Ahhh, the Fourth of July. When we come together to commemorate the beginning of the grand experiment that is America, celebrating government for and by the people. And in Massachusetts – the birthplace of the revolution – the gravity of the moment is not lost on voters as they march toward the purest expression of […]
News Analysis
Posted inNews Analysis
‘A surprisingly good idea’ from the T
THE MBTA may finally be starting to get it. After years and years of running weekend commuter rail trains that very few people ride, the T this week decided to do something about it. The Fiscal and Management Control Board voted to offer a special fare this summer that allows passengers to take as many […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Do Healey, Baker have a truce?
ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY and the Baker administration engaged in an interesting political dance on Tuesday at a legislative hearing on what to do about companies that sell electricity to residential customers. By her own admission, Healey, the Democrat, has staked out a fairly extreme position. She feels the 50 companies have ripped off consumers […]
Posted inGun ownership
Voters give green light on “red flag” gun law
Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo announced this week the House would take up the so-called “red flag” gun safety bill. The move ended months of speculation and growing pressure from outside the building. The proposed legislation would “allow a judge to temporarily seize guns from someone who might pose a danger to themselves and others.” Eight states […]
Posted inPolitics
Governor, Senate challengers struggle mightily in quest for attention
A half dozen would-be opponents to Senator Elizabeth Warren and Governor Charlie Baker are building their campaigns, crisscrossing Massachusetts, issuing press releases, hiring staff, making ads, and doing all the other things important statewide campaigns do. Nobody’s watching. So far the two top-of-the-ticket would-be blockbusters have been busts, as voters hit the electoral snooze button […]
Posted inPolitics
State follows voters’ lead on criminal justice
The Senate and House sent a sweeping criminal justice reform bill to Governor Charlie Baker’s desk this week. The Governor has not said how he will proceed. Details matter, and there are a lot of them to parse, but the overall thrust of the bill is very much in keeping with what voters have said […]
Posted inPolitics
Chaos in the Senate?
THE AWKWARD TRANSITION from Senate President Harriette Chandler to Senate president-elect Karen Spilka makes for great copy, but it doesn’t seem to be having a huge impact on the chamber’s legislative output. Senators are still processing legislation. (Criminal justice reform emerged from a conference committee a little over a week ago.) Votes are being taken. […]
Posted inGambling
Mohegan, Wynn casinos rumble in the background
AS THE MASSACHUSETTS GAMING COMMISSION tries to decide whether Wynn Resorts remains suitable to retain its casino license, the two antagonists in the original battle for the license are sparring with each other again. Mohegan Sun, which lost out to Wynn Resorts in 2015, is suing the Gaming Commission in court trying to overturn the […]
Posted inPolitics
Gomez leaves GOP, eyes independent bid against Warren
GABRIEL GOMEZ, who ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate as a Republican in 2013, has switched his party affiliation to independent and is not ruling out a run against Sen. Elizabeth Warren this year, according to a source familiar with his thinking. Gomez said on WCVB’s On The Record this weekend that he had switched his voter registration […]
Posted inPolitics
Lowell’s single-issue election
ELECTIONS, as they say, have consequences. This is certainly the case in Lowell, where voters on Tuesday delivered a stunning rebuke to their elected officials and their decision to relocate the city’s sole public high school from downtown to its suburban edge. In the process, voters also showed that consensus can emerge in a city riven by race, class, and […]