Crisis in the classroom: Join Contrarian Boston at noon on Thursday as we dive into the growing challenges Massachusetts schools face, from a plunge in student scores to illegal teacher strikes. open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #mapoli #bospoli #schools #studentscores #localnews

New in Contrarian Boston: Time for Congress to step up? Take our poll on whether more oversight is needed of the Trump administration's military ventures | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... #mapoli #massachusetts #bospoli #LocalNews #Venezuela #MaduroDictador #Trump #Congress @universalhub.com

I don't think stagnant circulation is Barnes' fault. However, I think it raises question about Linda Henry's strategy. There is a market for real news\accountability journalism on the local level - yet the Globe has been shedding experienced reporters in favor of kids barely out of school. #locanews

New in Contraian Boston: Driver booted from T after "ticket rage" incident in hot water in new job overseeing Boston school buses open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #localnews #mapoli #bospoli #bostonschools #schoolbuses

New in Contrarian Boston: "Beat the Press" returns with a deep dive into the media circus surrounding Olivia Nuzzi, the political reporter who had a secret affair with RFK Jr. open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #mapoli #massachusetts #bospoli #localnews #media @dankennedy.net

Yes, folks, it's true! "Beat the Press with Emily Rooney" is returning to the webwaves tonight with a segment on @scottvv.bsky.social's Contrarian Boston. Emily, Scott and I will be talking about the Olivia Nuzzi-RFK Jr.-Ryan Lizza shitshow. scottvanvoorhis.substack.com/p/is-the-wu-...

New in Contrarian Boston: Emily Rooney teams up with Contrarian Boston to revive "Beat the Press" - check out the first segment tonight. open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #localnews #media @dankennedy.net

New in Contrarian Boston - Breaking News: Family of one of three teens killed after high-speed chase files $30 million lawsuit against Boston Police open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #mapoli #bospoli #police #localnews #massachusetts

New in Contrarian Boston: Biz execs eye $30 million ad blitz against Mass. rent control proposal | Boston shoppers gouged by big retail chains with faulty pricetags | Pressley out | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #mapoli #bospoli #localnews #rentcontrol #risingrents #housing

The holiday season is here! Check out these free tree lightings across the Third Suffolk District 🎄 #mapoli #bospoli

New in Contrarian Boston: Bye-bye Markey? Ayanna Pressley Senate bid imminent | Mass. trails Georgia and Mississippi in crackdown on rapists attempting to gain parental rights | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... #mapoli #massachusetts #bospoli #boston #localnews #politics @universalhub.com

Pembroke School Committee Advances Cell Phone Policy Survey as District Prepares for State Compliance Review #mapoli #southshore

Rockland Select Board Approves Three-Year Contract Extension for Town Administrator Doug Lapp #mapoli #southshore

East Bridgewater Schools Consider Advanced Emergency Mapping System for Campus Safety #mapoli #southshore

New in Contrarian Boston: After 30 years, would-be Fenway developer still swinging - and missing | Massachusetts lags in grappling with classroom cellphone use | Mass. antisemitism commission faced attacks from left | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #bospoli #mapoli #localnews

New in Contrarian Boston: Michelin honored these Boston restaurants, but city health inspectors flunked them | Did financial desperation drive MassGOP's early Senate race endorsement? | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... #mapoli #bospoli #localnews @universalhub.com #Michelinstars #restaurants

New in Contrarian Boston: Top Mass. leaders' happy talk about supposed progress on the housing crisis masks ugly truth | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #mapoli #o=bosn @universalhub.com #mapoli #bospoli #localnews #housingcrisis #media #homeprices #rents

New in Contrarian Boston: Breaking News - Seniors shafted in dispute between the Bay State's largest health insurer and its second-largest hospital chain | Quick hits | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... #localnews #mapoli #Mass #bospoli #boston #healthcare #healthinsurance @universalhub.com

Nothing works in America anymore. Author Marc Dunkelman tells Contrarian Boston why | As scores plunge and third graders struggle to read, literacy bill gains traction on Beacon Hill | Election news | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... #mapoli #bospoli #localnews @universalhub.com #YIMBY

Yes, good question - we did it Friday.

Without Ed Markey: Seth Moulton 29% Ayanna Pressley 24% Michelle Wu 19% Joesph P. Kennedy 11% Jack Auchincloss 6% Alex Rikleen 6% Not sure 5%

Here's a treat for you: @scottvv.bsky.social has posted a video interview with Emily Rooney of "Beat the Press" fame about the Skydance takeover of Paramount. Topics include Bari Weiss' takeover of CBS News and CBS affiliate WBZ-TV's layoff of Jon Keller. scottvanvoorhis.substack.com/p/what-in-th...

New in Contrarian Boston: What in the world is happening with CBS News and Bari Weiss? Emily Rooney sits down with Contrarian Boston to dig into the biggest media story of the year. open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #localnews #CBSNews @thefreepress.bsky.social #bospoli #mapoli

New in Contrarian Boston: Top state safety chief toothless tiger when it comes to the calamity-prone MBTA | Another story you saw first in Contrarian Boston | Quick hits | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @emilyrooney.bsky.social #LocalNews @universalhub.com #mapoli #bospoli #Boston #MBTA

“One in six Massachusetts residents, or about 667,000 households, receive SNAP benefits — including children, the elderly, and residents with disabilities.” - @bostonglobe.com Can you imagine what the coming weeks will be like for the communities where 1/3 or more of its residents are on SNAP?

It’s just Tulip now .. and she always wanted to rule the roost. Ever since a kitten

New in Contrarian Boston: State House bosses face staff revolt | Board of conservative bigwigs pulls plug on right-wing Harvard student magazine | Top Democrats in hiding during Biden's Boston visit | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... #LocalNewsMatters #LocalNews #Harvard #Biden #mapoli #bospoli

New in Contrarian Boston: North Shore sheriff blows thousands of dollars in public money at upscale restaurants from Danvers to Florida | Quick Hits | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... #mapoli #Massachusetts #bospoli #boston @universalhub.com #LocalNews

Some Free Press subscribers dismayed as Bari Weiss sells to Paramount | Unbelievable housing production stats | Wu to headline No Kings! protest | Happy 30th Boston Guardian | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #localnews #NoKings #mapoli #bospoli

Fuck social media read books

New in Contrarian Boston: Indicted Suffolk County sheriff burned through tens of thousands in taxpayer cash on everything from pricey restaurants to bras open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... #MApoli #massachusetts #bospoli #Boston #bostoncity #SteveTompkins #SuffolkSheriff #localnews

New in Contrarian Boston: Emily Rooney on 9/11 | The problem with media people urging Kraft to quit | Mindboggling T still not collecting all fares | School reading crisis | Cannabis greed backfires on towns | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... #Localnews #mapoli #bospoli @universalhub.com #cannabis

New in Contrarian Boston/by Maggie Mulvihill: Nation's highest court to review appeal from thousands of victims of Bay State's drug lab scandal open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #mapoli #bospoli #druglab #supremecourt #localnews #localreporting @dankennedy.net

New in Contrarian Boston: In Ukraine peace proposals, echoes of the 1930s | For lead investor in embattled Boston soccer stadium plan, a Celtics sale bonanza | Raytheon to expand Andover defense factory open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... #mapoli #bospoli #localnews @universalhub.com #UkraineWar

New in Contrarian Boston: Become a News Defender | Celebrity pitchman for sham life insurance gets statue in Trump's heroes garden | Billions failed to boost student scores | Battle rages over Newton's Italian Street | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... #localnews @universalhub.com #mapoli #bospoli

Embattled sheriff netted tens of thousands in campaign contributions from staffers | Emily Rooney on some strange mayoral race ads | Tentative winner in battle for pivotal Mass. Lottery contract | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... #mapoli #massachusetts #bospoli #boston #localnews @universalhub.com

New in Contrarian Boston: T sure knows how to spend money | Emily Rooney on Copley Square's costly and mystifying redesign | Check out Contrarian Boston's energy crisis forum | Quick hits | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #mapoli #massachusetts #bospoli #boston #localnews

Will mainstream media swallow up The Free Press? | Emily Rooney on the Copley Square redesign muddle | Fenway tower flop bad news for Wu | Boston rental market gets tougher | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #mapoli #massachusetts #bospoli #boston #localnewsm#localjournalism

1,400 indigent defendants in Massachusetts without lawyers, numbers growing daily as public defender bar advocates refuse new cases over low pay. #mapoli #publicdefender www.masslive.com/news/2025/06...

New in Contrarian Boston: Emily Rooney on Boston's bizarre bike lanes | No Kings demonstrates political savvy | Mass. teachers union and its bulging war chest open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #localnews #mapoli #massachusetts #bospoli #boston #bikelanes @dankennedy.net #localnews

The agenda for 6/25 @bostoncitycouncil.bsky.social mtg is out & @edflynnforboston.bsky.social Docket #1286 jumps out, citing @bosbizjournal.bsky.social, @scottvv.bsky.social, & @bostonherald.bsky.social articles to ask for info abt charges City Hall is "illegally raising building values." #bospoli

My friend Emily Rooney has written an essay for @scottvv.bsky.social's newsletter, Contrarian Boston, on bike lanes in the city. If you were expecting an anti-bike screed, you'll be surprised. Who could disagree with this? scottvanvoorhis.substack.com/p/emily-roon...

Contrarian Boston Exclusive: Chinese rail giant building T's new Orange and Red Line cars warns of production shutdown as parts held up at the U.S. border open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #MBTA #Trump #China #LocalNews #Construction #development #border #traincars

New in Contrarian Boston: Boston's NIMBY Rich | Second time around, bombshell stories on Trumpian antics have gone missing | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #mapoli #massachusetts #bospoli #boston #localnews #massachusetts #NIMBY #towers #downtownboston #media #localjournalism

New in Contrarian Boston: In explosive book on Biden health coverup, two Mass pols do the right thing | Wu's number games on stadium mega project | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @localnewsmatters.bsky.social #localnews @universalhub.com #Biden #Healey #Moulton #mapoli #bospoli

New in Contrarian Boston: Shooting the messenger at Boston City Hall | NPR's "On the Media" anything but that | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... @universalhub.com #mapoli #massachusetts #bospoli #Boston #localnews #NPR #taxappeals

Contrarian Boston Forum | Bay State energy crisis | June 26 at noon | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi... #mapoli #massachusetts #bospoli #boston #localnews @universalhub.com #energycrisis #electricbills #offshorewind #nuclearpower #solar #naturalgas

Economic delusions and Boston's mayoral race | Gaza show you won't hear on NPR | Big win for ousted state pot chief | open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... #localnews @universalhub.com #mapoli #massachusetts #bospoli #boston #housingcrisis #JoshKraft #MIchelleWu #NPR #Gaza #cannabis

"A federal jury on Thursday, May 29 found a former Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority police sergeant from Rutland guilty of helping draft a false arrest report about another officer's assault on a man at a subway station in 2018." #mapoli

05.29.2025/Breaking News open.substack.com/pub/scottvan... New in Contrarian Boston: The sky’s the limit: Boston could see new towers as high as 70 stories under new plan for city’s beleaguered downtown @universalhub.com #mapoli #bospoli #boston #massachusetts #downtownboston #housingcrisis