US REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY endorsed City Councilor Michelle Wu in the Boston mayor’s race, giving her campaign a high-profile progressive boost with just over a month to go before the November 2 election. In a statement released Friday morning, Pressley, a former city council colleague, called Wu a “partner in the fight for equity and […]
Ayanna Pressley
Posted inCriminal Justice
Pressley goes ginormous on criminal justice reform
CONGRESSWOMAN AYANNA PRESSLEY released a plan to reform the criminal legal system that she’s calling “bold and progressive,” dubbing it the “People’s Justice Guarantee.” The wide-ranging resolution calls for reducing jail and prison populations, ending solitary confinement, a cap on prison sentences for all crimes, expanding mental and substance abuse treatment, improving reentry services, prohibiting […]
Posted inThe Download
Pressley goes ginormous on criminal justice reform
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley released a plan to reform the criminal legal system that she’s calling “bold and progressive,” dubbing it the “People’s Justice Guarantee.” The wide-ranging resolution calls for reducing jail and prison populations, ending solitary confinement, a cap on prison sentences for all crimes, expanding mental and substance abuse treatment, improving reentry services, prohibiting […]
Posted inPolitics
Kennedy vs. Markey is no Pressley vs. Capuano
ON SATURDAY, Rep. Joe Kennedy formally announced his campaign to challenge Sen. Ed Markey in next year’s Democratic primary. Rumors of a Kennedy run have been swirling since earlier this summer, and with them comparisons to Ayanna Pressley’s successful 2018 primary bid against Mike Capuano. While both Pressley and Kennedy represent a generational shift, the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Trump reverses course on immigrant medical program
IN AN ABRUPT about-face, the Trump administration is reversing course on the recent declaration that it was ending a policy that allows seriously ill immigrants to remain in the country legally to receive medical treatment. The protected status, called “medical deferred action,” was eliminated on August 7 when the US Customs and Immigration Services agency began […]
Posted inPolitics
MassGOP rips Reps. Omar and Tlaib
THE MASSACHUSETTS REPUBLICAN PARTY took aim at the only two Muslim women in Congress, officially condemning Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib for alleged anti-Semitism in a resolution that passed overwhelmingly Tuesday night, according to one of its sponsors. The resolution was inspired by a similar resolution passed by the Alabama Republican party, according to […]
Posted inPolitics
For Joe Kennedy, the urgency of now
LET THE WORD go forth that Joe Kennedy is likely to cap several weeks of fevered speculation with an announcement that he’s ready for the torch to be passed to a new generation. But are Massachusetts voters ready? And what, exactly, will be the argument for doing so? The 38-year-old congressman has turned the slow-news […]
Posted inPolitics
Mass. Republican elected leaders decry Trump’s remarks
THE BAY STATE’S three most powerful elected Republicans have now each criticized President Trump to varying degrees for his recent racist exhortations, but other top members of the president’s party from Massachusetts would rather ignore it. House Minority Leader Brad Jones and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr on Tuesday both joined Gov. Charlie Baker in […]
Posted inThe Download
Michael Cohen in the spotlight
One of the most dramatic episodes in the entire saga of criminality surrounding President Donald Trump played out before a rapt audience on Wednesday as Michael Cohen described his former boss as a racist, cheat, and conman. Cohen didn’t provide much in the way of revelations, but as a one-time confidant of Trump he did […]
Posted inPolitics
Mass. lawmakers, businesses step up for furloughed federal workers
WHILE WASHINGTON and the Trump administration continue their disastrous handling of the federal government’s partial shutdown, legislators, municipalities, and businesses across the Commonwealth are searching for short-term solutions to the financial plight of the impacted workers. As we enter day 35, many of the 47,000 federal employees living in Massachusetts are feeling the strain. Gov. […]