Policy
Five Ways Massachusetts Ditched the Nanny State during the Pandemic
On the one hand, city and state government decisions have never played a more jarringly intrusive role in our day-to-day activities, with sweeping curfews, strictly […]
Check Your Mail: The City Is Pulling a Switcheroo on Your Electricity Provider
Imagine if the City of Boston negotiated a deal with T-Mobile on behalf of all residents and businesses. And instead of offering it as an […]
Is Massachusetts Shaming Divorced Parents?
On a Monday afternoon this summer, when I should have been working, I closed down Slack, shut my bedroom door for privacy, and joined a […]
Let’s Just Stay in Daylight Saving Time Year-Round in Massachusetts
We’ve all managed to stave off some quarantine cabin fever by staying outside all summer long, but the extra layers and shorter late-afternoon walks are […]
The Interview: Joe Curtatone Is a Rebel With a Cause
As the leader of one of the region’s most “abnormal” (his word) cities, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone has never been afraid to go against the […]
Pressure Is Rising to Cut Police Budgets, but the Mayor Isn’t Completely on Board
Never before has the rallying cry to reform policing as we know it been this loud—or this sweeping. Demands for increased use of body cameras, […]
A Guide to Staging an Impactful Protest in Your Own City
While thousands of people have taken to the streets of Boston to protest police brutality against Black people, suburbanites have been taking notes. In recent […]
The BPDA: Paved and Confused
Like a scene out of The Departed, a pinched old white man in a black jacket leans across the passenger seat of a car to […]
Varshini Prakash Is Trying to Save Boston From Climate Change
On my college campus at UMass Amherst when I was 19, we ran a campaign to divest from fossil fuels. I was astonished when someone […]
Is It Time to Pour One Out for the Packie?
Here in Boston, a city infamous for its unique cultural identity, it’s no surprise we feel a sense of loyalty to the neighborhood spot that […]
After Three Long Months, the State’s Vaping Ban Is Finally Over
The Massachusetts vaping ban, the most extreme reaction to this year’s spasm of e-cigarette-linked lung illness and death, has officially come to an end. Bad […]
Is Massachusetts Gearing up For a #MassExit?
From Beacon Hill to city halls, local politicians are inching ever closer to launching the state’s first safe injection facilities (SIFs)—and in doing so, igniting […]
The Massachusetts Vaping Ban Will End Early, but There’s a Catch
Vapers of Massachusetts, you may see e-cigarettes return to shelves in the state earlier than you thought: In a surprise announcement, Gov. Charlie Baker said […]
Menthol Ban: State House Bill Gives One More Reason to Go to New Hampshire
In a matter of days, Massachusetts is poised to once again get ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to tobacco laws, […]
Businesses Group Realizes the Obvious: A Gas Tax Would Ease the Transit Crisis
A local business coalition is throwing its weight behind resuscitating a controversial idea for raising revenues: a gas tax. In a message to state lawmakers […]