IN A RURAL valley south of Deerfield, power lines strung on new poles run along a stretch of muddy gravel between the main road and the interior of Bar-Way Farm, where hundreds of cows provide electricity along with their milk. Manure from the cows is pumped into a massive, red, airtight tank that acts like […]
Technology
Posted inThe Download
Traffic trickle down
Do more cars mean less traffic? Hard to tell if you read two new studies designed to address congestion through technology, including one that was done based on Boston’s streets. Like any study, the results are a matter of interpretation and what was not addressed may be as important as what the study was based […]
Posted inGambling
Watching the games people play
SECRETED ON THE 12th floor of 101 Federal Street in Boston’s Financial District is a windowless command center, manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Keycard entry is so restricted and the information so sensitive that even top level managers don’t have access. Four big-screen monitors are mounted on the wall with information […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: Boston’s chief of the streets
Boston’s streets and sidewalks comprise 9 square miles in a city that is only 48 square miles in total. Chris Osgood, with the odd but apt title of Boston’s chief of the streets, is the person in charge of not only maintaining that infrastructure but making sure that residents have access to it whether they […]
Posted inOpinion
Digital news is faster – not better
I GUESS YOU could call it a bribe. An old fellow and his wife tottered into the newsroom, where I was editor of the Somerville Journal, and proudly said their son had won a commendation for his heroic actions at a fire in a public housing building. Would I run the item? Sure, I said. […]
Posted inThe Download
Storm stirs the political pot
Government, according to a well-worn adage credited to Barney Frank, is the name for the things we decide to do together. Right now, aiding those affected by the devastation of Hurricane Harvey is, of course, the most pressing thing we are doing together. President Trump visited Texas yesterday, and the White House and Republican congressional […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: YIMBYs take on NIMBYs
It has become almost axiomatic that communities will resist new housing development projects. They will generate unbearable traffic! There isn’t enough parking here! They’ll hurt property values! The developer wants to cram in too many units! The list of horribles is endless, but the response can usually be summed up with one word, which is […]
Posted inEnvironment
Cities and states must take lead on climate change
CLIMATE CHANGE CREATES risks that scientists have been warning about for decades. Fortunately, many actions that reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change and hedge against longer-term risks can also benefit public health right now. Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions often go hand in hand with reductions in air pollutants with well-established relationships […]
Posted inThe Download
Baker facing resistance to MassHealth cuts
In Washington, the fight over the nation’s health care future is full of drama. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who is dealing with brain cancer, vowed to return to Capitol Hill today to vote on whether to begin debate on repealing the Affordable Care Act. And President Trump is making it very clear where he […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
The high toll of inmate phone calls
IT’S EASY TO take ordinary conveniences like making a telephone call for granted. Advances in technology have made communication cheaper and higher quality than ever before. But one group has been excluded from enjoying the benefits of the falling cost of this modern amenity: inmates. For years, inmates and their families across the nation have […]