There are countless issues on which Walsh and his team at Boston City Hall should probably focus in 2016, plus hundreds if not more ways that politics on Beacon Hill could improve.
Massachusetts
THE BARBARISM OF CHARTERISM: NEW YEAR, NEW THEATER IN THE WAR OVER CORPORATE ED REFORM IN MASS
If any of this seems odd, that’s because the education fight in Mass is hard to comprehend, if not impossible to understand for the casual observer—whether they have kids in public schools or not.
THE YEAR IN MASS CANNABIS
The road to legal is paved with hard work, not edibles
THE YEAR IN MASS SURVEILLANCE
You’d be better off using divination sticks than relying on TV to find out what’s going on regarding these matters, so we keep track of it all. Here’s a brief overview of this year’s surveillance-related news in the Commonwealth.
DISCIPLINE AND PUNISH (THE YEAR IN KRAMPUS)
In 2015, Krampus is slaking America’s thirst for red-cheeked justice
CANNABIS KRINGLE: THE PARENTS 4 POT HOLIDAY WISHLIST
At Parents 4 Pot, we connect every day with people who are in desperate situations, and who are making difficult decisions.
ONE BUD: A PLEA TO UNITE LEGALIZATION FACTIONS
The next chance we have to pass a legalization law realistically would be 2020 if CRMLA lost, and the next law would most likely be far more restrictive.
GET GIDDY COMMITTEE: MASS SENATE MOVES ON LEGAL WEED TURF
What’s most important here is that pols want to keep an edge on the two activist camps rallying for legalization next year on starkly different terms—even though Rosenberg now says legislators won’t tackle the cannabis question head-on.
BROKEN RECORDS: MASS PUBLIC RECORDS LAWS MAY BE ABOUT TO GET MUCH, MUCH WORSE
The bill still needs to go before the Senate, which will likely change it yet again, so there’s still hope that it will be fixed. But after seeing how the bill was devastated by the House, the future is unpredictable.
REMEMBRANCE AND PROTEST: THANKSGIVING THEN & NOW
A number of Native American nations were for all intents and purposes destroyed—at least as political entities. The rest were assimilated or marginalized.