THE NEWS BUSINESS is going through its own George Floyd reckoning, as traditional ways of operating are being challenged and overturned in swift fashion. A week ago, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story by the paper’s architectural critic talking about the damage done to historic buildings during Floyd protests. The headline on the story, “Buildings Matter, Too,” […]
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Are the Henrys planning to sell Globe?
IN CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS with the Boston Newspaper Guild, Boston Globe owners John and Linda Henry are apparently insisting on the removal of a provision in the existing contract that would keep the contract terms intact if the newspaper is sold. Guild employees, who include reporters, copy editors, and business-side employees, have been working without a […]
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Housing panel backs 2 rent control bills
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A Beacon Hill committee has endorsed two bills that would clear the way for rent control to return to Massachusetts more than two-and-a-half decades after voters narrowly banned the practice statewide. The Joint Committee on Housing favorably recommended the legislation on Thursday, advancing it with support from three-quarters of its members […]
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SJC allows alcohol sales question to advance to 2020 ballot
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT ruled Tuesday that a proposed ballot question allowing for expanded alcohol and beer sales can proceed to the November ballot. Massachusetts state law limits the number of alcohol licenses that are issued for package stores or others who want to sell alcohol for off-premises consumption. Under current law, no company can […]
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Walsh may move slower than Baker on reopening
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE STATE’S economy beginning to wake up on Tuesday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he has no plans right now to lift the city’s curfew and worries that allowing offices to reopen at a quarter of normal capacity next month might be “too much” to start, drawing one of the […]
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Boston Globe announces layoffs
THE BOSTON GLOBE laid off two union employees and an unspecified number of nonunion employees on Wednesday in response to a downturn in revenue caused by the COVID-19 business shutdown. At a time when news publications across the country are paring back, the Boston Newspaper Guild said management had notified the union that two members […]
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Massachusetts House holds first remote session
A MASK-WEARING House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Wednesday presided over what he called a “historic day” – the first time the Massachusetts House has voted on a bill remotely. “It’s not lost on us the significance of what we’re trying to attempt to do — the first remote session in the 400-year history of the […]
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April tax collections off $2.3b
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE TAX COLLECTIONS tumbled in April by more than $2.3 billion compared to last April, another sign of the damage inflicted on the economy and the state’s finances by forced business shutdowns aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19. Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder late Tuesday announced that collections last month totaled […]
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Biz group: Delay ed and pension funding
State House News Service DELAYING THE IMPLEMENTATION of a new school funding law and reducing a planned boost in state pension system contributions are among the ideas a business-based budget watchdog group is floating to help the state deal with budget stresses. “It seems highly likely that the fiscal 2021 budget will be most difficult […]
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Republicans allege power grab in rules debate
THE NORMALLY CONGENIAL dealings of the Massachusetts House of Representatives turned into a scene of vituperative charges and countercharges being hurled across the partisan divide on Wednesday as lawmakers struggled to devise a plan for how to conduct business amidst the coronavirus pandemic. House Speaker Robert DeLeo accused House Republicans of putting House members and […]