MBTA GENERAL MANAGER STEVE POFTAK stressed Friday that T officials are working as quickly and safely as possible to assess and fix the damage to the Red Line, and he said despite the disruption to service, the July 1 fare increases will go forward as planned. “This is unacceptable and we apologize for the inconvenience […]
Andy Metzger
Andy Metzger is currently studying law at Temple University in Philadelphia. Previously, he joined CommonWealth Magazine as a reporter in January 2019. He has covered news in Massachusetts since 2007. For more than six years starting in May 2012 he wrote about state politics and government for the State House News Service. At the News Service, he followed three criminal trials from opening statements to verdicts, tracked bills through the flumes and eddies of the Legislature, and sounded out the governor’s point of view on a host of issues – from the proposed Olympics bid to federal politics.
Before that, Metzger worked at the Chelmsford Independent, The Arlington Advocate, the Somerville Journal and the Cambridge Chronicle, weekly community newspapers that cover an array of local topics. Metzger graduated from UMass Boston in 2006. In addition to his written journalism, Metzger produced a work of illustrated journalism about Gov. Charlie Baker’s record regarding the MBTA. He lives in Somerville and commutes mainly by bicycle.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Ortiz case showcases Dominican justice system
THE MEDICAL CARE DAVID ORTIZ is receiving in Boston as he recovers from a gunshot wound is some of the best in the world, but the same superlatives cannot be used in describing the criminal justice process unfolding in the Dominican Republic to bring the gunman and others to account for the attack. The scene […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker: Repairs to T must not shut out riders
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER says the MBTA faces real constraints on how quickly it can repair and upgrade the region’s transit system, but Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu says a historic lack of urgency is to blame for the T’s shoddiness. “We’ve reached this point of transportation crisis because of a failure to act quickly enough […]
Posted inGambling
Wynn has plan for traffic, but yachts could be problem
ENCORE BOSTON HARBOR, which won approval Wednesday to open for testing next week, is plunking down big bucks to try to avoid exacerbating the region’s notorious gridlock when it opens in less than two weeks, but the Everett casino only has limited control over how people get there. For instance, the casino’s three water shuttles […]
Posted inTransportation
T still investigating Red Line derailment
MBTA OFFICIALS had few answers about what might have caused a derailment that wreaked havoc on Tuesday morning commutes and they offered no estimates about when Red Line service might return to normal. Late Tuesday afternoon, the MBTA tweeted that Red Line service had resumed between Ashmont and Alewife, and it is phasing out the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Perfect port an elusive goal for East Coast offshore wind
NORTHEAST SEAPORTS ARE inadequate to meet the needs of the offshore wind industry, and ideas for filling that gap could create tension between the sometimes competing goals of those overseeing the burgeoning sector. “Developers have studied all the ports up and down the East Coast several times now. What we’re really looking for is large […]
Posted inHealth Care
CHIA good source of data about Mass. health care
THE CENTER FOR HEALTH INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS produces reams of data for both Massachusetts policymakers and the public, providing a window into state health care expenditures and offering tools to compare prices between different providers. Ray Campbell, the executive director of CHIA, walked through some of the available online data tools during a recent conversation […]
Posted inTransportation
Senate passes distracted driving bill unanimously
LEGISLATION TO CRACK down on cellphone use by drivers breezed through the Senate on Thursday, setting up a debate with the House over how concerns about racial profiling should be handled before it is sent to the governor. Before the unanimous vote, members highlighted the tragic stories of parents seated in the gallery who had […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Trial recalls 2014 horror in Blackstone
THE MURDER TRIAL of Erika Murray is a gut-turning tragedy that defines callousness. Murray is facing charges of murdering two infants discovered in her Blackstone home five years ago. A third dead baby was also found in the trash-strewn house, which was razed soon after. Scott Croteau, a reporter for MassLive, wrote a comprehensive overview […]
Posted inPolitics
Pro-union bill receives big bipartisan support in House
DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS in the House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to pass a bill backed by all of the state’s public-sector unions that would restore some labor power that had been sapped by a controversial US Supreme Court decision. In a 5-4 ruling last year, the court sided with Mark Janus, deciding he did not have […]