Rather than relying on time-pressured municipal employees manually confirming numerous require municipalities to accept electronic submission of solar permit applications.
Opinion
Posted inHealth Care
Children’s behavioral health services are teetering on the precipice
The resources to stabilize kids who need behavioral health services are shrinking and the need for crisis services is soaring. We need an intervention from the Commonwealth, in the form of greater funding that will enable us to raise clinician pay.
Posted inOpinion
Amid housing crisis, let’s save older homes
Massachusetts needs many more new, affordable homes built to address our housing crisis. But we must also consider the condition of existing homes. With the second oldest housing stock in the country, timely repairs are critical to protect residents’ health and reduce loss of homes to disrepair. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of homes in Massachusetts are essentially “out of circulation” for families with young children due to lead-based paint that is still present, despite having been banned in 1978.
Posted inOpinion
Should we give school librarians more control over book selection, while limiting the say of school committees and parents?
Some argue that we should largely allow school librarians to decide what books are available to students, while others say school committees, parents, and others have every right to have a say in the issue.
Posted inOpinion
Legislature should act quickly on ‘muni empowerment’ opportunity
Gov. Maura Healey’s Municipal Empowerment Act would make a huge difference in people’s daily lives, while allowing local government to address strained finances by adopting small increases in meals and lodging taxes and an impose a new vehicle excise surcharge.
Posted inOpinion
To stay ahead, Massachusetts needs science of reading legislation
37 states have adopted some type of science of reading legislation, but Massachusetts is not one of them. We need to change that.
Posted inOpinion
It’s time to hold social media companies accountable
Just as we eventually recognized the dangers of lead paint, asbestos, and cigarettes and took action through public policy, it’s time to hold companies accountable and take steps to mitigate the impact of social media on young people’s well-being.
Posted inOpinion
The affordable housing problem in Massachusetts might be even worse than we thought
The state affordable housing count includes all units — affordable and market-rate — in a development built under the Chapter 40B affordable housing law. It’s time to consider changes to that policy.
Posted inOpinion
Here’s the biggest challenge facing Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard law enforcement
On Nantucket, the average price of a home is nearing $4 million. Visitors will spend $20,000 or more a week to rent a house – making a year-round rental for a police officer virtually impossible.
Posted inOpinion
Antisemitism Awareness Act is insult to Jews like me
Based on both the Jewish values I was raised on and my experience living in Israel, I believe Israel is a fundamentally racist state. This is exemplified by its anti-miscegenation marriage law, a segregated school system that severely underfunds non-Jewish schools, and legally segregated towns.