I’LL NEVER FORGET my experience as a first-time homeowner of an almost 200-year-old New England charmer. In our late 20s, and open to learning all that we could in order to be good stewards of a historic home, my husband and I were advised to have someone take a look at reinforcing an old floor […]
Opinion
Posted inCriminal Justice
We must stop the cycle of gun violence in hard-hit Boston neighborhoods
WE WERE IN grade school when the first person we knew was murdered. Our 16-year-old cousin, Craig, was killed outside his house in Dorchester over a pair of sneakers. A few years later, our Uncle Bibsy was murdered not far from there. Thirty years later and with numerous other friends, neighbors, and acquaintances lost to violence, […]
Posted inOpinion
Big omission in commentary on women in government
IT IS INCREDULOUS that an opinion piece about the 2022 election and role of women in Massachusetts government completely ignores the women of the Massachusetts Senate. The role of women in the Senate has never been stronger. The majority leader, president emeritus, and vice chair of the ways and means committee are women. But, most importantly, the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Gun violence prevention starts with community work
BY THE AGE of 13, Jose had already been arrested for a violent crime. Like so many teenagers, he longed for connection, community, and caring role models. He eventually found a community that would have his back. Unfortunately, it also came with a life associated with drugs and violence – challenges too often the result […]
Posted inOpinion
Adapting to water rather than fighting it
TEN YEARS AGO, Superstorm Sandy – after ravaging the Caribbean and much of the East Coast of the United States – turned inward and exerted its full force on New York City and the surrounding region, leading to tens of billions of dollars in damages, crippling the city’s subway system, and causing widespread power outages. […]
Posted inOpinion
Drug discount program vital to hospital care
TO IMPROVE health care for patients, hospitals tailor care delivery to the particular needs of their communities, often by extending services and support into the neighborhoods they serve. But some resources that make these community health initiatives possible are increasingly under threat from drug company restrictions. The federal drug pricing program known as 340B enables […]
Posted inOpinion
This election is turning point for Massachusetts, women
THE MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTION is the world’s oldest governing document that remains in effect today. In writing it, John Adams must have had in mind his wife Abigail’s letter, asking him to “remember the ladies.” That ideal certainly matches the Constitution’s eloquent definition of “the body politic” as “a social compact, by which the whole people covenants with each citizen.” Nearly 250 […]
Posted inUncategorized
Question 4 won’t make roads any safer
SINCE 2014, 15 states and the District of Columbia have offered driver’s licenses to those in the country illegally. Three states, Washington, New Mexico, and Utah offered licenses in 1993, 2003, and 2005, respectively. Massachusetts and Rhode Island will begin issuing licenses on July 1, 2023. The primary reason offered by proponents has been that […]
Posted inOpinion
Question 4 is an investment in health
“WELL, I’M SCARED to drive to the appointment,” my patient Henry finally admitted over the phone. I heard him catch his breath and hold it. He hadn’t been in for a medical checkup in years. He had been pushed out of Chelsea when his rent was raised, and now lives a 45-minute drive from the […]
Posted inOpinion
Forests: the natural solution to climate crisis
FROM CATASTROPHIC STORMS and record-breaking heat to the rapid decline of bird and insect populations, a day doesn’t pass without news about the dire ecological and economic effects of climate change. Sometimes, the relentless cascade of troubling data and predictions can seem like background noise – too difficult to solve, easier to tune out. Here […]