John Henry, the billionaire owner of the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Globe, appears to have negotiated a very sweet deal when he sold the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in June, according to documents on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The documents were filed by New Media Investment Group, which purchased the […]
The Download
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Patrick fires a shot in the dark at legislators
As Gov. Deval Patrick (until noon Thursday, that is) strolled out of the State House Wednesday evening on his not-so Lone Walk, there was likely one common thought running through the minds of the legislators he left behind: “Don’t let the door hit your butt on the way out.” As his term has been winding […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
The most interesting man in the Bay State political world
With Massachusetts focused on Deval Patrick’s “Lone Walk” and Charlie Baker’s inauguration, one person has been out of the headlines in recent weeks: House Speaker Robert DeLeo. DeLeo is largely invisible to the vast majority of state residents – his Salvation Army holiday bell-ringing stint outside Macy’s in Downtown Crossing did not attract as many […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
Casino sausage
Watching the Greater Boston casino licensing process is a little like watching sausage get made. There are lots of rules and regulations and plenty of lawyers involved, but everything still goes through the grinder. The process has twisted Boston Mayor Marty Walsh into knots. Miffed that Wynn Resorts won’t pay Boston what he thinks the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
For Patrick, a kick on the way out
Today’s Boston Globe story on the unveiling of Deval Patrick‘s official gubernatorial portrait is headlined, “A last hurrah for governor.” Yesterday’s front-page takeout on his eight years in office offered up more of a Bronx cheer. A day of hagiographic plaudits from former aides and supporters who had speaking roles at the State House portrait […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Vermont pulls plug on single-payer
Earlier this year, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin told Vox that, for better or worse, the hopes of every advocate for single-payer health care rode on his state’s ambitious health care overhaul. Vermont would either pull off a successful transition to single-payer, and a cascade of states would follow, or it would fail, and cement the […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Patrick’s school choice
A Boston Herald editorial today calls on Gov.-elect Charlie Baker to work to eliminate the cap on charter schools in Massachusetts. Baker has been a strong supporter of charters, independently-operated public schools that were first authorized by the state’s 1993 education reform law, and he is likely to try to push in that direction. But […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Health plan ad has hidden message
One of the more interesting items in the Boston Globe the last couple days has been a full-page ad from Neighborhood Health Plan. It appears to be one of those year-end, feel-good ads thanking the health plan’s subscribers for their support, but there’s probably a hidden message as well. “At Neighborhood Health Plan, we know that […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Sam Sutter, politician
No one will ever accuse Sam Sutter, the newly elected mayor of Fall River, of being dumb or blind. Or of lacking ambition. Sutter, the soon-to-be-former Bristol district attorney, saw an opening with the troubles of Mayor Will Flanagan and drove a truck through it straight to City Hall, using his name recognition in this […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Vivek Murthy and the ghosts of surgeon generals past
Brigham and Women’s Dr. Vivek Murthy finally becomes the US Surgeon General (if only due to procedural quirk in the often quirky Senate where old-timers like Harry Reid can get the better of young pups like Ted Cruz). The Brookline resident’s nomination had been held up by senators annoyed that a doctor had labeled gun violence […]