The first of two takes on the new book by the state’s governor and his former chief of staff. Here is the second, a look at the Baker playbook from Bob Massie, a former Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor and candidate for governor. IT IS QUITE rare for a governor to write a book while […]
Charlie Baker
Posted inThe Download
Climate change brain drain in Baker administration
Gov. Charlie Baker lost another key aide on the climate change front, as Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides said she is leaving the administration next week. Theoharides has been an emerging star in the Baker administration, the face of its efforts to build out the offshore wind industry and address climate change. She […]
Posted inTransportation
W. Mass. showing clout on East-West rail
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS, with the help of US Rep. Richard Neal, is starting to flex some muscle on the region’s holy grail of transportation — East-West rail. At a meeting in Springfield on Tuesday, officials from western Massachusetts secured Gov. Charlie Baker’s support for a long-sought rail connection running from Pittsfield to Springfield to Worcester, where […]
Posted inTransportation
Neal, Baker strike deal on East-West rail
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FEDERAL AND STATE officials on Tuesday agreed on a path forward to extend passenger rail service west of Worcester to the cities of Springfield and Pittsfield, an effort designed to finally connect the eastern and western parts of the state by rail. Speaking with reporters after a meeting at Springfield’s Union […]
Posted inEconomy
Climate, downtowns, housing focus of Baker spending bill
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday filed a $3.5 billion economic development bill that focuses on climate-related projects, downtown revitalization, and housing. The bill is chock-full of specific local projects, a strategy likely aimed at getting the support of individual lawmakers – and getting municipal officials to lobby their lawmakers to pass it. The bill relies […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
William Allen granted parole after 28 years in jail
THE PAROLD BOARD on Wednesday granted parole to William Allen, one of two men to have his first-degree murder sentence commuted by Gov. Charlie Baker earlier this year. After spending 28 years in jail, this is the final procedural step that will let Allen go free. “The board is of the opinion that Mr. Allen […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker administration offers UI overpayment relief
THE STATE’S DEPARTMENT of Unemployment Assistance will be in touch with Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Unemployment Insurance claimants in the coming days to detail state and federal relief options that the Baker administration said Thursday would resolve about $1.6 billion or roughly 71 percent of overpayments. There are about 353,000 outstanding cases of workers who […]
Posted inOpinion
Why we need to reorient our health care system
The following is the testimony Gov. Charlie Baker delivered before the Legislature’s Committee on Health Care Financing on Monday. FOR THE PAST 50 years, the US health care system has been focused primarily on promoting and supporting the technological advancement of medicine. That focus has cured disease, enhanced therapies, and saved lives. But as that focus – […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker chief of staff Lepore leaving administration
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER will say goodbye to his longtime chief of staff Kristen Lepore next month as she plans to depart the administration with just more than eight months left on the governor’s term, leaving Baker’s hefty final-year agenda in the hands of another close confidant. Lepore, who has been a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Probate judge resigns in wake of SJC suspension
PROBATE AND FAMILY Court Judge Paul Sushchyk resigned on Monday, five days after the Supreme Judicial Court suspended him without pay for groping a court employee and lying about it. Sushchyk’s decision to resign eliminates the need for what could have been a drawn-out process of having the Legislature move forward with an impeachment trial […]