Keolis was on verge of walking away
Keolis was on verge of walking away by CommonWealth Beacon
Nov 10, 2016•23 min
The Codcast
Tune into spirited debate, local stories, and insightful analyses with The Codcast. Hosted each week by a CommonWealth Beacon reporter, the half-hour policy podcast delves into the heart of Massachusetts’s most pressing and intriguing topics. Hear newsmakers, historians, and policy experts tackle statewide housing struggles, immigration policies, little-known histories, surprising political fights, and even take to the sea to visit rising offshore wind turbines.
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Episodes
The shock heard ‘round the world
Steve Koczela of the MassINC Polling Group and Politico’s Lauren Dezenski join The Codcast to take stock of the jaw-dropping turn of events.
Nov 09, 2016•31 min
Charter school question at the wire
Lots of the focus is on Boston, home to about one-quarter of the state’s 40,000 charter school students and the place that is likely to see the most charter school growth should the ballot question pass. Two Boston city councilors joined The Codcast to share their opposing views on the question. Andrea Campbell, a district councilor representing Dorchester and Mattapan, supports Question 2. Ayanna Pressley, an at-large councilor who lives in Dorchester, opposes the measure.
Nov 04, 2016•31 min
2 pollsters talk shop
Americans love polls. Except when they don't say what they want them to say. "I'm not sure the polls have changed," says data expert John Johnson,CEO of Edgeworth Economics in Washington, DC. "The results have. The time you really should trust the polls is the closer you get to the election." Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling Group, says those self-selecting surveys are merely clickbait, for entertainment purposes only, and should not even be labeled polls. He says there often are ...
Oct 28, 2016•25 min
Smoke and mirrors
Both sides of the debate over the ballot question to legalize adult recreational use of marijuana are running television ads in the final weeks of the campaign and it’s safe to say neither will be awarded points for honesty. John Carroll, a Boston University professor of communications and former journalist and commentator, and Dave Wedge, a former political reporter and currently a vice president at the political consulting firm Northwind Strategies, bring their expertise to help us break down ...
Oct 21, 2016•28 min
Does DCR need fiscal control board?
What should be done? The Codcast talks with Whitney Hatch, chairman of the DCR Stewardship Council, and Stephen Pritchard, who spent four years in the administration of former governor Mitt Romney, including six months as DCR commissioner and a little over a year as secretary of energy and environmental affairs.
Oct 14, 2016•27 min
The charter funding debate
The impact of charter schools on district school budgets has become a central point of contention in the debate over Question 2, the November ballot question that would allow an expansion in the number of charter schools in Massachusetts. Stephanie Hirsch, a municipal and state finance consultant, and Sam Tyler, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, dig into those issues in this week’s Codcast. Hirsch has developed a web tool to examine the impact of charter growth on district budge...
Oct 07, 2016•29 min
Grading the Legislature
The Environmental League of Massachusetts put out its latest legislative scorecard this week, and the rankings provided a number of interesting insights about Beacon Hill.
Sep 30, 2016•19 min
State economy hot, but not tax revenues
The Massachusetts economy is humming along. The unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent in August, its lowest level since 2001. But state tax revenues are not keeping pace. They fell so far behind the level that had been forecasted that the Baker administration is now trying to clean up a $575 million budget shortfall from the previous fiscal year. What’s going on? We explore that issue with Eileen McAnneny, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, and Alan Clayton-Matthews, an associa...
Sep 23, 2016•24 min
The Globe v. Joyce
CommonWealth's Jack Sullivan and Bruce Mohl discuss the Boston Globe's extensive coverage of Sen. Brian Joyce, and particularly the story last month suggesting the Milton lawmaker expanded his house without the necessary permits and was shortchanging the town on property taxes. Is this a media war between the Globe and CommonWealth, as media critic Dan Kennedy has suggested, or is this about something else?
Sep 09, 2016•19 min
Eldridge stirs things up
State Sen. Jamie Eldridge has managed to liven up a quiet August on Beacon Hill. The Acton Democrat shared some thoughts on Democratic Party politics with an email to fellow Bernie Sanders supporters that made its way into the hands of the Globe's Jim O'Sullivan. That led to a front-page story in the Globe headlined, "Democrat tries to nudge state party left; Senator wants some lawmakers voted out." Eldridge says in this week's Codcast that the email was in response to the frustration many progr...
Sep 02, 2016•22 min
Healey declares success on gun ban
It's been more than a month since Attorney General Maura Healey announced her crackdown on sales of assault weapons she said are in violation of the 1998 state law barring such rifles, and the only thing that's slowed down are sales. Because of what some say was confusion over when her enhanced action took effect, Healey said no one who bought one of the guns would be held responsible but she refused to exempt dealers, threatening them with sanctions for violating her order. After declining to r...
Aug 26, 2016•32 min
Baker's curious VMT decision
Gov. Charlie Baker's decision last week to veto a legislative provision directing the state to seek federal funds for an all-volunteer study of vehicle-miles-traveled, or VMT, turned some heads. The tax-averse governor said the proposal, which would test out the imposition of a fee on drivers for the miles they drive on state roads, raised all sorts of fairness questions. But two VMT supporters said such questions are exactly what the study was meant to answer. The Codcast this week talks to Mic...
Aug 19, 2016•23 min
Open court?
The Massachusetts Trial Court this week issued its new rules and regulations regarding public access to court records and it's fair to say officials erred on the side of less rather than more. Esme Caramello, faculty director of Harvard Legal Aid Bureau and a tenants' rights advocate, and Todd Wallack of the Boston Globe, a member of the vaunted Spotlight team who has been at the forefront of reporters' attempts to bring more transparency to public records, joined us to talk about the new rules....
Aug 12, 2016•28 min
Rosenberg laments broken system
When you cut through the Beacon Hill weeds, Senate President Stan Rosenberg's message is clear: The system for reviewing and considering legislation is badly broken, and he's not happy about it.
Aug 04, 2016•25 min
Baker and the T
Baker this week waded into the weeds at the MBTA and tried to adjust public expectations, warning that the turnaround at the T would take years to accomplish. Eileen McAnneny, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and co-chair of the FixOurT Coalition, and Rafael Mares, vice president at the Conservation Law Foundation, came on the Codcast to discuss Baker's remarks and the long-term prognosis for the state's struggling transit authority.
Jul 22, 2016•24 min
U.S. Attorney Ortiz discusses leaks
U.S. Attorney Ortiz discusses leaks by CommonWealth Beacon
Jul 11, 2016•16 min
Crunch time for ride-hailing bills
Sen. Eric Lesser of Longmeadow, one of the members on the panel that wrote the Senate’s final version, and Christopher English, policy analyst and project manager for the city of Boston who was appointed by Mayor Marty Walsh to chair the Taxi Advisory Commission overseeing changes in regulations, joined The Codcast to discuss the shifting landscape in the ride-for-hire industry.
Jul 08, 2016•30 min
Walsh's woes
CommonWealth's Michael Jonas talks with Gin Dumcius of MassLive.com and Kyle Clauss of Boston magazine about the string of problems in the administration of Mayor Marty Walsh, capped most recently by the indictment this week of a second City Hall official on federal corruption charges.
Jun 30, 2016•24 min
The Libertarian team of Johnson and Weld
Steve Koczela of the MassINC Polling Group offers a pollster’s perspective on the Libertarian candidates and Michael Jonas and Bruce Mohl of CommonWealth magazine dissected their CNN performance.
Jun 23, 2016•24 min
The everyday terrorism of urban gun violence
Just over a week ago, 17-year-old Raekwon Brown was fatally gunned down just steps from Jeremiah Burke High School in Dorchester, where he was a student. Three others, including a 67-year-old woman, were wounded. The shooting, which took place in broad daylight after a fire alarm emptied students onto the street near the school, was a reminder of the daily toll of urban gun violence -- and of the terrorism-like quality it often has, as a calm and seemingly ordinary moment suddenly turns to a min...
Jun 17, 2016•20 min
Weld flashes the old charm
William Weld made libertarianism sound like a political middle ground between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton during an interview Tuesday night with CommonWealth magazine.
Jun 08, 2016•41 min
The politics of energy, Cape Wind
The Senate’s point person on energy, Sen. Ben Downing and the developer behind Cape Wind, Jim Gordon share their concerns about the House energy bill, which calls for the state’s utilities to solicit large amounts of offshore wind power and hydroelectricity from Canada, possibly in tandem with onshore wind or other forms of clean energy.
Jun 03, 2016•25 min
Stirring the pot over the marijuana initiative
Will Luzier, leading the campaign for legal marijuana, and Corey Welford, of the anti-referendum group, make their cases.
May 27, 2016•27 min
The Bernie vs. Hillary throw down edition
State Sen. Dan Wolf, a Sanders delegate to the DNC, and former secretary of public safety Andrea Cabral, a Clinton delegate, have at it.
May 20, 2016•26 min
What Makes for a World-Class City?
Should we lament the loss of IndyCar and the Olympics or worry more about growing our own legacy events? Former Boston city councilor Mike Ross and No Boston Olympics co-founder Chris Dempsey debate what makes for a world-class city.
May 13, 2016•21 min
All-night service on the T
James Aloisi, Ari Ofsevit, and Jeremy Mendelson make the case for 24-7 service on the MBTA.
May 05, 2016•24 min
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