NYC, Boston view ride-hailing apps differently

By CommonWealth Staff Lyft, Uber 0 Comments Aug 8, 2018

New York City and Boston are night and day when it comes to ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft. New York is engaged in a fierce policy debate about the apps, amid fears they are contributing to crippling congestion and exploiting drivers. In Boston and at the MBTA, meanwhile, the issue is largely on(...)

The Download/ Media

Silencing speech or rejecting hate?

By CommonWealth Staff Alex Jones 0 Comments Aug 7, 2018

When then-Gov. Deval Patrick stepped to the microphone for the first press conference the evening of the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, the first question stopped him and nearly everyone in attendance in their tracks. “Why were the loud speakers telling people in the audience to be calm moments before the bombs went off?” the(...)

The Download/ Politics

The Codcast: Is Charlie Baker really a Republican?

By CommonWealth Staff Governor Baker 0 Comments Aug 6, 2018

Gov. Charlie Baker has an R next to his name, but many Republicans don’t think it belongs there. Ed Lyons, a Republican activist who is a big fan of Baker, said the governor’s acceptance of the grand bargain in the recently completed legislative session disturbed many in the GOP. The grand bargain embraced legislation raising(...)

The Download/ Politics

The Senate’s big whiff

By CommonWealth Staff 0 Comments Aug 3, 2018

The process of passing legislation on Beacon Hill is a lot like a game of ping pong. The House passes a bill and sends it over to the Senate. The Senate tweaks the legislation and sends it back to the House. The back and forth goes on until final language is agreed upon. Then the(...)

The Download/ Criminal Justice

A real-life mystery at Boston library

By CommonWealth Staff 0 Comments Aug 2, 2018

In a building whose shelves are packed with gripping fictional whodunits, it’s a real-life whodunit that is also a whodunwhat. On Tuesday, the Boston Herald broke the story that three Boston Public Library facilities managers were on unpaid leave pending the outcome of an investigation. A BPL spokesman confirmed that the action was taken on(...)

The Download/ Politics

Lawmakers leave a lot on the table

By CommonWealth Staff 0 Comments Aug 1, 2018

Massachusetts lawmakers suspended their rules and went beyond their midnight end-of-session deadline, but still they couldn’t finish all the work they had planned to do. The House adjourned at 1:12 a.m. Wednesday and the Senate ended its session at 1:20 a.m. When the dust settled, the two chambers had approved bills dealing with opioid(...)

The Download/ Politics

No consensus on Capuano-Pressley showdown

By CommonWealth Staff Ayanna Pressley, Michael Capuano 0 Comments Jul 31, 2018

You might as well put a fork in Rep. Michael Capuano, whose long career is about to sunset in the face of a growing left-wing wave. Or is it getting to be desperation time for Ayanna Pressley, who will look to sudden lefty sensation Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to give her underdog campaign needed jolt of(...)

The Download/ Criminal Justice/ Politics

The Codcast: Words matter in immigration debate

By CommonWealth Staff 0 Comments Jul 30, 2018

To say there’s a chasm as wide as the Rio Grande between both sides of the immigration debate would be an understatement. The conversation about compromise is a non-starter because neither side can even agree on what terms to use. US Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling, in a recent sit-down with CommonWealth, acknowledged his office(...)

The Download/ Criminal Justice/ Politics

Lelling: Trump’s point man in Massachusetts

By CommonWealth Staff Andrew Lelling, Jeff Sessions 0 Comments Jul 27, 2018

Andrew Lelling, the US Attorney for Massachusetts, is emerging as a loyal Donald Trump lieutenant in one of the bluest states in the country. Little was known about Lelling when Trump nominated him for the post last September. He had worked the previous 12 years in the office, first under Michael Sullivan and then Carmen(...)

The Download/ Transportation

Growing calls to tackle traffic’s toll

By CommonWealth Staff 0 Comments Jul 26, 2018

Never mind the Democratic Legislature or smart growth and transportation advocacy groups. Gov. Charlie Baker is now getting pressure to embrace a pilot program calling for variable-price tolling from the state’s leading conservative think tank. Baker has strongly signaled his dislike of a provision of the state budget sitting on his desk that calls for(...)


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