STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE RACHAEL ROLLINS, a former Suffolk County prosecutor who quickly rose in political prominence and often drew the ire of Republican lawmakers, will resign her role as US attorney for Massachusetts this week because “her presence has become a distraction,” her attorney said. Rollins’s attorney, former Justice Department inspector general Michael Bromwich, […]
Chris Lisinski // State House News Service
Posted inTransportation
Stop the deaths at MBTA, parents tell lawmakers
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CALLING FOR ACTION to “stop the pain and suffering,” the parents of a Boston University professor who died when he fell through a broken MBTA station staircase made an emotional call Monday for strengthening safety oversight of the under-fire transit agency. Debra Bingham and Kent Hamilton of Milton told lawmakers about […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
High Tech Council calls House move unconstitutional
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AN INFLUENTIAL BUSINESS group warned Monday that a bill the House approved last month features an “unconstitutional provision” to reshape the rebate program that provided nearly $3 billion back to taxpayers last year. The Massachusetts High Technology Council, which has threatened or taken legal action in several other tax policy matters, wrote […]
Posted inHealth Care
SJC allows AG to prosecute ex-Holyoke Soldiers Home officials
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A CRIMINAL TRIAL can proceed against two former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home officials accused of negligence that led to the deaths of elderly veteran residents early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the state’s highest court ruled Thursday. In a 5-2 decision that reversed a lower court’s dismissal of grand jury indictments, the Supreme […]
Posted inTransportation
Healey appoints new transportation safety czar
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. MAURA HEALEY on Monday appointed veteran transit official Patrick Lavin, who worked on a 2019 independent report highlighting widespread safety problems at the MBTA, to a newly created safety role linking the T and other state transportation departments. Lavin will become the first-ever chief safety officer at the Department of […]
Posted inGambling
Healey backs moving Lottery games online
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. MAURA HEALEY is on board with the House’s push to legalize online Massachusetts Lottery sales, a stance that could ramp up pressure on the Senate to approve another gambling expansion shortly after sports betting launched. Saying that her answer might leave host Jim Braude “shocked,” Gov. Maura Healey told GBH’s […]
Posted inTransportation
Ex-Keolis official accused in $8m commuter rail fraud
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A FORMER TOP OFFICIAL at Keolis Commuter Services pleaded not guilty to a slew of federal charges Wednesday after prosecutors alleged that he and another man working for a Keolis vendor stole more than $8 million from the company that operates the MBTA’s commuter rail system. Prosecutors accused John Pigsley, 58, […]
Posted inUncategorized
New Census numbers underscore competitiveness issues
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE POPULATION of Massachusetts shrunk by nearly 8,000 people between July 2021 and July 2022, a drop of about 0.1 percent, but the newest estimate released in fresh data from the US Census Bureau puts the state’s population ahead of its revised 2020 Census level. The bureau’s “Vintage 2022 estimates of […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
T says low-income fare ramp-up would be year
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MBTA OFFICIALS estimated Thursday they would need at least a year and about $5 million to get a widespread low-income fare option off the ground, plus tens of millions of dollars per year to cover its recurring costs. The startup price — which would effectively mirror money Gov. Maura Healey proposed […]
Posted inTransportation
For now, slow zones on the T the new normal
ONE-QUARTER OF the entire MBTA subway system will still be subject to more-sluggish-than-usual travel once the agency lifts end-to-end speed restrictions on the Green Line. More than a week after the T ordered trains to move slower because of failures to confirm past inspections and repairs, MBTA Interim General Manager Jeff Gonneville said Friday afternoon […]