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 […]
POPULAR NOT POPULIST: GOV BAKER CONTINUES TO POLL WELL WITH PEOPLE HE’S SCREWING
There is no area of Massachusetts politics where it is more baffling to contemplate Gov. Charlie Baker’s ongoing popularity in the polls than the annual state budget debate. One can only draw two conclusions from such musing: either people don’t get the budget information they need from Bay State press, or a majority of […]
STOP BAKER’S ‘MORE SCHOOL COPS AND SURVEILLANCE’ PLAN
Why the Mass budget surplus is better spent on infrastructure needs Having just been handed an estimated $1 billion budget surplus for the 2018 fiscal year, Gov. Charlie Baker was quick to make a proposal last week to divide up the unexpected spoils. According to MassLive, “Around half of that will be […]
GRAND SCHEME
Mass legislature helps, harms workers in “deal” with labor and business lobbies No sooner did the Supreme Judicial Court shoot down the “millionaires’ tax” referendum question last week than the Mass legislature rammed a so-called grand bargain bill (H 4640) through both chambers. A move aimed at shoring up tax revenue threatened by […]
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.
MASS HYSTERIA: FROM GATEHOUSE, TO THE SLAKE HOUSE, TO THE STATE HOUSE
The week Commonwealth residents looked at the encroaching national apocalypse and said, ‘Us too!’
TOWNIE: UMB DRUBBING, PAWSOX GRUBBING
University cuts and a (possible) corporate scam just in time for the holidays UMass Boston admin lays off more staff, unions push back The neoliberal war on public higher education continues unabated in Massachusetts as the UMass Boston administration announced the layoff of 36 personnel last week, and a reduction in hours for […]
STATE WIRE: ADVOCATES TELL LAWMAKERS TO GET THE LEAD OUT
The bill would require the replacement of lead service lines, the largest single source of lead in drinking water, to schools and daycare centers, and installation of filters on taps and fountains.
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 […]
PROBLEM EQUIPMENT: WILL LEGISLATORS STAND UP TO THE MILITARIZED POLICE STATE?
It is through small decisions like this, town by town, that our police departments are slowly changing to look less like the people they serve, and more like occupying armies.
