This week on The Codcast, two experts dive into what’s behind the surge in momentum for government regulation of social media use by minors.
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Posted inThe Codcast
The grassroots campaign that changed health care
On the latest episode of The Codcast’s Health or Consequences, Paul Hattis interviews his normal co-host John McDonough and Cheri Andes about their work 20 years ago to secure passage of a landmark health care reform law.
Posted inEducation
Worcester pilot program provides early childhood educators with rent-free space to start their businesses
The Family Childcare Success Project, formed in partnership by the Guild of St. Agnes and the Seven Hills Foundation, launched a new family child care incubator — only the third of its kind in the nation — meant to provide more child care slots while making it easier for early educators to get their start.
Posted inOpinion
We’re ready to help craft a 25-year vision for the MBTA
We need a long-term vision and plan for a transit system that enables all of us to fulfill our essential needs — easy and affordable access to jobs, opportunities, and resources. Now is the time to start advocating for this.
Posted inCourts
DiZoglio-Campbell feud hurtles toward Supreme Judicial Court
Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s scorched-earth reply to outreach from Attorney General Andrea Campbell made clear that she sees court as the only venue to resolve her stalled legislative audit. Her team will soon get a chance to pitch the state’s top justices.
Posted inThe Codcast
What it means that a state ‘AI assistant’ will handle your data
This week on The Codcast, we dig into the new partnership between Massachusetts and OpenAI to roll out an AI assistant to help with daily governmental tasks. CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith is joined by Technology Secretary Jason Snyder, who says his goals include “democratizing innovation” and helping streamline bureaucratic systems like the DMV. Snyder discusses the contract with OpenAI, concerns around data privacy and bias in AI systems, and explains why the state is leaning so hard into AI adoption.
Posted inOpinion
A new vision for career and technical education in Massachusetts
Rethinking the structure and funding for career and technical education would not only open doors for more young people, but it would also help address the growing challenge the state faces in meeting the high demand for skilled workers.
Posted inBallot Questions
Massachusetts ranks low in spending for land conservation. This ballot initiative is trying to change that.
Nature for Massachusetts – a coalition of nearly 70 nonprofits and a few private companies – is pushing for the Commonwealth to create a dedicated fund to purchase land for conservation, outdoor recreation, and water quality improvement. The group’s original goal was to pass this policy, which would be funded by the sales tax the state accrues from the sale of sporting goods, through the Legislature, but the House and Senate versions of the bills failed to gain traction.
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Our Brothers Keepers
Our Brothers’ Keepers Search and Destroy: African-American Males in the Criminal Justice System By Jerome Miller Cambridge University Press, 1996, 304 pages, $24.95 Violence: Our Deadly Epidemic and Its Causes […]
Posted inUncategorized
Looking Back at emThe Man in the Gray Flannel Suitem
Occasionally, a work has a title that takes on a meaning that outruns the work’s actual content. Often, the added meaning is merely a plausible variation of the original. Sometimes […]
Posted inUncategorized
Two More Towns Scuttle Town Meeting
Seldom does one hear the argument that since the state legislature doesn’t work very well, we should do away with it. Seldom does a city saddled with a clownish city […]
Posted inUncategorized
Reading 300 Years of Minutes
PLYMOUTH–Laurence Pizer, town clerk, wears the look of a man who has just been interrupted from a good book and has noticed suddenly the glare of bright sunlight. Behind his […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Anita Walker betting culture is good for your health
With a portion of the state’s casino revenues, the Massachusetts Cultural Council is testing whether arts and culture can be prescribed just like medicine. The organization is running three pilot […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Markey-Kennedy race in the homestretch
NEARLY EVERYONE AGREES that when Joe Kennedy launched his primary challenge nearly a year ago to Sen. Ed Markey, the son of the state’s most storied political family looked like […]
