Chris Lisinski

House and Senate Democrats continue to break their own dismal records. With no end in sight to their staring contest over what strings to attach to emergency shelter funding, the Legislature now appears on track for the most overdue closeout budget in nearly three decades. “This is the latest into the year that legislative leaders have […]

Gathering tens of thousands of signatures from registered voters typically looms as the largest obstacle en route to putting a question on the ballot, and the first contender among the 2024 field is about to claim success. Workers for Uber and Lyft who want the right to unionize, and the organized labor leaders who support them, plan […]

The ghosts, ghouls and goblins have departed for a lengthy slumber, All Saints’ Day is here, and believe it or not, it’s almost time for another extended legislative break. Only two weeks are left before the end of formal sessions for 2023 under legislative rules, leaving a narrow window for lawmakers to finish any major business […]

It could be a day of big change for a pair of the most harrowing, complex issues vexing Massachusetts policymakers. Tuesday will bring an emergency court hearing over Gov. Maura Healey’s response to the overwhelming demand on the state’s emergency shelter system, driven in large part by a significant increase in newly arriving migrants. Hours after […]

t’s a tale as old as time, or at least 2003, when Barbra Streisand inadvertently attracted the entire internet’s attention with a lawsuit over a little-seen photo of her home: trying to suppress something can only make people more interested. So it goes for the MBTA, which managed to step on a rake by quickly […]

If a jam-packed, jovial bill-signing event in the State House Library was not enough of a sign, then a new statewide tour will certainly showcase Gov. Maura Healey in celebration mode. Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll plan a pair of stops today in Gardner and Haverhill to discuss tax relief that will support children and families in Massachusetts […]

The campaign to cease the use of MCAS scores as a graduation requirement could produce one of the most bruising political fights of the two-year cycle, and a legislative hearing this afternoon (2 p.m.) will mark one of the opening volleys. Supporters and opponents of the standardized testing reform will descend into the State House’s Gardner Auditorium for […]

Offshore wind power players will flock to Boston today for a conference and exhibition about an industry that has promised transformative impacts. Getting them to stay in Massachusetts seems to be the harder part. The two-day Offshore WINDPOWER hosted by the American Clean Power Association that runs through Wednesday comes at an especially precipitous time for the […]

While the outlook for the next six weeks on Beacon Hill remains mostly opaque now that a tax relief bill is on Gov. Maura Healey‘s desk, there’s one item lawmakers undoubtedly need to tackle: a final wrap-up spending bill for fiscal year 2023. Every year, the Legislature needs to approve a closeout budget to balance state […]