The events of last week in the Merrimack Valley were unfortunate by any measure. Something bad happened to the natural gas distribution system in parts of Lawrence, North Andover, and Andover that resulted in dozens of homes being damaged or destroyed by explosions and fire, at least 25 people getting injured, and one person […]
BROKEN MEDIA, BROKEN POLITICS
If Mass journalists were doing their jobs, Baker would not be so popular It’s always funny to hear that Charlie Baker is a very popular governor… The most popular governor in the country at the moment, according to polls. Because he doesn’t do anything very differently than his predecessor Deval Patrick did. Or […]
YOUR MOVE, BOSTON
Only a massive protest movement can stop government giveaways to megacorps Boston politics—in both its state and local variants—seems to consist largely of backroom deals between government officials and major corporations punctuated by rituals of representative democracy that are increasingly put on just for show. Perhaps it has ever been thus. But that […]
TOWNIE: CORPORATE TAX FABLES AND COMMUNITARIAN KIDDIE TABLES
Big local corps quiet about huge profits to come from Repub tax scheme… except GE An interesting WBUR article, “Largest Mass. Companies Are Mostly Silent On GOP Tax Plans,” asked the top 12 corporations in the Commonwealth to comment on the recently passed Republican scheme to transfer vast amounts of money from the working […]
MASSACHUSETTS SUPER TROOPERS
No matter how many bullets they shoot or dangerous arrests they may make, those who cover up atrocities and fortify a system that coddles the family and friends of the powerful are pathetic and weak next to the few who facilitate transparency.
GENERAL ELECTRIC FAIL
Conglomerate’s woes throw Boston HQ deal contradictions into bold relief What a surprise. General Electric is tanking, and the scheme to bring the multinational’s headquarters to Boston is looking worse by the day. And whom shall the public blame if that once-secret deal cut by Gov. Charlie Baker and Mayor Marty Walsh in […]
TOWNIE: A WORM’S EYE VIEW OF THE MASS POWER STRUCTURE
From the guy that brings you Apparent Horizon The rich and powerful interests that control Massachusetts politics and the state economy have their fingers in every conceivable pie. So numerous are their projects that it’s difficult for most news outlets to keep track of them, let alone cover them all. Yet it’s […]
SHAME TIME: IT’S TIME TO MAKE NONVOTERS FEEL EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE
They poison our Facebook and Twitter feeds, struggling to channel their emotions and be heard. But while they’re willing to piss into the bottomless rhetorical ocean that is social media, they’re not willing to pull the singular lever that has measurable impact. Imagine the nerve.
WE INTERVIEWED MORE THAN 25 BOSTON CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES ABOUT SCHOOLS
We really did sit down with 27 candidates for Boston City Council—from at-large contenders to those trying for district seats—to ask about Boston Public Schools.
ELECTION SPECIAL: THE SWEET SMELL OF INCUMBENCY
In Boston politics, nothing helps more than already being in office
