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Articles by James Doyle
Why Barnstable is integral to offshore wind plans
PEOPLE FLOCK TO to Barnstable for the beaches, but offshore wind developers are coming to that section of Cape Cod for a different reason. Ken Kimmell, vice president of offshore wind development at Avangrid, said the Cape is a unique location as far as his industry is concerned. "One of the things I learned on this job is that there is a relative shortage of places along the East Coast that can connect to the electric grid and have the capacity to take the power," he said on The Codcast .
Want to protect the historic character of Massachusetts cities and towns? Take away their power.
IT'S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE to propose almost any change at the local level in Massachusetts-a new apartment building, a corner-store zoning variance, even a bicycle lane-without setting off yelps of protest. Though these complaints come in many varieties, a perennial and familiar one is the fear any such change will corrode the "historic character" of the place in question. For the most unsentimental and pro-development reformers, these concerns are easily brushed aside.
Healey withholds records on abortion pill plan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A FEDERAL JUDGE hadn't even ruled yet on suspending approval of the abortion pill mifepristone in April when Gov. Maura Healey orchestrated a major reserve shipment of the drug through the state's flagship university. But despite pledges of public records transparency, any paper trail of how that response came together is still being kept locked away.
MBTA speed restrictions trending in wrong direction
In March, T officials said they uncovered some unspecified breakdown in rail repair work, which prompted the acting general manager, Jeffrey Gonneville, to order a systemwide slowdown on the entire subway system to make sure the trains ran at lower speeds and stayed on the tracks.
Two Thomas decisions declare 'war on innocence'
TWO SUPREME COURT opinions written by Justice Clarence Thomas and issued in the past month, Shinn v. Ramirez and Jones v. Hendricks, look like routine attacks on the Warren Court's protections for criminal defendants. In fact, they declare a war on innocence. Shinn decided two Arizona capital cases. In one, the victim's time of death excludes the defendant as the killer; in the other, the defendant suffers from devastating mental incapacities. No lawyer raised the issues in state court.
MTA gearing up to push for new ballot questions
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS in 2024 could be asked to settle two major education debates, but retailers may pass on bringing tax cuts to next year's ballot. The state's largest teacher's union is considering ballot questions that would eliminate the graduation requirement associated with statewide standardized testing and create a "debt free college scholarship program," both proposals that legislative leaders have hesitated to embrace.
Healey headed to Ireland on trade mission
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. MAURA HEALEY is scheduled to address the Irish Senate next week, and her first international gubernatorial travel plans also feature a series of business and commerce events alongside two Cabinet secretaries and other state officials, the governor's office announced Tuesday afternoon. Healey's trip to Dublin coincides with Ireland's 30-year anniversary of decriminalizing homosexuality and the 60th-anniversary of President John F.
Expanding South Station track capacity is not necessary
THE SOUTH STATION expansion plan once again is rearing its costly, business-as-usual head. The possible relocation of the Dorchester Avenue Postal Service facility presents an opportunity to drastically improve walkability, add mixed-use development, and enhance climate resilience in downtown Boston.
Grid operator dials back electricity concerns
AFTER YEARS of cautionary warnings about the risk of winter-time electricity shortages and possible brownouts, the operator of the New England power grid is putting that message on hold for several years. A new analysis by ISO New England indicates supply and demand for electricity should roughly balance out in the region through 2027. The analysis credits stronger than expected growth in solar power, fewer retirements of existing power plants, and flat demand for electricity.
Medicaid redetermination process off to fast start
A top state official says 9,000 residents have transferred from MassHealth to the Massachusetts Health Connector since April as part of the post-COVID Medicaid redetermination process. "That's a little bit more than we were even expecting for this time," said Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, on The Codcast . "The topline is it's early days but we are seeing strong activity.
Looking at 911 mental health calls in a new way
A SPOUSE, A SISTER, or a brother suffers an acute mental health crisis. Family members call 911 as a last resort. A Boston Globe analysis reports that these calls-there are a lot of them-initiate chains of events that can (and, on an average of five times each year in Massachusetts, do) culminate in a fatal police shooting. Should we send the cops? Or send the social workers? Or both? Current public debates leave the impression that the answers to those questions are the only answers we'll need.
Big decisions looming on offshore wind
EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS a picture surfaces out of New Bedford showing ships bringing in the giant parts needed to assemble Vineyard Wind, the nation's first commercial-scale wind farm. The eye-catching images are a reminder that offshore wind is coming, but of late the news about the fledgling industry suggests the rollout is going to be a lot slower than predicted.
R.I. official: Offshore wind regulators facing 'Hobson's choice'
A TOP REGULATOR in Rhode Island is raising concerns about the way offshore wind developers are seeking to renegotiate the financial terms of their projects, saying policymakers are facing "a veritable Hobson's choice" between protecting the interests of ratepayers and promoting the generation of electricity considered vital in the battle against climate change.
House leaders pushing majority rule in joint committees
HOUSE LEADERS appear to be pushing majority rule in most of the Legislature's joint committees, but the effort has had little impact so far except in the badly divided Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy Committee. The energy committee literally split in two on Thursday - House members heard testimony on bills with no senators present and senators plan to take testimony on Friday with no House members present. Sen.
Mass health officials move to protect preventive care
AFTER A FEDERAL Texas court ruling lobbed another potential grenade at comprehensive health coverage, a Massachusetts state board is pulling one of its lesser-known levers to make sure residents here don't lose access to certain preventive services. US District Court Judge Reed O'Connor issued an order in March limiting the scope of preventive services covered under the Affordable Care Act.
Mass. health officials move to protect preventive care
AFTER A FEDERAL Texas court ruling lobbed another potential grenade at comprehensive health coverage, a Massachusetts state board is pulling one of its lesser-known levers to make sure residents here don't lose access to certain preventive services. US District Court Judge Reed O'Connor issued an order in March limiting the scope of preventive services covered under the Affordable Care Act.
It's time for major reforms at the US Supreme Court
FOR 146 YEARS, until 1935, the Supreme Court had no building of its own: it met in the Capitol. But architect Cass Gilbert, in consultation with former chief justice Charles Evans Hughes, modeled new quarters for the court on a Roman temple, creating a marble structure suitable for opening the bodies of fowl and examining their entrails for omens and portents.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell picks her targets
CommonWealth Magazine · Attorney General Andrea Campbell picks her targets
Peter Shattuck, Author at CommonWealth Magazine
Peter Shattuck, director of market initiatives at Environment Northeast, responds to concerns about green energy costs
Exodus of wealthy residents called non-existent
THE LEFT-LEANING Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center tossed a provocative analysis into the tax reform debate on Beacon Hill on Thursday, issuing a short but pointed brief suggesting the business community narrative that millionaires are fleeing the state is unfounded. The Budget and Policy Center said Internal Revenue Service data from 2011 to 2020 indicate out-migration of high-income households is low in Massachusetts compared to other states.
Union urges teachers and students to 'opt out' of MCAS
THE DEBATE OVER standardized testing has sometimes come to feel like a battle of biblical proportions, so perhaps Deb McCarthy's word choice is no accident. "In the beginning, I was definitely an avid supporter," she said. "I was known as the MCAS guru in my building." To say McCarthy has undergone something of a conversion is an understatement.
Chambers of commerce fear not being heard, band together
TEN OF THE state's regional chambers of commerce are concerned they are not being heard on Beacon Hill, so they are banding together to speak with one louder voice. James Rooney, the president and CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, said the surtax on millionaires passed by voters in November has awakened the business community. "We're all feeling that Massachusetts is starting to lose its way in terms of competitiveness, not just for business but people," Rooney said on The Codcast .
We need to learn from criminal justice mistakes
OUR IDEA of safety is person-based. Whenever something goes tragically wrong in criminal justice our reflex is to go "down and in" to find the malfunctioning human whose misconduct defeated our safe system and victimized a helpless citizen.
Deb McCarthy (tag) - CommonWealth Magazine
By Michael Jonas,James Doyle,Bruce Mohl,Jennifer Smith Effort is part of push for overhaul of state accountability system THE DEBATE OVER standardized testing has sometimes come to feel like a battle of biblical proportions, so perhaps Deb McCarthy's word choice is no accident. "In the beginning, I was definitely an avid supporter," she said. "I was known as the MCAS guru in my building." To say McCarthy has undergone something of a conversion(...)
New Orange Line train breaks down
Tracking Transportation/ Transportation Flatbed carrying vehicle disconnected from truck AFTER A NEARLY seven-month hiatus, new Orange Line trains are once again being shipped from the assembly plant in Springfield to Wellington Station in Medford. But one new train took longer than expected to arrive at its destination after the flatbed on which it was riding disconnected from the truck pulling it on I-495 in Chelmsford.
The problem isn't just a few bad apples
Now we learn that Inspector General Glen Cuhna, who once seemed ready to pin a massive state drug lab scandal on a lone chemist, Annie Dookhan, actually referred four other lab workers for prosecution. Interesting. Still, counting the number of "bad apples" shouldn't distract us from the reality that the Massachusetts lab scandals were not the work of isolated violators; they were full system crashes. A look at them will reveal system weaknesses that exorcising individuals will not cure.
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