“Voters sent a very clear signal today that our criminal justice system is not working for too many people and it’s time for a change.”
THIS IS IT: YOUR 2018 ELECTION GUIDE, FROM THE BIG FEDERAL PICTURE TO THE RIPPLE IMPACT IN MASS
Anybody who felt sick to their stomach at this point in the 2016 election cycle ought to be purging their entire system through these dreary final days of 2018.
YOUR QUICK AND SIMPLE MASS POST-PRIMARY RUNDOWN
In many ways, Tuesday night’s Mass primary election results can be accurately interpreted as a repudiation of President Trump and the reactionary politics of the Republican Party. In at least three major races, women of color with strong progressive platforms won their primaries over candidates with perceived ties to the status quo.
GONZO MASS: IS THE RACE TO REPLACE AMERICA’S FAVORITE GOVERNOR PUSHING EVERYONE (BESIDES SCOTT LIVELY) LEFTWARD?
While it’s convenient and cliché to conclude that said intraparty battle has devolved into a Sanders-Clinton-style proxy war, that description would be inaccurate.
CASH RULES EVERYTHING AROUND MASS
Can the Commonwealth have a governor’s race about issues when money is the only thing that matters?
REP. CARVALHO TAKES HIGH ROAD IN DA’S CONTEST
“You can look at that as possession, a misdemeanor, or you could charge them for a felony distribution. Or you can look at the entire situation and look at probation—the power is supreme. Let’s look at a restorative justice.”
STATE WIRE: MASS CRIMINAL JUSTICE BILL AIMS TO PROTECT IN-PERSON JAIL VISITS
The visitation provision is part of a much larger criminal justice reform bill. According to Lucius Couloute, policy analyst with the Prison Policy Initiative, some sheriffs’ departments around the country have eliminated in-person visiting in favor of video systems that can turn a profit, and that makes provisions like this necessary.
NRA-AFFILIATED LOBBYIST WALKS THROUGH BAKER’S REVOLVING DOOR
Amidon’s appointment went through with little fanfare or controversy. Of more than a half-dozen reports reviewed by the Shoestring on the subject, only one noted that GOAL is an NRA affiliate, while none acknowledged its lobbying efforts.
FADED BLUE: THERE’S A DEMOCRATIC WAVE SWEEPING THE COUNTRY, BUT WILL IT REACH THE TOP OF BEACON HILL?
It’s pointless at this juncture to debate whether a national wave will materialize. What’s more important is to scope the state and local pieces. In Massachusetts , the so-called East Coast liberal epicenter, what’s to come of popular Republican Gov. Charlie Baker?
NATIONAL WIRE: RAISING MINIMUM WAGE HELPS TEENS, FAMILIES
A new study from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center says raising the minimum wage has little impact on teen unemployment, but can have a big impact on teens and their families.
