“Senate showdown pits family roots against Boston councilor,” CommonWealth
“I’ve been at both ends of the economic spectrum in my life, and that’s a lot of our district,” Edwards said of the First Suffolk and Middlesex District, which reaches from wealthy Beacon Hill to immigrant-rich sections of East Boston and Revere. “And my experience has been in fighting for people on the margins who are always struggling.”
“Crumbling concrete, leaky ceilings: Twitter watchdogs chronicle disrepair on the MBTA,” Boston Globe
“Nearly every day, MBTA riders come across anything from cracked columns, loose flooring tiles, and leaky ceilings. While the T’s website has options to report problems inside stations, a small army of commuters is increasingly turning to a different medium to air their concerns: Twitter.” Just the latest example of why we need the Fair Share Amendment
“Revealed in dark of night and passed hours later in nearly empty chamber, Mass. House moves $4 billion bill toward governor,” Boston Globe
“The final version of a bill spending billions in federal aid was revealed late Wednesday, long after dark. By Thursday morning, the $4 billion package emerged in a nearly empty chamber of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where it was approved without an audible “yea” or “nay.” Four minutes later, the session was over.” We deserve a better process than this.
“Charlie Baker’s Empty Suit,” WBUR
“The response to those cascading crises by the man who ran for governor in 2014 touting his executive experience and management skills? Baker “forgot” he had named Bennett Walsh to be superintendent of the Soldiers Home. He “didn’t know” until after the New Hampshire crash about the backlog at the RMV that eventually resulted in the suspension of thousands of drivers’ licenses. He didn’t get around to appointing a new oversight board at the MBTA until October, weeks after he vowed to make it a priority. The botched vaccine rollout was the federal government’s fault for not supplying enough vaccines fast enough. He signed a watered-down police “reform” bill years after the state police scandal broke.”
“Polite, Legal, and Unacknowledged: The Devastating Biases of Well-Heeled Suburbia,” The American Prospect
“This concentrated white affluence in certain Massachusetts suburbs is not just the result of the free market in housing; government zoning deserves a big part of the blame. In the relatively diverse city of Cambridge (median household income of $103,154), for example, the zoning code states that the minimum lot size for multifamily housing is 900 square feet, while 15 miles away, in Weston (median household income of $207,702), the multifamily minimum lot size has been set at 240,000 square feet, some 267 times higher than Cambridge’s.”
“Why You Should Get Off the Sidelines in the Abortion Debate,” WBUR
“Overwhelmed? That’s understandable. This issue is complex and has long been stigmatized. On top of that, there is just so much going on. So many valid causes that need your attention. So many demands of daily life. But the privilege you may have once held to sit out the abortion debate has evaporated. You’re part of an overwhelming majority of abortion rights supporters in America. Abortion access is about to be decimated, and the consequences will hit almost every corner of our society.”
“Boston City Council approves $8 million to make three MBTA bus lines fare-free starting next year,” Boston Globe
“Fare collection is a very inefficient way of generating revenue,” Berger said in an interview. “It slows the bus ride down, it makes it less competitive. … If we’re able to speed up the route by allowing people to enter through all doors, that will allow us to put more service on the road for the same cost.”
“Correction Department cries out for oversight,” Boston Globe (Editorial Board)
“What happens behind prison walls ought not to be shrouded in secrecy or mystery. It’s time to consider a better way — and that better way must include independent oversight of a department that has been a law unto itself for far too long.”