A clarification has been added to this story to more fully explain the nature of the party. THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSING Finance Agency has been through a rough patch when it comes to coverage from the Boston Herald. The headline-hungry tabloid has gone after the quasi-public affordable housing agency in one story after another, detailing “lavish” spending […]
The Back Story
Posted inThe Back Story
Car-free development taking root
THE PROPOSAL FOR a five-story, 56-unit residential apartment building on Dorchester Avenue includes a lot of the amenities that are now standard features in new development projects: A ground-floor gym and “media room,” a storage room with a rack for several dozen bicycles, and a community room on the top floor adjacent to a roof […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Shaw 54th: A disruptive work of art
AT A TIME when Civil War monuments across the country are coming under fire, the National Park Service, the city of Boston, and the Friends of the Public Garden are preparing to spend $2.8 million fixing up the Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Regiment Memorial on Boston Common. The memorial, facing Beacon Street across from […]
Posted inHealth Care
Perfect storm led to healthy kidney removal
ANKUR PARIKH, a 37-year-old urologist, logged into the medical records system at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester and examined what he thought was a CT kidney scan that had been done on his 65-year-old patient who had blood in his urine. The scan showed the presence of a large tumor on the left kidney, […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Are Chinese rail cars a Trojan horse?
AS IF THE MBTA doesn’t have enough trouble keeping its aging fleet of trains going, a state lawmaker is warning that the cure may be worse than the disease. State Rep. Shawn Dooley says the T is jeopardizing the safety and personal information of riders by contracting with a Chinese-owned firm to build 400 new […]
Posted inOpinion
Pharmacy middlemen manipulating the system
A RECENT FEDERAL LAW allows pharmacists to inform patients when the price of their medication is less than the copayment they would pay using their insurance. This is helpful to some patients using certain low-cost medication. But there are much bigger savings to be realized by limiting payments to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) who have […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Grid hearing had one-sided feel
Legislative hearings are supposed to be fact-finding missions – a bill comes before a committee, proponents and opponents testify, and lawmakers ask questions to understand the implications of the proposed legislation. But hearings can also serve as the backdrop to rally support for a cause, more of a set-piece for impassioned political theater than an effort to understand complicated legislation. The latter role was very much […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Swampscott agreement deals with gender fluidity
When Swampscott elementary school principal Thomas Shannon Daniels first came out as transgender in February, he indicated his gender was fluid. “For me, that means I identify as both a male and a female, and I plan to move toward presenting myself and identifying myself as female,” he said. Schools Superintendent Pamela Angelakis initially praised […]
Posted inThe Back Story
DCR hiring a debt collection agency
THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION and Recreation – the largest landowner in the state — is in the process of hiring a debt-collection company to go after tenants who owe the agency thousands of dollars in delinquent rent. As of the end of September, DCR was owed $422,000 in back rent by a total of […]
Posted inThe Back Story
‘Big Marijuana’ is actually a thing
DURING THE 2016 CAMPAIGN, and since the passage of the law legalizing the sale and adult use of marijuana in Massachusetts, opponents of legal pot have continually pointed to the potential for wealthy investors to cash in on the billion-dollar industry and nudge smaller entrepreneurs to the side. They have labeled such corporate backers “Big […]