During this time of unprecedented upheaval because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the rituals that most of us traditionally follow either have been eliminated or drastically changed because of the need to practice physical distancing. So too, the manner in which…
Category: Editorials
This Is No Time for Hooverism
Herbert Hoover had been President for about seven months when the stock market crashed in October, 1929. Although there have been many causes attributed to the onset of the Great Depression, the crash generally is viewed as the trigger point…
Guest Op-Ed: COVID-19 and Mother’s Day
By Dr. Glenn Mollette I wish mom were still here so I could take her out to Sunday dinner. The problem with Sunday dinner this Mother’s Day is that most of the restaurants either won’t be open yet or operating…
Guest Op-Ed: Boston Pets and COVID-19
By Martha Smith-Blackmore, DVM The National Veterinary Services Laboratory of the USDA announced on April 22, 2020 that two pet cats from different households in the United States were confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. These are the first pets in the…
Allowing the States to Go Bankrupt Is a Really Bad Idea
One of the most glaring shortcomings thus far of the stimulus and disaster packages that have been passed by Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been the failure to provide assistance to the states. Every state in the…
Guest Op-Ed: Fighting for the Frontline
By Maura Healey More than 300,000 health care workers and first responders in Massachusetts have stepped up to the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19. They suit up in scrubs or uniforms, leave the comfort of their homes, and put…
Guest Op-Ed: Science Matters
By Jack Clarke Either science matters or it doesn’t. Policy makers can’t have it both ways and selectively apply it only when it advances a political agenda. Science should inform and drive public policy not the other way around –…
Once Again, Mass. is Showing the Way
With the launch this past week of of the COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative (CTC) to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus in Massachusetts, our state once again is taking a leading role at this critical time for our nation. Massachusetts…
A Light at the End of the Tunnel?
The United States now is the official epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. We have more deaths and more cases of disease than anywhere else in the world. However, this past weekend the experts began to give us a glimmer of hope…
So Let’s Talk About the Weather
The weather this April has been full of irony. We had mild months for January, February, and March, with above-average temperatures (among the warmest on record) and few storms of any consequence. However, April has been anything but spring-like. Temperatures…