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Keller at Large
Groundhog Day 2026 in Boston: Pats vs. Seahawks in the Super Bowl, the region buried under record snowfall, and the MBTA is a disaster.
Yes, it’s 2015 all over again. Riding the T last week in the wake of the big storm brought back grim memories of that winter’s Snowpocalypse that shut the system down. And with no offense to well-regarded MBTA General Manager Phil Eng, we don’t even have then-GM Beverly Scott’s all-encompassing hugs to ease our torment.
The arrival of Eng and the influx of millions in new revenue from the millionaires tax was supposed to make the T more resilient, but whatever progress has been made toward bringing the system into the 20th Century (no, that is not a typo) was not apparent to Red Line riders last week, freezing as they waited for grotesquely-reduced train “service.”
Don’t even ask how bad the commuter rail was. (Hint: it rhymes with “gritty”.)
“The headline is ‘Phil Eng is only human,’” says Brian Kane, a former T official who now runs the MBTA Advisory Board, which represents the 178 cities and towns “served” by the transit system. Turns out Eng’s integrity and smarts are no match for the antiquated fleets on the Red Line and commuter rail that cannot handle inclement weather. “Ideally, the T would be resilient enough to operate in all conditions,” says Kane. “It’s not.”
It doesn’t help that well-meaning but inept political leaders have repeatedly botched key decisions about the MBTA over the years, with no end in sight to the ramifications.
Mass is losing students, jobs, and families. Here’s the fix.
HAPPENING TODAY
8:00 | Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll attends Merrimack Valley Chamber’s annual mayors and managers breakfast forum. | DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston-Andover, 123 Old River Rd, Andover
9:00 | The Supreme Judicial Court hears arguments in five cases, including the land use dispute between Nahant and Northeastern University. | John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Sq., Boston | More Info
9:30 | Gov. Maura Healey attends the UNCF HBCU alumni breakfast. | Grand Staircase, State House, Boston
10:00 | Boston Mayor Michelle Wu highlights "how Boston is making it easier for residents and small businesses to obtain permits with the City" and "ongoing efforts to reduce the financial and administrative barriers faced by residents and business owners," according to her office. | Ama at the Atlas, 40 Western Avenue, Allston
11:00 | Gov. Maura Healey has her monthly meeting with Treasurer Deb Goldberg. | Room 360, State House, Boston
2:00 | Executive Office of Public Safety and Security's Task Force on Hate Crimes meets. Agenda includes an update on hate crime bills, an update from the legislative subcommittee, a vote on the 2025 annual report and 2026 goals and objectives. | Agenda and Access
MASSterList Job Board |
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Administrative & Operations Associate, Providers’ Council |
Comptroller, Massachusetts Association of Approved Special Education Schools |
Training Program Coordinator: MA Legal Aid and Community Education Project (LACE), Massachusetts Law Reform Institute |
Executive Director, Center for Health Information and Analysis, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General |
Controller, Commonwealth Corporation |
Jobs continue below the fold — post a job
FROM BEACON HILL
BENEFITS FRAUD: Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office identified $12 million in public assistance fraud from the last fiscal year, with much of it coming from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and MassHealth. That’s below the public assistance benefit fraud level of $17 million in fiscal year 2017, and about the same as the amount uncovered in 2020. – Boston Herald
BALLOT ROYALE: Opponents of a ballot question proposal to lower the state income tax rate are looking to the Supreme Judicial Court for a lawsuit that says Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office provided a summary that was flawed, and therefore the ballot proposal should be disqualified. – State House News Service
NEWS NEXT DOOR
RAFT OF LAYOFFS: Panera Bread and Thermo Fisher Scientific are both closing facilities in the Norfolk County town of Franklin, while Avis Budget Group is moving Zipcar’s headquarters out of Boston and moving corporate functions to New Jersey. – Boston Business Journal
ICE KING: Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, the federal agency that has repeatedly violated court orders under his watch, hails from South Boston and attended Boston College High School. – WBUR
DOJ JOINS GUN SUIT: The Trump Department of Justice has signed onto a federal lawsuit brought by gun rights groups looking to strike a Massachusetts ban on the sale of handguns to anyone ages 18 to 20. – Eagle-Tribune
MARBLEHEAD GAP: Marblehead is potentially facing an $8.4 million gap in its fiscal 2027 budget. Unrelatedly, the town is also one of the municipalities sued by the state attorney general for noncompliance with the MBTA Communities zoning law, which could help its tax base. – The Item
QUINCY PAY RAISES: Quincy city councilors again plan to consider whether to repeal raises for the body and the mayor approved last term. Councilor Noel DiBona at the previous meeting used a procedural move to object, stopping action.-- Patriot Ledger
HAMPDEN WIRETAPS: The Hampden district attorney’s office filed the most wiretap applications among its peers to the state between 2021 and 2024, according to a review of reports on file at the State House. – MassLive
PILOT PAYMENTS: Boston City Hall had initially asked Northeastern University for $10 million, up from the $1.9 million a year paid by the school, which is exempt from property taxes. It’s part of an effort to increase payments in lieu of taxes as commercial real estate values drop. – Boston Globe
BUS FREQUENCY: The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority weighs reducing the frequency of bus routes amid a driver shortage, from once an hour to every two hours. – Berkshire Eagle
MORE HEADLINES
JOB BOARD
Do you have an open job you'd like to feature here? Click here to place a job board order, or email Dylan Rossiter at [email protected].
Director of Administration & Finance, Pioneer Institute
Senior Investigator, ISAU, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General
Controller, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Director of Preliminary Investigations, Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
Chief Planner, City of Newton
Director of Policy and Program Operations, Massachusetts Association for Mental Health
Program Officer for American Institutions, Society, and the Public Good, American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Procurement Officer, Town of Amherst
Hotline Counsel Fellowship, Reproductive Equity Now
Senior Account Executive, Denterlein
