SINCE THE 2016 BALLOT campaign around charter schools, we’ve seen victory lap after victory lap from the regressive anti-innovation crowd in education, but zero solutions presented to address the real […]
Massachusetts politics
Posted inOpinion
New voices emerge from 2018 races
LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY, the midterm elections were great for Democrats and our core values. Progressive leaders helped win back the US House, gained seats in the state Legislature, and held […]
Posted inNews Analysis
For GOP, is the lesson be more like Charlie?
MASSACHUSETTS REPUBLICANS suffered yet another electoral drubbing last week. Apart from Gov. Charlie Baker, every Republican candidate for statewide office got trounced by 24 to 46 point margins, based on […]
Posted inOpinion
Yes on 3 is a healthy choice
ALL OF US know that accessing basic health care and emergency medical care treatment is essential to taking care of ourselves and our families. This November, voters will have a […]
Posted inOpinion
Union ‘loophole’ isn’t a very big one
MASSACHUSETTS IS ONE of seven states to permit labor union political giving while entirely barring corporate contributions – both those from corporate treasuries and from associated political action committees (PACs). […]
Posted inTransportation
Gonzalez’s ‘secret’ MBTA document
DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE Jay Gonzalez released what he called “a secret state document” just prior to Thursday night’s debate with Gov. Charlie Baker that he said raises questions about the […]
Posted inOpinion
Baker is bystander, not leader, on gun legislation
VOTERS NEED TO KNOW Charlie Baker is not a gun violence prevention leader. Everytown for Gun Safety recently endorsed Baker in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race, calling Baker a leader on gun […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Spoon Movement comes to Beacon Hill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE PASSERBY GAWKED as the men pulled a ramp down from the back of a U-Haul truck parked on a Beacon Street curb Friday morning and began […]
Posted inPolitics
Actress: Yes on Q3 would send message to nation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT weighs changes to legal definitions around sex and gender, a vote to uphold a Massachusetts law aimed at protecting transgender people from […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker waffles on Diehl during debate
REPUBLICAN GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said during a debate Wednesday night with Democrat Jay Gonzalez that he hadn’t made up his mind whether he would vote for Trump supporter Geoff Diehl […]
Posted inPolitics
From boy wonder mayor to defendant
JASIEL CORREIA was in full performance mode earlier this year when he was interviewed by CommonWealth contributor Ted Seifer for this profile in the magazine’s spring issue. The mayor of Fall […]
Posted inPolitics
Gonzalez slams Baker for supporting GOP ticket
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Friday that he is supporting the entire GOP statewide slate, include US Senate nominee Geoff Diehl, a supporter of President Trump. […]
Posted inPolitics
Pressley leads changing of the guard
CHANGE HAMMERED ON US Rep. Michael Capuano’s door at about 9:15 Tuesday night after making the rounds at a few other stops. It couldn’t wait. For Ayanna Pressley, the 44-year-old […]
Posted inOpinion
Democracy at risk when unions attacked
AS THE 2018 ELECTIONS APPROACH, many voters find themselves doing a lot of soul-searching about the state of our democracy. On the one hand, the Trump administration seems to be […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Lobbyists shower DeLeo, Sanchez with donations
LOBBYISTS POURED MONEY into the campaign coffers of House Speaker Robert DeLeo and one of his top lieutenants, House Ways and Means chair Jeffrey Sanchez, during the first part of […]
Posted inPolitics
International issues play key role in Lowell rep’s race
RADY MOM IS NOT your typical pol, as anyone who has met the two-term state representative on Beacon Hill can probably attest. He exudes warmth and compassion and often displays […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Anatomy of a smear
SECRETARY OF STATE William Galvin has not survived 43 years in the rough and tumble arena of Massachusetts politics by being meek. So when there’s a threat to his fiefdom, […]
Posted inPolitics
The gloves are off in race for secretary of state
THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY race for the normally staid office of the Secretary of State is turning into one of the most bruising battles of season. About the only thing missing […]
Posted inOpinion
A prescription for closing the democracy gap
AMERICA is facing a democracy gap. With just a few months until the mid-term elections, only three in five registered voters can correctly answer whether there is an election for […]
Posted inThe Download
Opioids’ path of destruction in construction
Differences in health patterns among different population groups is a well-established fact. Indeed, it forms the foundation for an entire field of health research, epidemiology, which has contributed enormously to […]
Posted inPolitics
Is Charlie Baker really a Republican?
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER has an R next to his name, but many Republicans don’t think it belongs there. Ed Lyons, a Republican activist who is a big fan of Baker, said […]
Posted inOpinion
What has Galvin been doing on election security?
A DAY AFTER THE INDICTMENT of 12 Russians who allegedly interfered with our 2016 elections, Secretary of State William Galvin told the The Boston Globe he’s “picking up the pace” […]
Posted inOpinion
Citizenship question doesn’t belong on census form
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES sensibly requires that we “count the whole number of persons in each state” every 10 years. The results of the census are used to […]
Posted inOpinion
Ruling could have big impact in Massachusetts
THE UNITED STATES has a single constitution, but interpretations of that document handed down by federal courts often have divergent impacts across the country. Such is the case with the […]