Natasha Ishak
CW Magazine
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Past articles by Natasha:
City Hall skating fees raise some eyebrows
SHANE MURPHY, a resident of Springfield, was walking around Faneuil Hall with his date recently when he decided to visit the newly minted skating rink on Boston’s City Hall Plaza. Murphy said he enjoyed the festive atmosphere and the music, but he thought the ice skating fees were too high. The second “Boston Winter” festival(...) → Read More
City Hall skating fees raise some eyebrows
SHANE MURPHY, a resident of Springfield, was walking around Faneuil Hall with his date recently when he decided to visit the newly minted skating rink on Boston’s City Hall plaza. Murphy said he enjoyed the festive atmosphere and the music, but he thought the ice skating fees were too high. The second “Boston Winter” festival(...) → Read More
Belmont taking ‘baby step’ on trash
MASSACHUSETTS’S ONGOING TRASH DILEMMA – having too much of it, but nowhere to put it – is trickling down to the local level across the state. Belmont recently faced a decision many communities are struggling with – trying to decide how aggressive the town should be in reducing the amount of trash residents generate. Like(...) → Read More
Plainridge pulling gambling money back to Mass.
Rolling the Dice Rolling the Dice Coverage of casino licensing and the gambling referendum Goldberg warns of NH lottery moves By Colin A. YoungSee all » Rolling the Dice Rolling the Dice Coverage of casino licensing and the gambling referendum Convictions shouldn’t preclude all casino jobs By Margaret MonsellSee all » Rolling the Dice Rolling(...) → Read More
Panera Cares, but for how long?
FOUR YEARS AFTER the Panera Cares community café opened at Center Plaza in Boston, it’s still in business. But the restaurant’s unorthodox approach to addressing hunger isn’t working out exactly as planned. The concept is simple. Customers walk into the café, pick their food, and pay whatever they can afford. The hope is that enough(...) → Read More
Chinatown residents protest short-term rentals
RESIDENTS MARCHED through the streets of Chinatown to the Massachusetts State House on Thursday to protest a short-term rental industry that they say is squeezing out residents of the downtown community. Short-term rental services such as Airbnb have become increasingly popular among tourists in the city as an affordable lodging alternative to pricier hotels. But(...) → Read More
MBTA rolls out new transit ambassadors
THE MBTA IS STARTING to ramp up its new transit ambassador program, its latest bid to improve service using private contractors. Get the Daily Download Our news roundup delivered every weekday.Email* Transit ambassadors, wearing bright red shirts emblazoned with the T logo and the words “Questions? Ask Me!” on the back, help riders with(...) → Read More
Trump ends DACA; Markey says Congress will respond
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION on Tuesday ordered an end to an executive branch program shielding young undocumented immigrants from deportation, prompting an outpouring of opposition from top officials in Massachusetts. The Obama-era program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, allows minors who entered the country illegally and were raised primarily in the United States to receive(...) → Read More
Some sanctuary city police chiefs back Baker ICE detainer bill
SOME MASSACHUSETTS POLICE CHIEFS appear to be staking out a different position than the communities they represent on how to handle detainer requests from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and the Massachusetts Major City Police Chiefs Association on Monday released an endorsement of legislation filed by Gov.(...) → Read More
MBTA’s new GM likes to blog
Tracking Transportation Tracking Transportation Keeping track of transportation MBTA adopts corporate mindset with GM pick By Bruce MohlSee all » Tracking Transportation Tracking Transportation Keeping track of transportation T board member hits absenteeism data By Bruce MohlSee all » Tracking Transportation Tracking Transportation Keeping track of transportation T approves 2 pilot service… → Read More
Walsh, Baker condemn hatred, bigotry
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH delivered a stern message on Monday to “hate groups” who may be planning to come to Boston this weekend. “Boston does not welcome you here. Boston does not want you here. Boston rejects your message,” he said. “We reject racism. We reject white supremacy. We reject anti-Semitism. We reject the KKK.(...) → Read More
Sizing up 3 options on ICE detainers
Debate over immigration policy has bubbled up for years at the federal level, and now the recent decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the case of Lunn v. Commonwealth has brought it to the forefront for state legislators, too. Attention has coalesced around three bills, each touching on a similar set of issues,(...) → Read More
T details Foxborough, overnight pilots
Tracking Transportation Tracking Transportation Keeping track of transportation Healey collects $1.1m from T parking lot operator By Bruce MohlSee all » Tracking Transportation Tracking Transportation Keeping track of transportation Take long view, build N-S Rail Link By Ari OfsevitSee all » Tracking Transportation Tracking Transportation Keeping track of transportation Real progress at the MBTA… → Read More
MBTA solicits proposals for bus garage outsourcing
THE MBTA ISSUED a request for proposals last Friday for its planned privatization of three bus maintenance garages located in Quincy, Lynn, and Boston, a move that has put the agency on a collision course with T unions opposed to the outsourcing. T officials said at a briefing for reporters on Monday that they believe(...) → Read More
Senate retreat to hear from criminal justice experts
LEADERS OF THE SENATE, including President Stan Rosenberg and William Brownsberger, the Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, have made clear their support for a range of criminal justice reforms that go beyond those in legislation that resulted from a recent review of state policy focused on recidivism. On Wednesday, senators will(...) → Read More
Free bump on the Fairmount
Even two weeks of free rides on the Fairmount Line didn’t boost traffic that much, but they did expose more people to the least-used line on the MBTA’s commuter rail system. The Fairmount Line, which connects South Station and Readville via Dorchester, Hyde Park, and Mattapan, has by far the worst ridership of any of(...) → Read More
RIDE call center operator fined $100,000
Tracking Transportation Tracking Transportation Keeping track of transportation T takes go-slow approach on alcohol ads By Natasha IshakSee all » Tracking Transportation Tracking Transportation Keeping track of transportation T laying 2 cables along same route By Bruce MohlSee all » Tracking Transportation Tracking Transportation Keeping track of transportation T spending $2.2m on replacement… → Read More
T takes go-slow approach on alcohol ads
Tracking Transportation Tracking Transportation Keeping track of transportation RIDE call center operator fined $100,000 By Natasha IshakSee all » Tracking Transportation Tracking Transportation Keeping track of transportation T laying 2 cables along same route By Bruce MohlSee all » Tracking Transportation Tracking Transportation Keeping track of transportation T spending $2.2m on replacement… → Read More
About-face on marijuana
THERE’S BEEN A LOT of pot talk lately on Beacon Hill, as the House and Senate battle back and forth over whether changes should be made (and which ones) to the law voters approved last fall legalizing recreational marijuana. But there has also been a lot of chatter at the local level, where communities concerned(...) → Read More
May tax revenues $30m higher than expected
STATE TAX REVENUES in May came in $30 million higher than expected, but that still leaves Beacon Hill officials with a $439 million revenue shortfall to deal with before the fiscal year ends at the end of the month. The Department of Revenue reported on Monday that tax collections in May totaled $1.9 billion, which(...) → Read More