A TOP LEGISLATIVE budget writer on Tuesday accused Gov. Charlie Baker of violating state law with his plan to immediately spend $186 million of federal recovery money on health care […]
Economy
Posted inOpinion
Conventions, conferences could be key to Boston’s recovery
THE PUBLIC HEALTH crisis of COVID, an economic downturn, and a racial reckoning in America have stimulated pledges and bold initiatives to create a new normal that meets how inclusive […]
Posted inEconomy
‘Future of Work’ report highlights job training, housing needs
SOME 300,000 TO 400,000 people will need to transition to new jobs or industries in Massachusetts over the next decade, and the state will need to produce 200,000 new housing […]
Posted inOpinion
A recipe for fixing the restaurant industry
WE’RE HEARING cheers of people saying the world is finally back to normal, that we can go back to living our lives the way we did before the pandemic. I […]
Posted inEconomy
Mass Reboot: Home
THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic has often served as a magnifying glass, accentuating and amplifying existing trends in our society. With housing, for example, COVID-19 showed us what we already suspected – […]
Posted inEconomy
Brockton looks to jump-start economy with free weekend bus service
IN LATE MAY, Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan, whose city has been hit hard by the COVID pandemic, launched an effort to aid the reopening as restrictions were lifted and businesses […]
Posted inEconomy
Two-month sales tax holiday may not make economic sense
THE DEBATE OVER Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposed two-month sales tax holiday has turned into a partisan, interest-driven dispute. Baker, a Republican who has not yet announced whether he will run […]
Posted inEconomy
Is Chelsea Eats nearing an end, or a beginning?
CHELSEA CITY MANAGER Tom Ambrosino started handing out cash to residents last year as a way to address hunger in his community, but now he thinks the program’s initial success […]
Posted inEconomy
Senate votes to extend some COVID orders
WHILE THE PANDEMIC-related health emergency may be winding down, it will take time for society to return to a fully normal state. Lawmakers are now grappling with which aspects of […]
Posted inEconomy
Pandemic changes Fair Share debate
WHEN A COALITION of labor, clergy, and liberal organizing groups first proposed raising the tax rate on income over $1 million, the year was 2015. The income tax rate was 5.15 […]
Posted inEconomy
Lobbying firm, Brayton Point near settlement
A MESSY LEGAL dispute between the state’s top lobbying firm and the St. Louis company that bought and razed the coal-fired power plant at Brayton Point in Somerset appears to […]
Posted inEconomy
Are feds sending too much money to states?
NO ONE HAS ever been inclined to give back free money handed to them by the federal government, so don’t look for Massachusetts state officials to start now, but the […]
Posted inEconomy
Baker pressed on Holyoke Soldiers’ Home labor agreement
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is eager to sign a bill on his desk providing $400 million for the construction of a new Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, but first he has to make […]
Posted inEconomy, Health Care
Baker suggests he may lift emergency COVID order August 1
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER suggested for the first time Monday that he may lift the COVID-19 state of emergency at the same time as he allows businesses to fully reopen, which is now scheduled for August 1. Baker […]
Posted inEconomy
Ed Glaeser considers the post-pandemic challenges facing cities
HARVARD ECONOMICS PROFESSOR Ed Glaeser is one of the leading authorities on the role of cities in modern life — and throughout human history. His 2011 book The Triumph of […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Healey sues global advertising firm for marketing addictive opioids
ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY, who has been one of the country’s strongest legal crusaders against opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma, has now filed a lawsuit against marketing firm Publicis Health for […]
Posted inEconomy
Deep tech: The next frontier of the Mass. innovation ecosystem
IN THE RACE to get “shots into arms,” vaccine producers are literally trying to squeeze out more RNA from the manufacturing process. Enter Ginkgo Bioworks, Boston’s biotechnology giant, whose technology […]
Posted inEconomy
Massachusetts will fully reopen on August 1
MASSACHUSETTS WILL LIFT its outdoor mask mandate this Friday and will plan to be fully reopened by August 1, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday. And with summer coming, residents can finally […]
Posted inEconomy
SJC upholds ban on car-sharing service Turo at Logan Airport
THE CAR-SHARING platform Turo will continue to be banned from listing cars for rent at Logan Airport, under a Supreme Judicial Court decision released Wednesday. Turo is a private company that […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Why tax forecasts during COVID have been so wrong
ONE OF THE GREAT PUZZLES of the past year is that the world was devastated by a plague and Massachusetts tax revenues were…pretty much OK. Month after month, the state […]
Posted inEconomy
Union requirement would be setback for new Holyoke Soldiers’ Home
A LAST-MINUTE AMENDMENT requiring that construction unions be the “sole and exclusive” source of job site labor for construction of a new Holyoke Soldiers’ Home throws a wrench in the […]
Posted inEconomy
Moderna, Massachusetts, and durable US foreign policy
PRESIDENT TRUMP PULLED America from the global stage in pursuit of isolationist foreign policy. The fight against the pandemic provides an opening for President Biden to not only restore alliances but […]
Posted inEconomy
Lawmakers find common ground on unemployment insurance bill
TIME-SENSITIVE LEGISLATION aimed at stabilizing the state’s unemployment system, providing targeted tax relief to employers and workers, and creating a COVID-19 emergency sick leave program requires one final vote in […]
Posted inEconomy
What it costs to be the Patriots’ ‘official’ airport
T.F. GREEN AIRPORT in Rhode Island competes against its much bigger rival to the north in Boston using all sorts of promotions, with some interesting terms and conditions. For example, […]