MASSACHUSETTS HAS SET realistic goals for reducing carbon emissions by 2030, but it will be necessary to make regulatory and policy updates to achieve those benchmarks. Fortunately, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) recognizes this imperative and advanced a provisional program that will explore new ways to upgrade our electric grid to accommodate the […]
Opinion
Posted inDrug Addiction
Removal of Mass. and Cass encampment long overdue
BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu’s plan to clear tents from the Mass. and Cass homeless camping site by January 12 is long overdue. If only it had been done earlier, the move could have averted a humanitarian crisis. Many believe the encampment has grown merely because the people there lack shelter. The city had claimed it […]
Posted inEducation
Time for action to increase teacher diversity in Mass.
SHANICE MAXWELL, the 8th grade English language arts teacher at Dearborn STEM Academy in Boston, tells a story of a Black 8th grader who walked into class on the first day of school this year and saw that he had three Black teachers in his classroom – Maxwell, her inclusion co-teacher, and a Boston Teacher […]
Posted inOpinion
Deciphering T-speak on fare-free bus, capital transfer
RECENT REPORTS coming out of the MBTA illuminate deeply flawed thinking about Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s free bus plan and raise serious concerns about the transit agency’s ability to leverage federal capital funding potentially available to the T via the new federal transportation bill. While there’s a lot to unpack here, it really isn’t as […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. falling behind on marijuana equity mandate
AFTER MASSACHUSETTS voters legalized adult-use cannabis in 2016, the Legislature made history as the first in the nation to require full participation in the regulated industry by individuals who were harmed by previous marijuana prohibition. Unfortunately, five years later, our state is now falling behind others when it comes to meeting our own equity mandate. This concerns […]
Posted inOpinion
Free or cheap parking is the great enabler
WHAT WOULD YOU DO with your car if there was no place to park it? Everyone who owns a car must have a place to put it while it’s not in use (which is most of the time). Sometimes you’re wealthy or lucky enough to have housing where a parking space is available to you. […]
Posted inPolitics
Jerome Rappaport and the destruction of Boston’s West End
Jerome Rappaport, a huge figure in Boston’s business and civic world, died on December 6 at age 94. Rappaport, a successful developer and philanthropist, had an enormous impact on Boston over a span of more than 70 years. That included his role as the principal figure in one of the most controversial development projects in […]
Posted inOpinion
Why can’t Logan get bus pickup right?
MY LAST THREE FLIGHTS into Logan Airport have all ended the same way: with disappointment. It has become painfully clear that Massport, a state agency claiming to be green and committed to sustainability, can’t be bothered to make sure airport curbs function safely and conveniently for bus and shuttle riders. Air travel is recovering from […]
Posted inOpinion
Life lessons from my dad and my dog
THANKSGIVING WEEK was a painful one for me. In the course of four days, I lost my dog and my dad. A week that was supposed to be filled with food and family was filled with loss instead. But my dog Izzy and my dad Ken both taught me important life lessons, which came into […]
Posted inOpinion
Every electron is not neutral
WE NEW ENGLANDERS have a spectacular opportunity to move rapidly from polluting fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. This transition will benefit us all: It will slow climate change, reduce pollution, save lives, and preserve New England’s beautiful environment for our children and their children. A wholesale transition to renewable energy will also save us […]