McCain goes maverick-y

By CommonWealth Staff Charlie Baker, Civil and Constitutional Rights, Elections, Health Care, Legal marijuana, MBTA, National Politics, State Government 0 Comments Jul 28, 2017

In the end, John McCain, whose career has been marked by periods of both swashbuckling independence and fall-in-line toeing-the-Republican party line, chose the former for what may go down as his most memorable and final big moment in the US Senate. In the wee hours of the morning, the Arizona Republican cast the decisive vote(...)

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MassHealth votes represent major shift

By CommonWealth Staff Civil and Constitutional Rights, Cost of Living and Consumer Affairs, Current Affairs, Donald Trump, Elections, Healthcare, Legal marijuana, Massachusetts Legislature, State Government 2 Comments Jul 27, 2017

The Legislature’s rejection of Gov. Charlie Baker’s MassHealth savings initiatives represents a big political shift on Beacon Hill. In the past, Democratic lawmakers have largely ceded the nitty gritty of budget balancing to Baker, but Wednesday’s votes suggest they are willing to take a political stand that requires them to step up and find savings(...)

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Another hit for football

By CommonWealth Staff Current Affairs, Elections, Elementary and Secondary Education, Employment, MBTA, State Government, Transportation, Uber 0 Comments Jul 26, 2017

We may be known as home to the reigning NFL champions, but Boston is also the center of research efforts that have methodically plowed through the defensive line the multibillion-dollar industry erected against the idea that the repeated head injuries its players are subject to exacts a devastating human toll. The NFL conceded the problem(...)

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Baker facing resistance to MassHealth cuts

By CommonWealth Staff Charlie Baker, Cost of Living and Consumer Affairs, Current Affairs, Donald Trump, Health Care, Massachusetts Legislature, MBTA, Technology 2 Comments Jul 25, 2017

In Washington, the fight over the nation’s health care future is full of drama. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who is dealing with brain cancer, vowed to return to Capitol Hill today to vote on whether to begin debate on repealing the Affordable Care Act. And President Trump is making it very clear where he(...)

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A Metco take-down

By CommonWealth Staff Casinos, Civic engagement, Current Affairs, Elementary and Secondary Education, Energy, Massachusetts politics, State Government, Urban Affairs 0 Comments Jul 24, 2017

The headline on the Sunday Globe front-page story suggested the 50-year-old school integration program known as Metco was a mixed bag, but the story painted an almost uniformly dismal picture of students’ experience with the initiative. “As Metco turns 50, students find promise, but also pain, in their suburban schools,” read the balanced headline atop(...)

The Download/ Health Care

The Codcast: Health care duopoly in the making?

By CommonWealth Staff Partners HealthCare 1 Comment Jul 21, 2017

A group of hospitals led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health of Burlington are banding together to take on Partners HealthCare, the dominant health care provider in the state. But as the proposed merger starts to enter the regulatory review process, some health care advocates are beginning to question whether the BI-Lahey(...)

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For Jackson, tight squeeze to Walsh’s left

By CommonWealth Staff Charlie Baker, Elementary and Secondary Education, Energy, Immigration, National Politics, State Government, Taxes and Budget Issues, Urban Affairs 2 Comments Jul 20, 2017

Marty Walsh is out of touch with issues affecting working-class people and those in the city’s less affluent neighborhoods. He’s more attuned to downtown development than down-on-their-luck constituents, and he hasn’t been willing to confront the city’s long-festering race issues. If that sounds like a tough case to make against Boston’s workaday mayor, a recovering(...)

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As the Globe churns

By CommonWealth Staff Casinos, Charlie Baker, Current Affairs, Donald Trump, Growth and Development, Health Care, National Politics, Urban Affairs 2 Comments Jul 19, 2017

The newspaper industry is volatile enough because of outside pressures that stability at the top is a requirement to ensure as smooth a ride as possible in navigating the shifting dynamics of the changing business. But with the abrupt and immediate resignation of Boston Globe president and CEO Doug Franklin on Tuesday, owner John Henry(...)

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Baker (still) flying high

By CommonWealth Staff Charlie Baker, Civil and Constitutional Rights, Current Affairs, Higher Education and Adult Learning, MBTA, Municipal Government, Taxes and Budget Issues, Transportation 2 Comments Jul 18, 2017

It’s great to be on top. Just ask Gov. Charlie Baker. The Republican governor has maintained his No. 1 ranking in the latest Morning Consult poll showing America’s Most and Least Popular Governors. Baker clocks in with a 71 percent approval rating, with just 17 of state voters disapproving of his performance. His steady popularity(...)

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Hingham drama

By CommonWealth Staff Charlie Baker, Civil and Constitutional Rights, Current Affairs, Energy, Health Care, Higher Education and Adult Learning, National Politics, Urban Affairs 4 Comments Jul 17, 2017

For a small, toney town, Hingham generates an awful lot of news. The latest comes in Sunday’s Boston Globe with the recounting of a suicide by a distraught 26-year-old man whose parents claim a show of force by police led him to shoot himself despite warnings that a confrontation would heighten, rather than resolve, the(...)


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