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Have you ever faced a sh*tty judge in Massachusetts? Wondered how they got on the bench? It's taken us six months, but w...
30/08/2024

Have you ever faced a sh*tty judge in Massachusetts? Wondered how they got on the bench? It's taken us six months, but we finally have some answers for you.

This is the kind of work that we do at the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism - the kind of digging and data reporting that journalists in Massachusetts will rely on for years.

No longer will people just be saying that the Governor's Council is a runner stamp. Now they have the numbers to prove it - plus a lot more.

Please share with your lawyer and justice advocate friends. And it's also just a fascinating long read if you are a Massachusetts resident ...

Who are the Massachusetts governor’s councilors? What professional baggage do they bring to the body? And can this motley crew stumble toward reform?

SELLING THE SONG OF THE SUMMER: Berklee student Louis De Schouwer is blending shelf-stocking with social media stardom a...
13/08/2024

SELLING THE SONG OF THE SUMMER: Berklee student Louis De Schouwer is blending shelf-stocking with social media stardom as he trades frat houses for future concert venues https://horizonmass.news/2024/08/08/selling-the-song-of-the-summer/

Berklee student Louis De Schouwer is blending shelf-stocking with social media stardom as he trades frat houses for future concert venues

Check out our latest investigation into state contracts. This one features a businessperson who Massachusetts taxpayers ...
24/07/2024

Check out our latest investigation into state contracts. This one features a businessperson who Massachusetts taxpayers are probably familiar with ...

Commonwealth seeks no-bid contract with -tied charger company.

Read the full article by Dan Atkinson at the link below ...



Commonwealth seeks no-bid contract with David Ortiz-tied EV charger company

A really excellent letter from BINJ reader Ronald Beaty about our latest MBTA scoop (link below) ...Editor,Regarding the...
02/07/2024

A really excellent letter from BINJ reader Ronald Beaty about our latest MBTA scoop (link below) ...

Editor,

Regarding the article titled, "THE MBTA’S ‘BILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION MARK" authored by Dan Atkinson, I have a few thoughts.

As the MBTA's new fare collection system, AFC 2.0, continues to face delays and cost overruns, it's time to take a hard look at the flawed public-private partnership driving this project. The latest estimate of nearly $1 billion is a staggering increase from the original $700 million price tag, and the lack of transparency surrounding the contract is unacceptable.

The MBTA's decision to outsource this critical infrastructure to private companies Cubic and John Laing has created a system where profit incentives are prioritized over public interest. The contract's complex language and opaque financing structure make it difficult to track how our tax dollars are being spent. This is not only bad governance but also a betrayal of public trust.

Furthermore, the significant lobbying efforts by Boston AFC 2.0 OpCo, the company overseeing the project, raise serious questions about their influence on Beacon Hill. It's alarming that a company created solely for this contract needs to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on lobbying.

We deserve better. We deserve a transportation system that prioritizes the needs of riders, not corporate profits. We deserve transparency and accountability in our public projects. And we deserve a government that serves the people, not just private interests.

It's time for the MBTA to rethink this flawed partnership and prioritize the public interest. We urge our elected officials to take a closer look at this project and demand better for our communities.

Speaking of high fares and tardiness, will the T have to pay private lenders for being late to deliver its new collection system?

check out the new national piece by HorizonMass' Jason Pramas - Local News Blues: We can’t reform our     organizations ...
24/06/2024

check out the new national piece by HorizonMass' Jason Pramas - Local News Blues: We can’t reform our organizations if we’re broke. What Erika Owens gets wrong in her “ ” proposal. https://www.localnewsblues.com/pramas-responding-to-owens/

What Erika Owens gets wrong in her “socialist” proposal.

Tucked away into one of those reworkings is language that says the MBTA will face “financial consequences” if the work i...
18/06/2024

Tucked away into one of those reworkings is language that says the MBTA will face “financial consequences” if the work is not completed by the end of this month. The degree of those consequences? Potentially up to $135,000 a day in payments to the project’s lender.

Speaking of high fares and tardiness, will the T have to pay private lenders for being late to deliver its new collection system?

We have done a lot of work this year on surveillance, with some of the most important reporting being on cell-site simul...
13/06/2024

We have done a lot of work this year on surveillance, with some of the most important reporting being on cell-site simulators, which are also known as "Stingrays" after the name of one popular brand. They "act like real cell phone towers, 'tricking' mobile devices into connecting to them, designed to intercept the information that phones send and receive, like the location of the user and metadata for phone calls, text messages, and other app traffic."

This is one of those technologies that is so far off the deep end that it's difficult to imagine police using it outside of television shows. As a result, it often goes unreported - until it's too late to put guardrails up governing their use.

Lawmakers failed to act after our first feature about the Massachusetts State Police looking to acquire one of these devices. Now they have one, but thanks to reporting by Dan Atkinson for BINJ and amplification by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others, there's finally attention being paid to the threat posed to privacy, on Beacon Hill and elsewhere.

The saga continues, but this acknowledgement is appreciated ...

Dozens of policing agencies are currently using cell-site simulators (CSS) by Jacobs Technology and its Engineering Integration Group (EIG), according to newly-available documents on how that company provides CSS capabilities to local law enforcement. A proposal document from Jacobs Technology,...

In honor of the mothers who have supported, loved, and struggled for their dear sons and daughters behind bars, BINJ pri...
11/06/2024

In honor of the mothers who have supported, loved, and struggled for their dear sons and daughters behind bars, BINJ prison reporter Jean Trounstine will be reading from her new book, Motherlove, on June 13, 7 – 9 p.m. at the Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library (111 High Street, Medford), followed by an engaging panel discussion with the New England Innocence Project (NEIP). Trounstine’s book includes 10 short stories, each about a mother coping with the aftermath of her teen killing another teen.

Event info and registration here:

The New England Innocence Project and the Medford Library are teaming up to honor the mothers who have supported, loved, and struggled for their dear sons and daughters behind bars. All [...]Read More...

We want to bring to your attention a new group called Who Runs The Governor's Council, and an event they are doing with ...
10/06/2024

We want to bring to your attention a new group called Who Runs The Governor's Council, and an event they are doing with BINJ prison and parole reporter Jean Trounstine this Wednesday in Dorchester. More below, including the link to sign up for the event ...

As Governor’s Council members gear up to slide onto the ballot for the 2024 election in November, a new activist group is bent on educating the public about this little known body that must approve all judicial and other court nominations by Gov. Maura Healy as well as all of the Governor’s Parole Board nominees.

Who Governs the Governor’s Council (WGGC) which has just launched its new website, will hold its first educational forum entitled, “Demystifying the Governor’s Council” at the Adams Street Branch of the Boston Public Library at 690 Adams Street in Dorchester, MA on June 12, 6:30-7:30pm.

Moderating the panel will be Jamarhl Crawford, longtime Boston community activist, communications strategist, and publisher of The Blackstonian. Also participating in the panel will be WGGC members David Harris and Jean Trounstine. Harris is the emeritus managing director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School (CHHIRJ). Trounstine is a professor, writer of seven books whose newest is Motherlove, and a journalist who has covered the Governor’s Council extensively in her writing at Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.

The panel will be pointing out the wealth of information being collected and published on its website, as well as other information about the Council gathered by organizations like Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts (PDM). PDM recently held a forum on the Governor’s Council. In a podcast by Incorruptible Mass, co-hosts Medford city councilor, Anna Callahan, and Progressive Mass political director, Jonathan Cohn, feature WGGC, saying they “aim to help people understand and transform state politics.”

For example, on our state ballots, Governor’s Councillors—the spelling of the word is still a hangover from the Council’s inception in 1629--are the offices most frequently left blank by voters who don’t know what the Council does or the identity of their councillor. On the ballot for November is H.665/S.406 - An Act Clarifying the Role of Governor's Councillor to assure the word “Governor’s” appears before “Councillor” on the ballot in the future. One of the primary topics the panel will be discussing includes ways in which voters can become involved in this important elected office.

This year, several councillors are facing primary challenges, and several women of color are running.

Event Day and Time: Wednesday, June 12, 6:30-7:30pm Event Address: Adams Library 690 Adams Street, Dorchester MA, 02122 Contact: Lisa Berland [email protected]

  ...  :   JALISCO. “A cozy atmosphere envelops the restaurant, fostering an experience fit for not just a customer but ...
20/05/2024

... : JALISCO. “A cozy atmosphere envelops the restaurant, fostering an experience fit for not just a customer but a member of their family.”https://horizonmass.news/2024/04/26/eats-taqueria-jalisco/

"A cozy atmosphere envelops the restaurant, fostering an experience fit for not just a customer but a member of their family"

.  ...  : AN   STORY. Traffic jam in the path of totality. Our reporter was on the scene in  ,   last month; so you didn...
20/05/2024

. ... : AN STORY. Traffic jam in the path of totality. Our reporter was on the scene in , last month; so you didn't have to be.

Traffic jam in the path of totality

ICYMI: FARE GAME After years of delays, the MBTA is finally about to roll out a new fare-collection apparatus. Will it o...
26/04/2024

ICYMI: FARE GAME After years of delays, the MBTA is finally about to roll out a new fare-collection apparatus. Will it only lead to more problems for the embattled agency? https://horizonmass.news/2024/01/22/fare-game/

After years of delays, the MBTA is finally about to roll out a new fare-collection apparatus. Will it only lead to more problems for the embattled agency?

THE CURSE OF THE YAWKEY WAY: As the Sox usher in spring with their first home stand of the season, a writer examines the...
19/04/2024

THE CURSE OF THE YAWKEY WAY: As the Sox usher in spring with their first home stand of the season, a writer examines the hex that truly held back the team for decades.
https://horizonmass.news/2024/04/11/the-curse-of-the-yawkey-way/

As the Sox usher in spring with their first home stand of the season, a writer examines the hex that truly held back the team for decades.

As the Sox usher in spring with their first home stand of the season, a writer examines the hex that truly held back the...
12/04/2024

As the Sox usher in spring with their first home stand of the season, a writer examines the hex that truly held back the team for decades ...

As the Sox usher in spring with their first home stand of the season, a writer examines the hex that truly held back the team for decades.

PRESERVING     IN   How Locally Owned Pharmacies Are Addressing   Desertshttps://horizonmass.news/2024/04/05/preserving-...
09/04/2024

PRESERVING IN How Locally Owned Pharmacies Are Addressing Deserts
https://horizonmass.news/2024/04/05/preserving-health-equity-in-roxbury/

How Locally Owned Pharmacies Are Addressing Pharmacy Deserts BOSTON – On January 31, Walgreens closed its location at 416 Warren St. in Roxbury’s Grove Hall neighborhood, the fourth Boston location to close since late 2022. The shutdown has forced customers to transfer their prescriptions to ano...

04/04/2024

Massachusetts State Police purchased cell-phone surveillance tech that civil liberties watchdogs say invites concerning violations of constitutional protections. Is it too late for privacy advocates and lawmakers to put accountability measures in place?

GRADING THE   BOARD The   Parole Board still faces big challenges despite making some improvements this past year. Its f...
04/04/2024

GRADING THE BOARD The Parole Board still faces big challenges despite making some improvements this past year. Its final member was approved this week, but is the body equipped to operate efficiently?
https://horizonmass.news/2024/04/03/grading-the-parole-board/

The Massachusetts Parole Board still faces big challenges despite making some improvements this past year. Its final member was approved this week, but is the body equipped to operate efficiently?

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