The scandal at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home is putting a spotlight on Secretary of Veterans’ Services Francisco Urena, with one veteran’s organization calling for his resignation – a development that is bringing the scandal closer to Gov. Charlie Baker. Thursday morning, Daniel Stack, department adjutant for the Massachusetts chapter of Disabled American Veterans, told CommonWealth […]
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BMC chief backs Medicaid for all
Kate Walsh says she favors Medicaid for all, not Medicare for all. It’s not a political slogan you hear much these days, but Walsh, the president and CEO of Boston Medical Center, has a unique perspective since so many of her hospital’s patients are on Medicaid. “I actually think Medicaid is the most important insurance […]
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Massport narrows CEO field to 2
This story has been updated. The Massachusetts Port Authority will decide between finalists Brian Golden and Lisa Wieland as the next chief executive of the quasi-public agency that oversees three airports, Boston seaports, and a substantial real estate portfolio. A former state representative from Boston, Golden has been chief executive of the Boston Planning and […]
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Seaport: Boondoggle or model for future?
Is the glass half full or half empty? The biggest Boston building boom in decades has been playing out in the city’s Seaport, a once forlorn 1,000-acre stretch of warehouses and parking lots at the edge of downtown that has seen glassy towers sprout like weeds in recent years. While political leaders strut proudly over […]
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Moderate Marty suddenly dials it up
Trying to protect his left flank, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh jumped into the debate over the MBTA by calling for a local seat on the transit authority’s next oversight board and demanding that the July 1 fare increase be put off until the T is fully operational. Neither of his requests went very far. Transportation […]
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Campbell: Blue Hill Ave. conversation needed
Add Boston City Council President Andrea Campbell to the list of officials talking about creating a dedicated bus lane along busy Blue Hill Avenue. In a wide-ranging interview on the CommonWealth Codcast with three members of TransitMatters – Josh Fairchild, Jim Aloisi, and Jarred Johnson – Campbell said transportation is one of the top issues […]
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Ortiz case showcases Dominican justice system
The medical care David Ortiz is receiving in Boston as he recovers from a gunshot wound is some of the best in the world, but the same superlatives cannot be used in describing the criminal justice process unfolding in the Dominican Republic to bring the gunman and others to account for the attack. The scene […]
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Baker’s approach to T epitomizes his leadership style
Gov. Charlie Baker, Beacon Hill’s Mr. Fix-it, is taking a lot of heat over the Red Line derailment on Tuesday. A Boston Globe editorial – titled “Going off the rails on Charlie Baker’s train – warns the T is his Achilles heel as he lays plans to seek a third term. Beacon Hill analyst Michael […]
Posted inEconomy
Ed reform turncoat or just a more balanced position?
IN THE GREAT EDUCATION DEBATE that has animated American public life for the last several decades, the players roughly divide into two camps. The so-called “reformers” say education can, in Horace Mann’s words, be the “great equalizer” through which children of all backgrounds succeed. They support the standards and accountability measures that schools have imposed […]
Posted inThe Download
Ed reform turncoat or just a more balanced position?
In the great education debate that has animated American public life for the last several decades, the players roughly divide into two camps. The so-called “reformers” say education can, in Horace Mann’s words, be the “great equalizer” through which children of all backgrounds succeed. They support the standards and accountability measures that schools have imposed […]