The Codcast

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?

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 progressive activists felt with the national party as well as with "the Democratic party and Democratic legislators in Massachusetts." He says his main message to them was, don't break off and join a third party but redouble their efforts to push a progressive agenda joining their local town or city Democratic committee or consider actually running for elected office. There are "plenty of conservative Democrats who have been elected, unchallenged, for years if not decades, including at the local and legislative level," he wrote.

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 reveal her decision one way or the other for weeks, Healey, in a conversation on The Codcast, said she's decided to move on and not bring action against any dealers - for that day.

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 Michael Widmer, the former head of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, and James Aloisi, the former secretary of transportation. They believe the state needs to transition away from the gasoline tax to a VMT fee and explain why they think the governor was wrong to veto the study.

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.

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.

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.

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.

U.S. Attorney Ortiz discusses leaks by CommonWealth Beacon

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.