This opinion piece has been corrected in several spots (headline and story) to reflect the fact that $1 billion has not been spent by the Massachusetts Life Science Center. Only $650 million has been spent so far, which would significantly reduce the estimated cost per job HERE WE GOÂ again. Government giveaways to industries will benefit […]
Governor Baker
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
House to roll out rewrite of legal pot bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOUSE LEADERSHIP WILL unveil its proposal to overhaul the voter-backed law legalizing marijuana in Massachusetts on Wednesday, setting up an expected debate and vote before the full membership on Thursday. The bill’s details have been held tightly by those writing the legislation, but it is widely expected to address the tax […]
Posted inTransportation
Drivers urge DPU to alter background checks
EDWARD HARUNK SAID driving for Uber gave him the flexibility to take care of his sick wife and bring her to doctor’s appointments whenever she needed. “Being an Uber driver enabled me, as a sole caregiver, to set my own time and allowed me to focus on my wife’s challenges,” the 59-year-old Wellesley resident, a […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Senate budget pinned on shaky revenue projections
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATE WAYS AND MEANS Committee members on Tuesday unanimously approved a $40.3 billion spending plan for fiscal 2018 that they said recognizes the state does not have as much revenue as it needs to pay for desired programs and service. With approximately $400 million in new revenues proposed, the budget tries […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Baker plays budget man in the middle
It’s become a well-known part of the current dynamic on Beacon Hill: Though Democrats enjoy super-majorities in both legislative branches, the House leans right and often forms a tag-team with Republican Gov. Charlie Baker that isolates the more liberal Senate. With the 2018 budget plan put out yesterday, however, House leaders don’t just lean right, […]
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
The evolution of Stephanie Pollack
Photographs by Frank Curran STEPHANIE POLLACK AND Charlie Baker are the odd couple of Massachusetts politics. Pollack is short and Baker is tall. She’s a lifelong Democrat and he’s a lifelong Republican. She supported Deval Patrick in 2010; Baker was running against Patrick during that race. She’s a progressive with a history of pushing higher […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Rosenberg likens Trump travel ban to Nazi Germany
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE DRAWING LINKS TO Nazi Germany, the president of the Massachusetts Senate condemned the Trump administration’s move to bar entry into the country of nationals from seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Senate President Stan Rosenberg, who is Jewish, said the issuance of President Donald Trump’s executive order on […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker to veto pay raise
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOURS AFTER FORMALLY RECEIVING their plan, Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday afternoon informed legislative Democrats that he intends to veto a controversial package of pay raises worth $18 million for lawmakers, judges and constitutional officers in a move that may carry more political weight for the Republican governor than practical implications. […]
Posted inThe Download
Baker’s weak back
It wasn’t exactly Celtics’ player Cedric Maxwell exhorting his teammates “climb on my back, boys,” before carrying the team to victory in the 1984 NBA playoffs but Gov. Charlie Baker hoped to use his political strength on two initiatives and increase the GOP’s presence on Beacon Hill. Unlike Max, Baker got no ring, just a hurt […]
Posted inThe Download
An MBTA privatization do-over?
Call it politicians’ version of buyer’s remorse. The misgivings and backtracking of Republicans who had reluctantly endorsed Donald Trump? No, we speak of the local version now playing itself out, which involves Democratic state lawmakers who are having second thoughts about all those privatizing powers at the MBTA that they handed over to Gov. Charlie […]