STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL campaign in the rear-view mirror and the airwaves now free of political ads, Airbnb is taking advantage of the void to press its […]
Technology
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
South Station commuter rail accident unreported
A PREVIOUSLY UNREPORTED incident in which a commuter rail train that struck a bumper at South Station was similar to an accident in Hoboken, NJ, earlier in the fall that […]
Posted inTransportation
Business unusual at the T
IT’S A MANTRA spoken so often these days it could be a bumper sticker. “The MBTA is open for business,” Brian Shortsleeve, the agency’s chief administrator and acting general manager, said […]
Posted inUncategorized
The toughest mile
IN 2008, THE Patrick administration set out to wire 123 cities and towns in western Massachusetts for broadband. But eight years, 1,200 miles of fiber-optic cable, and nearly $100 million […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
MassDOT looks to trash records
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IF YOU USED an old Fastlane transponder on the Massachusetts Turnpike 18 years ago, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation likely has a record of that trip. […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Study: Storage could deliver 600 MW in 10 years
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE RIGHT amount of encouragement, energy storage technology – a field that can range from batteries to more novel contraptions – could account for 600 […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Baker inks long-sought energy law
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER sat in the sun on the State House lawn Monday afternoon, relishing a victory for his administration and some in the Legislature. With […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service, Transportation
Baker hails Uber bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Friday afternoon signed into law what he described as the strongest regulatory framework in the country for app-based ride-for-hire services like Uber […]
Posted inTransportation
T to pay $400 million for mandated safety system
MBTA OFFICIALS SAY a mandatory $460 million system to ensure rail safety is on track to be installed by 2020 but though they claim it’s an 80-20 split with the […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, Transportation
Fingerprints fail in Senate Uber bill
AFTER AN EXHAUSTIVE debate that dragged on for nearly five hours, the state Senate passed Uber-friendly regulations for the runaway ride-hailing industry but not before beating back an impassioned plea […]
Posted inTransportation
Judge says Uber, Lyft should be treated like taxis
A FEDERAL JUDGE on Thursday ordered Boston officials to explain what regulations they plan to implement on ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft to treat them like cabs until […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
Casinos dangle funny money to lure customers
Think of it as the candy cigarettes of the casino industry. Players lose no actual money on the online games recently unveiled by Plainridge Park Casino. But they can still […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Senate unanimous in support of Public Records Law update
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT ADVANCES in current technology has rendered the decades-old law ineffective, the Massachusetts Senate on Thursday passed a public records reform bill updating the statute […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker administration making public records progress
A clarification has been added to this story. THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is making significant progress in fulfilling the governor’s pledge to make it easier and cheaper for the public to […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Are dashboards the right tool to measure progress?
YOU RUN A government agency or nonprofit. You ask management experts how you can assess your “bottom line,” given that earning profits is not your mission. You want to know […]
Posted inPolitics
Senate puts teeth into public records reform
THE STATE SENATE unveiled its version of Public Records reform, potentially the first major overhaul since the law was enacted in 1973, placing a hard time limit on responses, requiring courts […]
Posted inOpinion
Municipalities shouldn’t go it alone on IT
EVERY ONE OF US relies on the services of local public works departments, pretty much every day, from morning to evening, in one way or another. Think for a moment […]
Posted inUncategorized
State courts revamp their website
THE STATE’S TRIAL COURT has upgraded its outmoded computer system to allow lawyers to electronically file case records and to allow judicial decisions to be shared automatically with other government […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Why GM is investing in Lyft
Massachusetts lawmakers can’t keep up. They’re still trying to figure out a way to regulate ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft, yet the market is already moving on to […]
Posted inTransportation
Luxe backs out
LUXE VALET, the San Francisco-based technology company that looks to solve urban parking problems, is pulling out of Boston after a mere six months of parking people’s cars. In an email […]
Posted inTransportation
Valet for the common man
IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD to be true: A new app offering valet parking in Boston for less than what it costs to park in most garages. A San Francisco-based technology […]
Posted inTransportation
The T’s chief tweeter
When did you start at the T and where did you come from? I started in November 2011. I came from outside the authority. I had just gotten my masters […]
Posted inEducation
Students, schools play cat and mouse with online cheating
AS COLLEGES OFFER more and more courses online, school officials are scrambling to come up with innovative ways to prevent cheating by students taking tests and other assessments remotely. It’s […]
Posted inTransportation
No common ground in Uber fight
WITH A RAINBOW of partisans as a backdrop – hundreds of Uber supporters in blue, a near-equal number of taxi drivers in bright yellow, and a smattering of Lyft devotees in […]