DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS in the House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to pass a bill backed by all of the state’s public-sector unions that would restore some labor power that had been […]
Massachusetts politics
Posted inUncategorized
Health panel wants to open ‘black box’ of drug brokers
A QUASI-INDEPENDENT state agency tasked with monitoring the health care marketplace has made a foray into the debate over pharmacy benefits managers, calling for more transparency about the role the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Sen. Brady settles drunk driving case
Updated at 5:18 p.m. SEN. MICHAEL BRADY of Brockton on Tuesday avoided the hazards of a criminal trial in connection with his March 2018 drunk driving arrest, agreeing to a […]
Posted inOpinion
Be Republican, don’t be intimidated
WE REPUBLICANS in Massachusetts often feel the brunt of intimidation from our neighbors, co-workers, and sometimes even family members. The listener hears us speak approvingly of the Republican Party, of […]
Posted inPolitics
Lynch edges away from his ‘pro-life’ label
CONGRESSMAN STEPHEN LYNCH says he will renounce his “pro-life” label if the term becomes defined by the slew of measures passed by state legislatures to severely restrict or eliminate abortions. […]
Posted inPolitics
GOP chair targets ‘radical left Dems’
MASSACHUSETTS REPUBLICAN PARTY Chairman Jim Lyons sent an email out over the weekend recruiting candidates to “challenge the radical left Democrats” across the state. The email asks: “Have you had […]
Posted inPolitics
Transparency sacrificed with consolidated amendments
BACK IN JANUARY, the House Democratic caucus gathered to nominate Rep. Robert DeLeo for another term as speaker. There was no question that DeLeo had the votes, but a small […]
Posted inThe Download
Transparency sacrificed with consolidated amendments
Back in January, the House Democratic caucus gathered to nominate Rep. Robert DeLeo for another term as speaker. There was no question that DeLeo had the votes, but a small […]
Posted inOpinion
In the Rollins-Baker fight, where were the white male Dems?
THE PAST FEW WEEKS have been dominated by the very public debate between District Attorney Rachael Rollins and Gov. Charlie Baker over Rollins’ planned reforms for her office. Rollins campaigned […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Veep’s Massachusetts connection
SEN. ERIC LESSER of Longmeadow knows what’s going to happen this season on Veep, but he’s keeping it to himself. Lesser has been working since 2011 as a consultant for […]
Posted inPolitics
Fact-checking new poll on voter tax attitudes
A GROUP THAT GENERALLY sees eye-to-eye with Republican politicians in Massachusetts publicized a poll Wednesday that might suggest dismal support for Gov. Charlie Baker’s tax proposals. The poll indicated most […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. GOP’s unconvincing urban strategy
REPUBLICANS ACROSS THE NATION gleefully passed the popcorn this past weekend as they watched the spectacular fall of Ralph Northam, the Democratic governor of Virginia. Northam, who had defeated his […]
Posted inOpinion
Ranked choice far superior to top-two
In “Let’s get off the ranked-choice bandwagon,” Paul Schlichtman argues that the growing calls for Massachusetts to adopt ranked choice voting are misguided. Instead of ranked choice, he wants our […]
Posted inOpinion
Running the numbers on the ‘union loophole’
IN 2015, TWO family-owned Massachusetts businesses—1A Auto in Pepperell and 126 Self Storage in Ashland—filed a lawsuit challenging the Massachusetts campaign finance “union loophole.” Since 1988, unions and non-profit associations […]
Posted inPolitics
Beacon Hill notes: DeLeo cruises to speaker reelection
REP. ROBERT DELEO cruised to reelection as House speaker for the sixth time on Wednesday, but a small band of lawmakers from his own party registered their disapproval of the […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker in no rush on Grid bill
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER indicated on Monday that he doesn’t plan to immediately sign a bill extending the unemployment benefits of locked-out workers. As expected, the Legislature completed a few procedural […]
Posted inPolitics
House goes with Senate approach on Grid legislation
HOUSE LEADERSHIP spent all day thinking about it, but in the end decided to go with the Senate’s approach to extending unemployment benefits to locked-out steelworkers – most immediately to […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Census politics
THE LATEST CENSUS population figures are out, and Massachusetts is keeping pace with national population growth. The state’s population grew to nearly 7 million people at a rate of 0.6 […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: For 2018, it’s a wrap
Republican Jenn Nassour and Democrat Jesse Mermell tee up a year-end conversation for the final 2018 installment of “Disagreeing Agreeably” on the Codcast. To help them, they brought in guests […]
Posted inPolitics
Columbus on hot seat in Framingham
THE LIST OF EARLY-ADOPTER Massachusetts communities that have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day is about what you’d expect: Amherst, Northampton, Cambridge, Brookline, and Somerville. School committees in Mashpee […]
Posted inThe Download
Columbus on hot seat in Framingham
The list of early-adopter Massachusetts communities that have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day is about what you’d expect: Amherst, Northampton, Cambridge, Brookline, and Somerville. School committees in Mashpee […]
Posted inPolitics
Ash aide moves up to take his job
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IN THE SECOND SHAKEUP of his Cabinet since Gov. Charlie Baker won reelection in November, the Baker administration announced Tuesday afternoon that Secretary Jay Ash is […]
Posted inPolitics
Oops: DeLeo says Grid bill drafted incorrectly
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO acknowledged a bill to extend the unemployment benefits of locked-out National Grid workers doesn’t do what he thought it would do. The bill was approved with […]
Posted inOpinion
Union ‘loophole’ going to Supreme Court
THE SO-CALLED UNION LOOPHOLE is a longstanding social injustice that MassFiscal, and its sister organization the Fiscal Alliance Foundation, are determined to right. On Wednesday, we teamed up with the […]