MULTIPLE EFFORTS are under way to repeal the longstanding ban on happy hour in Massachusetts. If you’re not old enough to remember, happy hour ended here in 1984, when legislators, seeking to reduce drunk driving and its devastating consequences, passed a law banning bars and restaurants from offering free or reduced-price alcoholic beverages. Previous efforts […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Making gig economy look like mainstream economy would be big mistake
IN NOVEMBER 2022, voters will determine the future of the gig economy in Massachusetts, deciding two ballot measures related to temporary or contract workers who seek to remain independent freelancers. The first petition recently certified by the attorney general aims to “define and regulate the contract-based relationship between network companies and app-based drivers as independent […]
Posted inOpinion
Remember the right whales with a special day
RAMONA DELANEY’S 93-year-old grandmother died peacefully on a Tuesday in April. The funeral service was held on Friday. On Saturday, Ramona, with husband Matt Delaney and 14-year-old daughter Katrina, purchased an over-sand permit for their jeep and drove out through the sand dunes of Race Point at the northernmost tip of Cape Cod. A ripple […]
Posted inOpinion
With union loophole closed, super PACs on rise
BOSTON’S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE is about to undergo it’s second seismic shift in under a decade, and this one couldn’t be more different from the event which brought former mayor Marty Walsh into office in 2013. Back then, Walsh won with the help of a “union loophole “in campaign finance law. In this year’s campaign between […]
Posted inPolitics
Voting choices not a simple matter
I HAVE BEEN thinking about who votes for whom and why for a long time. I have been through plenty of campaigns and have sliced and diced numbers for decades. Notwithstanding the availability of far more information than we could have ever imagined decades ago, there is still no one simple answer as to who […]
Posted inOpinion
Independent foster care reviews needed at DCF
WHEN WE LEARNED of David Almond’s death on October 21, 2020, we were heartbroken. Tragically, this was not the first time we had seen a child die while under the supervision of the Department of Children and Families. Yet the report following David’s death, published by the Office of the Child Advocate in March 2021, […]
Posted inOpinion
Cowardly, reckless action by Boxborough Select Board
AFTER ATTENDING the October 18 meeting of the Boxborough Select Board, I am concerned about where our town is headed and who is leading. Police Chief Warren Ryder, a 25-year employee of the town, was brought in to the meeting to “answer” unspecified allegations of “payroll irregularities.” It was somewhat difficult for him to do, […]
Posted inOpinion
MBTA has a bad plan for electrification
THE MBTA says that it is committed to an emission-free future bus system, but its plans suggest otherwise. Recently, the T published a document justifying its decision to abandon its existing electrification network and replace it with battery-electric buses (with diesel heaters). This decision is supported by the assertions that lifecycle costs for these battery […]
Posted inOpinion
Incumbent-first law is unique to Massachusetts
AMONG THE WAYS that Massachusetts is unique among the 50 states: our state election ballots give top billing to incumbent state officeholders who are seeking re-election, with the other candidates listed in alphabetical order below. (Cities and towns can choose alternatives – Boston, notably, selects candidate order by lottery.) No other state reserves the top […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. lags badly in workplace accessibility for disability community
OCTOBER IS National Disability Employment Awareness Month. NDEAM’s roots go back to 1945. It is held each October to “commemorate the many and varied contributions of people with disabilities to America’s workplaces and economy.” Seventy-six years later, however, many people with disabilities in Massachusetts are unable to “contribute” to “America’s workplaces and economy” because Massachusetts […]