STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE TRAVELING ON AN MBTA train will get more challenging this year, but officials promise passengers it will all be worth it in the long run. All five main MBTA lines and parts of the commuter rail will now see shutdowns in 2020 in an expanded push to complete maintenance work more […]
Chris Lisinski I State House News Service
Posted inPolitics
Commission documents flood of campaign cash
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE In the decade before the US Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision, spending on Massachusetts elections and ballot initiatives totaled $260 million. In the decade since the ruling, Massachusetts political spending soared to $700 million. Those figures are one example of many a commission offered in a new report to describe […]
Posted inEducation
1 person put forward for UMass Boston job
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A SEARCH COMMITTEE named Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, a dean at the University of California Los Angeles, as its lone finalist Tuesday for the University of Massachusetts Boston chancellorship after months of searching and interviews with 11 potential candidates. The 21-member committee voted unanimously to recommend Suarez-Orozco as the best fit for the […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Rent control draws crowd to State House
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A LYNN WOMAN told lawmakers she may have to move her family after a 35 percent rent increase. A Mattapan great-grandmother said she will go to court to fight a $700 rent hike that she cannot afford on a fixed income. A Chelsea college student worries about becoming homeless. The solution, […]
Posted inTransportation
Keolis crews get more training on switches
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MBTA AND KEOLIS will expand training programs for commuter rail personnel after an initial investigation determined that human error in switch usage caused a derailment on the Worcester Line last week. All train crews were given “special instruction” on rules governing manual switches following the incident, the MBTA announced Sunday […]
Posted inPolitics
Dems, GOP battle over timing of Senate election
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE DECISION ABOUT when to hold a special election for an open Senate seat has suddenly become a major point of contention between the Democrat and Republican parties in Massachusetts. Senate President Karen Spilka earlier this week proposed holding the general election for the Senate seat vacated by Republican Viriato deMacedo […]
Posted inPolitics
GOP leader balks at special election date
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATE DEMOCRATS hit a speed bump Monday as they tried to schedule a special election on the date of the presidential primary to fill a seat just vacated by a Republican. At the tail end of a long, lightly attended session, the Senate surfaced an order from President Karen Spilka scheduling […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Weymouth gas project gets final state OK
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A CONTROVERSIAL NATURAL GAS PROJECT planned for a densely populated waterfront area cleared the final major permitting hurdle Tuesday, further riling opponents who had hoped state regulators would reverse course. After delaying its review process for more than two years, the Massachusetts Office of Coastal and Zone Management announced Tuesday that […]
Posted inTransportation
Lawmakers urged to try congestion pricing
CITING THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION’S WARNING that traffic is at a “tipping point,” lawmakers and advocates renewed calls Tuesday for Massachusetts to follow its peers and adjust roadway tolls at different times of day in an attempt to reduce congestion. A version of the system, referred to as congestion pricing, is already in place in nine […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker: State workers should pay leave costs
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH A NEW TAX to fund the state’s paid family and medical leave program set to take effect Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Baker rejected calls by the state’s largest public union to relieve state employees of the obligation to pay into the system. The National Association of Government Employees, which has more […]