Practice what I preach, not what I do. That’s the only takeaway message one can glean from what have now become daily televised briefings by President Trump from the White […]
Government
Posted inUncategorized
Holyoke’s Alex Morse adapts to the curveballs
First in a series about mayors across Massachusetts and how they’re contending with the COVID-19 pandemic. DON’T ASK HOLYOKE MAYOR Alex Morse about his typical day right now – there […]
Posted inOpinion
Healey UI attacks on Baker misplaced
As noted by Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi, Attorney General Maura Healey disapproves of the way the Baker administration is handling the spike in demand for unemployment insurance that’s coming […]
Posted inEconomy
An economy put in a ‘medically-induced coma’
THE ECONOMIC CONVULSIONS from the coronavirus pandemic are unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. We’re not being blindsided by an unwelcome economic downturn; we have decided to set one in motion. […]
Posted inOpinion
Should the public buy Columbia Gas?
THE RECENTLY PROPOSED $1.1 billion sale of Columbia Gas to Eversource provides an important opportunity to consider how we, the people of Massachusetts, want our public utilities to be governed […]
Posted inUncategorized
Galvin nervous on Census count
SECRETARY OF STATE William Galvin said on Thursday that the sudden evacuation of college campuses due to the coronavirus and the wariness of immigrants to answer US Census questions could […]
Posted inUncategorized
Arroyo: Racism is public health crisis in Boston
RACE HAS LONG CREATED a divide between what should be and what is. In Boston, that has translated into a struggle to achieve racial parity in exam schools. It has […]
Posted inPolitics
Beacon Hill’s secretive committee voting process
IT TOOK A couple days of calling, but the House Ways and Means Committee eventually disclosed how committee members voted last week on a major transportation bill containing hefty tax […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Markey has been there for TSA workers
DURING THE GOVERNMENT shutdown of December 2018, as politicians in Washington sparred over border security funding, TSA workers in Massachusetts went weeks without a paycheck. Our officers were unjustly treated […]
Posted inBallot Questions
New Tufts center to offer independent analysis of legislation, ballot questions
AFTER YEARS OF inaction on Beacon Hill on proposals to create an agency to bring the sort of independent assessment of state legislation that the Congressional Budget Office provides at […]
Posted inPolitics
Haverhill may scrap all at-large city council
IN LOWELL, it took a federal lawsuit to bring a recent change to the structure of city government, which advocates said locked minority groups out of representation in city hall. […]
Posted inEducation
Can ‘pay for success’ boost post-secondary outcomes?
FOR THOSE EAGER to see the student achievement gap closed, it was great news when Gov. Charlie Baker recently signed legislation calling for a $1.5 billion increase in K-12 education […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
The folly of Baker’s drug price control plan
WHEN THE Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) selected Charlie Baker as Governor of the Year in 2018, the group may have misjudged Baker’s understanding of the industry. Baker recently offered legislation that […]
Posted inEconomy
Trump move threatens Mass. maritime economy
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION is trying to circumvent an almost century-old law that protects our national security, creates well-paying, blue-collar jobs, and ensures safe working conditions for merchant mariners. This is […]
Posted inUncategorized
Impeachment headed for crucible of Senate
NOW WHAT? By a margin of just over 30 votes, the US House impeached President Trump last night. For those hoping to hold the Republican president accountable for alleged abuse […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Impeachment fundamentally about preserving voting rights
A UNITED STATES attorney general once said: “From a civil liberties standpoint, the greatest danger to our free system is that the incumbent government use the apparatus of the state… […]
Posted inEconomy
Income tax rate returning to 1985 level
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER says the state’s individual income tax rate will drop to 5 percent at the beginning of next year, ending a two-decades-long march back to the level it was at in 1985. The income tax […]
Posted inPolitics
Riding high on 1-vote win for City Council
JULIA MEJIA WASN’T “virtue signaling” or making any other big statement as she stepped on a Red Line car Wednesday morning at Ashmont Station. As is the case for thousands […]
Posted inUncategorized
Is Milton the canary in the recycling line?
The cost of Milton’s contracts to pick up and dispose of trash, recycling materials, and yard waste this year went up almost $820,000, or about 32 percent. At a special […]
Posted inPolitics
In Mass., white pols dominate state and local politics
THE PREDOMINANCE OF white male politicians in positions of power in Massachusetts may be a symptom of the way elections are run, according to a report released Wednesday entitled MassForward. […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Aquarium not making in-lieu-of-tax cash payments to Boston
THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM, suggesting nonprofit cultural institutions like itself are already contributing enough, says it won’t be making any in-lieu-of-tax cash payments to the city of Boston this fiscal […]
Posted inUncategorized
SJC rules Boston police hair test unreliable
THE STATE’S HIGHEST COURT says a drug test is scientifically unreliable. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday that the department was wrong in refusing to hire Michael Gannon, a […]
Posted inOpinion
State needs to cover cost of early voting
IN 2014, lawmakers added Massachusetts to the growing list of states to offer early voting, enabling registered voters to cast their ballots as much as 12 days in advance of […]
Posted inPolitics
Senate candidates differ somewhat on filibuster
THE THREE DEMOCRATIC contenders for US Senate may not differ significantly on most major issues, but on the practical question of how to accomplish their legislative goals there is some […]
