If the state’s Republican governor — he of the sky-high poll numbers, the cabinet littered with Democrats, and a bromantic attachment to Boston’s union-bred mayor — was going to get […]
State Government
Posted inEducation, Opinion, Politics
A higher ed turning point
STATE FUNDING FOR the University of Massachusetts system is up for debate once again on Beacon Hill. Gov. Charlie Baker and legislative leaders want UMass President Marty Meehan and the […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Once again, MBTA maps out growing budget deficits
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MBTA HAS sketched out a growing deficit within its transit system that would balloon to $427 million in four years, as expenses far outpace growth […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Back Story
DCR forgives $23,000 of club’s unpaid rent
THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION and Recreation is forgiving three-quarters of the back debt owed by a Quincy yacht club renting space from the state on Wollaston Beach. The Wollaston […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Policymakers face Uber dilemma
State and local policymakers don’t know what to do about ride-sharing apps such as Uber and Lyft that are steadily destroying the taxi industry. The apps are transforming right before our […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service, The Download
Clark gears up federal machinery on postpartum depression treatment
In June, the Baker administration mandated postpartum depression screening for MassHealth patients, making it one of only a handful of states that screen Medicaid recipients for the condition. But what the […]
Posted inThe Download
Public records law may get boost, but it won’t come easily
The Globe’s Todd Wallack has been all over the story of problems with the state’s weak public records law. But his latest installment, on the front of Sunday’s paper, was […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Pioneer, the Pacheco law, and the revenge of the Blue Mass Group nerds
The MBTA is an easy target for critics. The Greater Boston transit system seems to be the only state agency operating with a permanent bulls-eye on it. The Pioneer Institute […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Man in the middle
Photographs by Frank Curran JOHN GROSSMAN calls himself an intermediary. It’s an unusual job description, but it’s one that captures what he does putting together complex deals that leverage money […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
DCR 2.0
IN LATE 2011, the commissioner of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation said the agency’s system for leasing public land was in disrepair, with many tenants enjoying sweetheart deals, […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
State House press gets free office space, parking
THE MEN AND WOMEN who are elected to state office are provided office and parking space at the State House when they arrive for work on Beacon Hill. The same […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Back Story
Baker seeks to curb solar speculators
A correction has been added to this story. THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION, which favors keeping a cap in place on one solar subsidy program, is now tinkering with another solar price support. […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, State House News Service
MassHealth OKs postpartum depression screening
Beginning next spring, MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, will reimburse health care providers for the costs of screening women for postpartum depression. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito made the announcement at […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Democrat Ash loads up on GOP staffers
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER has won plaudits for bringing Democrats into the fold as he built a senior team around him, but the governor’s administration has also […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
SJC paves way for income inequality debate
Now that the Supreme Judicial Court has cleared the way, the House and Senate (and Gov. Charlie Baker, too) can start debating income inequality in Massachusetts and how to address […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion, Politics
Don’t cut lifeline for pregnant women, new mothers
AS AN OBSTETRICIAN/GYNECOLOGIST, I regularly see women suffering from depression in pregnancy and during the year following delivery. The reality is that many women are not caressing their growing bellies […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Transportation
Straus: Eliminating MBTA as separate agency should be long-term goal
THE BEACON HILL tug of war over the MBTA continues to pit those who support Gov. Charlie Baker’s call for a special fiscal control board against those who think an […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Transportation
Baker presses lawmakers for T control board
Gov. Charlie Baker turned up the pressure on state lawmakers, appearing at a joint transportation committee hearing Monday flanked by former Chelsea and Springfield officials who expressed strong support for […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
MBTA numbers do matter
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY STEPHANIE POLLACK this week defended the accuracy of the absenteeism numbers contained in the MBTA advisory panel‘s report, but she did so in a way that was odd […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Transportation
Scott: State should take over the MBTA
“THE MBTA NEEDS to be put out of its misery.” That’s the diagnosis from Beverly Scott, the former general manager of the MBTA. The MBTA doesn’t need a fiscal and […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, State House News Service
Chief of Lowell campus gets top UMass job
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER TOUTING HIS FUNDRAISING capabilities and pledging to make diversity a priority, UMass Lowell Chancellor and former Congressman Martin Meehan was chosen by the University of […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Baker takes conventional approach to change
The honeymoon between Gov. Charlie Baker and the public is not at an end but the realities of the forced marriage between Baker and Democrats are starting to bubble up […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Regulatory review a dangerous path
NOW THAT SPRING has finally arrived in the Commonwealth, many of us are starting our spring cleaning – getting rid of clutter, washing windows and drapes, dusting away cobwebs. And perhaps […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Transportation
Lawmakers skeptical of MBTA control board plan
Can the Baker administration address the MBTA’s problems using the tools that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation already has? That was the question that the Joint Committee on Transportation wrestled […]