FOR THOSE WHO REMEMBER Boston television news in the pre-cable days, Jack Hynes was a powerful media presence for decades. He anchored the news with a gravitas that made you […]
Elections
Posted inThe Download
What does Ayanna Pressley know that we don’t?
This being Super Bowl week, pigskin-related analogies are everywhere. In that vein, we’re focused on the special teams warning about outkicking the coverage. That’s where a punter or kicker sends […]
Posted inOpinion
Baby boomers need to let go
ALMOST A DECADE AGO, a small group of civic leaders in business, government, labor, and academia decided to organize an intimate retreat, a mini Aspen or Renaissance weekend, called the […]
Posted inPolitics
Crighton only name on ballot for Senate seat
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN, but Rep. Brendan Crighton of Lynn is poised to become the newest senator on the North Shore. Crighton will walk uncontested on the […]
Posted inThe Download
On sexual assault, a partisan divide
It is widely anticipated that Minnesota Sen. Al Franken will announce his resignation today, as the number of cases of alleged sexual misconduct against him grows. If the one-time Saturday […]
Posted inThe Back Story
An exercise in democracy or a crapshoot?
THE DEMOCRATIC CONTEST to succeed retiring US Rep. Niki Tsongas is shaping up to be a wild scramble, with 12 candidates in the race as of this week. On the […]
Posted inOpinion
Shift to women on Boston City Council is astounding
THERE’S BEEN MUCH BUZZ around Boston since last week’s election which resulted in the historic victories of two additional women of color to the Boston City Council. Councilors-elect Lydia Edwards […]
Posted inPolitics
Lowell’s single-issue election
ELECTIONS, as they say, have consequences. This is certainly the case in Lowell, where voters on Tuesday delivered a stunning rebuke to their elected officials and their decision to relocate […]
Posted inThe Download
For women, news seems good and bad
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Overused as they are, it seems hard to avoid the sense that the famed first lines describing the […]
Posted inThe Download
A new start in Framingham, old faces elsewhere
If you’re starting with a fresh form of government, you might as well have a fresh face. At least that’s what Framingham voters thought after giving a convincing win to […]
Posted inPolitics
Brockton candidate already a winner
WITH MAYORAL RACES in the gun lap around the state, most eyes are on what’s happening in Boston and then maybe on Lawrence and Framingham or Newton. But little attention […]
Posted inThe Download
Walsh plays it cute in council contest
It’s less than a week until Boston’s municipal election, which means we’re officially in the silly season phase. This stage of the race is the one in which we’re reminded […]
Posted inThe Download
Worcester power couple unplugged
Michael and Coreen Gaffney, the aspiring power couple of Worcester politics, pulled out of their races for City Council to pursue an “opportunity” they declined to talk about because “the […]
Posted inPolitics
Democracy isn’t working in Massachusetts
ON SEPTEMBER 15, 1998, David Nangle, then a State House aide, was effectively elected to the Massachusetts Legislature even though 76 percent of the voters in the district where he […]
Posted inThe Download
It’s good to be king
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, in a speech before the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Wednesday morning, announced plans for a long-delayed memorial to the late Dr. Martin Luther King. Details […]
Posted inThe Download
Perchance to dream
College campuses are anxiously waiting for President Trump’s decision on whether to dismantle or even substantially change the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. DACA was an executive order from then-President […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Rep joins unenrolled in-crowd
Rep. Susannah Whipps joined the political in-crowd this week, switching her party registration from Republican to unenrolled. Statewide, unenrolled voters – those not affiliated with any political party – are taking over. They […]
Posted inThe Download
How many white supremacists at rally?
An estimated 40,000 people turned out on Saturday to say no to hate, racism, and neo-Nazis, but it remains unclear how many of the 50 people at the free speech […]
Posted inThe Download
Catching up with inaccuracy
In an editorial on Thursday, the Metrowest Daily News unloaded on President Trump for his embarrassing stance on climate change, which the newspaper said prompted scientists to leak a draft […]
Posted inPolitics
Tsongas not seeking reelection
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE US REP. NIKI TSONGAS, who has served in Congress since 2007, will not seek reelection in 2018. Tsongas, who is the widow of the late Sen. […]
Posted inThe Download
4 takeaways from sales tax moves
You could actually see an industry in transition on Wednesday. Amazon held a giant job fair at nearly a dozen of its US warehouses, including the one in Fall River, […]
Posted inThe Download
Here’s the Diehl
Geoff Diehl made it official last night by formally announcing his Republican run against US Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Somebody pass Charlie Baker the antacids. The Whitman state rep mixed his […]
Posted inThe Download
On to the next ballot questions
Now that last year’s final ballot-approved law is in place (Gov. Charlie Baker signed the legislatively amended marijuana bill into law on Friday), Beacon Hill is gearing up for the […]
Posted inThe Download
McCain goes maverick-y
In the end, John McCain, whose career has been marked by periods of both swashbuckling independence and fall-in-line toeing-the-Republican party line, chose the former for what may go down as […]
