Massachusetts Archives

BROKEN MEDIA, BROKEN POLITICS

If Mass journalists were doing their jobs, Baker would not be so popular May 1, 2018 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS It’s always funny to hear that Charlie Baker is a very popular governor… The most popular governor in the country at the moment, according to polls. Because

JASON PRAMAS May 1, 2018

TOWNIE: AIRLINES SUING, UMASS SCREWING

Corporate attack on workers rights and a corporate-style attack on UMB by UMA April 11, 2018 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS If there’s one thing I think people should do every day, it’s read the business press. Because that’s where you see how the world runs. A world

JASON PRAMAS April 11, 2018

THERE WILL BE NO OUTSIDE WORLD TO HELP US

Boston’s global warming plans must prepare region for worst case scenarios March 28, 2018 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS In a couple of recent columns—and several others over the years—I’ve looked at some of the specific threats that scientists expect Boston will be facing from global warming-induced climate

JASON PRAMAS March 28, 2018

THE PULL UP

Photos by John Brewer “We try to position each artist on the lineup as their own thing, and try to promote them as a star. … We aren’t just trying to put people on a bill and have a show.” “It was [Jay-Z’s] Hard Knock Life Tour.” DJ Real P,

G. VALENTINO BALL March 28, 2018

TERROR AT 50 FEET

Acrimony over Seaport gondola plan speaks to need for expanded MBTA service March 13, 2018 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Much ink has been spilled in the Boston press over a plan by luxury developer Millennium Partners and its subsidiary Cargo Ventures to spend $100 million to build

JASON PRAMAS March 13, 2018

YOUR MOVE, BOSTON

Only a massive protest movement can stop government giveaways to megacorps March, 2018 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Boston politics—in both its state and local variants—seems to consist largely of backroom deals between government officials and major corporations punctuated by rituals of representative democracy that are increasingly put

JASON PRAMAS March 7, 2018

CHILDREN AND SWAT RAIDS

The unintended consequences of militarized police in Massachusetts homes At 5 a.m. on a hot August night in 2015, a van carrying the Worcester SWAT team pulled up outside a triple-decker on Hillside Street. The officers were wearing body armor, ballistic helmets and camouflage clothing. They came bearing shotguns, handguns

SETH KERSHNER March 1, 2018

TOWNIE: MASS REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITIES FACE MAJOR BUDGET CRISIS

Gov. Baker’s proposed cuts throw gasoline on raging policy fire February 21, 2018 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS A quarter-century ago, I lived in Lawrence for a few months. Because it was the closest place to Boston that I could find a cheap apartment on short notice. Unfortunately,

JASON PRAMAS February 21, 2018

CRISIS AVERTED

MBTA bus mechanics beat back privatization… at a cost February 14, 2018 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Unionized bus mechanics represented by the International Association of Machinists Local 264 won an important victory last week when they agreed to a four-year contract with the MBTA—effectively ending a two-year

JASON PRAMAS February 14, 2018

CAPE FEAR

Sheriff sides with Trump and ICE, against constituents and immigrants “It’s essentially an end run around the bail process,” said Laura Rótolo, a staff counsel and community advocate with the Massachusetts branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. Rótolo was referring to plans by Barnstable County Sheriff James Cummings to use cooperation with the

EOIN HIGGINS February 6, 2018