One in a series looking at newly-elected mayors across the Commonwealth. GLOUCESTER MAYOR Greg Verga was sworn into office on New Year’s Day promising to reset the tone in City Hall after […]
Government
Posted inPolitics
With new vax rules, Wu shows her regional stripesÂ
WHEN MAYOR MICHELLE WU convened a press conference on Monday to announce a new vaccine mandate for Boston restaurants and other indoor locations it looked more like a mini gathering […]
Posted inUncategorized
Massachusetts distributes 80 percent of money for foster kids
MASSACHUSETTS HAS DISTRIBUTED about 80 percent of the $7.9 million it was given by the federal government to help current and former foster children during the pandemic, and it has a little over […]
Posted inTransportation
Wu proposes expanded free MBTA bus service
BOSTON MAYOR MICHELLE WU, who has faced a steady stream of doubters wondering how she would make good on a campaign vow to bring about fare-free MBTA service, used her […]
Posted inPolitics
Marking historic firsts, Wu sworn in as Boston mayor
REACHING BACK TO Boston’s revolutionary roots, Michelle Wu took office on Tuesday as the city’s new mayor, saying bold action that challenges the status quo is at the heart of […]
Posted inTransportation
Strange bedfellows on fed infrastructure bill
THEY SAY politics can make strange bedfellows, and the vote over the weekend on President Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill was no exception. The bill passed 228-206 with the help […]
Posted inPolitics
Wu wins in a romp
MICHELLE WU, the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants who promised Boston residents bold change and an inclusive city government, rode a progressive wave to a resounding victory in the race for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Boxborough board seeks FBI investigation
 THE BOXBOROUGH Select Board did something earlier this week you don’t see happen very often. It voted 3-2 to have the acting town manager ask the FBI’s public corruption unit […]
Posted inOpinion
ARPA funds can help young adults transitioning out of foster care
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has put stress on all of us, and some of us, including young adults transitioning out of foster care, were already living under incredibly trying conditions. Eighteen-year […]
Posted inEducation
Lawmakers pressed to approve school building money
NORTHEAST METRO TECH, a vocational high school in Wakefield, is in dire need of replacement, according to Superintendent David DiBarri. The school has sought money from the Massachusetts School Building […]
Posted inEconomy
ARPA funds open the door for major investment in housing
IN 2018, Gov. Baker attended the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC) convention, at which MACDC’s executive director, Joe Kriesberg, presented the governor with Richard Rothstein’s book, The Color […]
Posted inPolitics
Where the pandemic buck stops
AS MASSACHUSETTS simultaneously looks to make its way past the worst of the pandemic while also adjusting to the new curve balls being thrown by the surging Delta variant, it […]
Posted inUncategorized
State scrambles to get federal money to former foster youthÂ
FOR A YOUNG ADULT who has aged out of the foster care system, $3,200 can mean the ability to put a deposit on an apartment, purchase car insurance, or buy […]
Posted inEconomy
On gig economy ballot question, both sides are brawl-in
THERE WILL BE plenty of time for battling over the substance of the looming ballot question on gig workers. For now, the two sides are getting warmed up by hurling […]
Posted inUncategorized
Massachusetts population shifts toward cities
THE MASSACHUSETTS POPULATION has continued to migrate from the more rural western parts of the state to the dense Boston region over the last decade, according to new data released […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Report rips Boston police handling of Rose case
A CITY-COMMISSIONED REPORT into the case involving former Boston police officer Patrick Rose, who was charged with child sexual abuse in the mid 1990s but nonetheless remained on the force […]
Posted inEconomy
The quiet fortitude of Bob Moses
POLITICIANS OF VARIOUS STRIPES have for years declared education to be the civil rights issues of our time. Bob Moses, perhaps uniquely, could make the case with the authenticity of […]
Posted inUncategorized
With federal aid, small towns keep it simple
This is the first in a three-part series on how municipalities are spending ARPA money. WHEN MICHELE GIARUSSO, Â the municipal assistant in the small town of Leyden, read the rules […]
Posted inEconomy
Legislative budget writer says Baker ignored law in spending plan
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
REAP is good role model for federal action
AS THE SENATE’S $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan advances, one approach to paying for the bill could be stepped up enforcement of federal tax collections. Just this Sunday during a […]
Posted inGambling
Vaccinations slow despite Vax Giveaway
DESPITE THE LURE of millions of dollars in prize money with the Massachusetts Vax Millions Giveaway, the number of people getting vaccinated against COVID-19 in Massachusetts keeps dropping. In the […]
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
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
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 […]