ON A COLD FEBRUARY DAY in 1995, former governor Bill Weld signed his much-anticipated welfare reform into law. The new law included additional work requirements, time limits, benefit reductions, and […]
State Government
Posted inTransportation
Is New York showing up ‘progressive’ Mass.?
START SPREADING THE NEWS: Not only are the Yankees a game and a half in front of the faltering Red Sox, New York has taken a big lead over Boston […]
Posted inPolitics
Spilka calls for gender X bill’s passage
SENATE PRESIDENT KAREN Spilka took the rare step Thursday of appearing before her colleagues to argue for passage of a bill — in this case a measure to benefit non-binary […]
Posted inHealth Care
Conversion therapy bill picking up steam
MASSACHUSETTS LAWMAKERS ARE on the verge of passing a conversion therapy bill that attempts to shield youths from therapists trying to tamper with their sexual or gender orientation, but it’s unclear […]
Posted inUncategorized
State journalism commission in the spotlight
BUT NOW LEGISLATORS like Sen. Brendan Crighton and Reps. Lori Ehrlich and Jim Hawkins are taking note of the problems with their filing of a bill that would create a […]
Posted inPolitics
Is the House tilting progressive?
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE With record membership, the House Progressive Caucus has picked its co-chairs for the 2019-2020 legislative session, re-electing one past leader and tapping a new one for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Data dive: State authorities
Freelance reporter Colman Herman had just finished gathering financial information from the state’s quasi-public authorities when the Boston Globe published its own story and chart examining the salaries of higher-paid […]
Posted inEducation
Ed funding debate takes Pioneer detour
THE DEBATE OVER increased state funding for education took a detour last week as the Pioneer Institute and its critics tangled over a reform proposal designed to give the state […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
McMurtry cleared in backside touch charge
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A SPECIAL COMMITTEE investigating whether Rep. Paul McMurtry violated the House sexual harassment policy concluded in a report Wednesday that there was “insufficient evidence” to support […]
Posted inEconomy
Women underrepresented at Mass. business groups
A SURVEY OF THE TOP OFFICIALS and board members at 25 prominent business advocacy organizations in Massachusetts indicates women and people of color are under-represented. Women make up 51.5 percent […]
Posted inPolitics
Correia wins race to replace himself
“I AM SPEECHLESS,” declared Jasiel Correia — and he wasn’t the only one. The 29-year-old Fall River mayor had just been recalled from office — and then re-elected to that post […]
Posted inUncategorized
Senator accuses DeLeo of propagandizing non-disclosure debate
BEACON HILL INFIGHTING over non-disclosure agreements isn’t going away, as Sen. Diana DiZoglio accused House Speaker Robert DeLeo of using “propaganda” to manipulate the debate while the speaker’s office obliquely […]
Posted inOpinion
A tribute to East Boston’s premier activist, advocate
A LIGHT WENT OUT in East Boston last week. More than a light, a beacon that guided more than one generation of local activists and civic leaders. Mary Ellen Welch […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. needs to step up for tourism and the arts
MASSACHUSETTS’ DYNAMIC tourism industry and its arts and cultural assets are inextricably linked, collectively delivering extraordinary dividends to the state’s economic vitality and quality of life. Residents and visitors alike […]
Posted inOpinion
A Massachusetts model for reaching neglected America
THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION has started and voters in neglected parts of the country will likely determine the outcome. Both parties will plan how to win voters in the Rust […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t buy the progressive rant against Rodrigues
WHILE CAFE MOCHACCINOS, action films, and short-term friends should be exciting, governance should not. Governance should be steady, dependable, and mundane, because we live, after all, on earth and are […]
Posted inPolitics
Beacon Hill lobbying hierarchy changing a bit
THE PECKING ORDER of lobbying firms on Beacon Hill appears to be changing. ML Strategies set a record in 2018 for lobbying fees, raking in $5.1 million and retaining its […]
Posted inOpinion
Port of Boston needs (regulatory) attention
KUDOS TO BOSTON Harbor Now’s Jill Valdes Horwood and James Aloisi from TransitMatters for highlighting the need to rethink industrial ports like Boston (“Boston’s Port Needs Attention”). While their insights […]
Posted inPolitics
Are you tired of electoral spoilers?
ADAM FRIEDMAN CALLS it being Nadered. In the 2012 congressional race in the 6th District, Democrat John Tierney won with 48 percent of the vote. Republican Richard Tisei came in […]
Posted inPolitics
Chang-Diaz reassigned; post left vacant for McMurtry
SENATE PRESIDENT KAREN SPILKA on Thursday reassigned Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, the chamber’s longtime Education Committee chair, on the eve of a major school-funding debate, while House Speaker Robert DeLeo kept […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo taps Michlewitz of Boston for budget-writing post
REP. AARON MICHLEWITZ will become the new face of the House budget-writing committee, taking on the powerful position of Ways and Means chair on Thursday afternoon. A 40-year-old Democrat from […]
Posted inEducation
UMass Boston scores big revenue gain with Bayside lease
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS on Thursday tapped Boston-based Accordia Partners to develop the former Bayside Expo Center site, agreeing to a deal that university officials said […]
Posted inPolitics
House plays follow the leader
ON JANUARY 30, in the midst of a debate over the rules to govern the legislative process on Beacon Hill, a vote took place that revealed a lot about the […]
Posted inThe Download
House plays follow the leader
On January 30, in the midst of a debate over the rules to govern the legislative process on Beacon Hill, a vote took place that revealed a lot about the […]