia
WBUR, once flush, is warning of tight times ahead
We’ve seen a dramatic loss of sponsorship support. In the digital age, almost all that money now goes to the big platforms — like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Spotify. This is bad news for the news business and has created big gaps that can’t easily be filled. In the last five years, our annual on-air sponsorship income (underwriting) has dropped by more than 40 percent — nearly $7 million.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Controversial gang database credited in big federal bust
The Boston Police Department’s controversial gang database has faced widespread criticism for improperly profiling young Black and Hispanic males, but Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said it played a crucial role in the recent federal bust of more than 40 people allegedly connected to a violent street gang.
Posted inOpinion
Sunshine Week casts light on Beacon Hill’s democratic decline
During this Sunshine Week, when good governance advocates highlight the importance of public records and government transparency, there just might be a break in the usual clouds hanging over Beacon Hill.
Posted inHousing
Emergency shelter system morphing into something new
Gov. Maura Healey placed a cap on shelter families. Now the House is proposing time limits on stays in the shelter system.
Posted inEnergy
Solar changing the way the power grid works
For decades, demand for power from the grid has grown during the afternoon and early evening and then tapered off overnight as people go to sleep. But increasingly, on more and more days, demand for power from the grid is higher at night than it is during the day.
Posted inOpinion
Community colleges are not Harvard — and that’s a good thing
Even traditional liberals are beginning to wonder whether progressive ideology, or “wokeness,” on college campuses has gone too far, and become its own form of discrimination and free speech suppression.
Posted inEducation
A grilling for those looking to scrap MCAS graduation test
Two decades after the state began requiring students to pass the 10th grade MCAS exam to graduate from high school, the well-formed battle lines pitting supporters against opponents of the high-stakes test show little sign of fraying, with the prospects of a high-profile ballot showdown now looming over the debate.
Posted inEnergy
National Grid says Biden-backed transmission line ‘not viable’
The Twin States Clean Energy Link was considered a novel transmission line because it sought to transmit electricity in both directions – energy going from New England to Quebec when the region had a surplus and electricity flowing to New England when Quebec had a surplus.
Posted inTransportation
Eng says MBTA ridership will bounce back as service improves
Eng is focused on service improvement, aggressively ramping up hiring and moving to eliminate slow zones on all of the subway lines by the end of this year.
Posted inThe Codcast
Eng predicts MBTA ridership will bounce back after service improves
This week on The Codcast, MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng talks to CommonWealth Beacon’s Bruce Mohl about his first year running the T, why he’s optimistic about bringing riders back, and where things stand with train car manufacturer CRRC.
Posted inState Government
Lawmakers trying something new with ballot questions
House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka announced the new approach at the end of January and the first hearing – on a question seeking to abolish the MCAS graduation requirement – is scheduled for Monday.
Posted inOpinion
Mass. on wrong track with child protection policy
In 2021, Massachusetts took children from their families at a rate 70 percent above the national average, when rates of child poverty are factored in.