Johannes Epke

Nov 1, 2023 | clf.org | Johannes Epke

Like most people, I prepare when it looks like a major storm will sweep through my neighborhood and knock out my power. I locate candles, set out flashlights, and make sure my phone and laptop are fully charged. Shockingly, Massachusetts’ electric companies aren’t doing their share of preparation for big storms. Sure, they send out notices to customers and line up their repair trucks and crew. But that’s all for clean-up after the storm has done its worst.

Jul 6, 2023 | clf.org | Johannes Epke

Extended heat waves, stronger winds, more intense rainstorms – these are some of the climate impacts already affecting New England. According to scientists, these impacts will only worsen in the coming years. Unfortunately, these problems often hit communities of color and low-income residents first and hardest. Federal and state governments have taken steps to tackle our climate crisis by investing in clean and renewable energies.

Mar 24, 2023 | commonwealthmagazine.org | Chris Lisinski |Chinmai Deo |Johannes Epke

THE MBTA IS offering signing bonuses and other perks to fill the many job openings at the agency. Now the transit authority is tweaking its retirement benefits to better retain existing workers, attract new ones, and even bring some out of retirement. With the T desperately short of workers, the moves represent something of a reversal by the agency, which in recent years has tried to rein in what critics have long said were overly generous retirement benefits.

Mar 23, 2023 | commonwealthmagazine.org | Chris Lisinski |Chinmai Deo |Johannes Epke

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEMBTA OFFICIALS estimated Thursday they would need at least a year and about $5 million to get a widespread low-income fare option off the ground, plus tens of millions of dollars per year to cover its recurring costs. The startup price - which would effectively mirror money Gov.

Mar 23, 2023 | commonwealthmagazine.org | Chinmai Deo |Johannes Epke |John MacDougall

THE NUMBER of riders taking the MBTA declined significantly during COVID, but their demographic makeup also changed, shifting far more toward minorities and people with lower incomes. A new passenger study conducted by the MBTA found that minorities, those who self-identify as Hispanic, Latino or Latina, or a race other than white, accounted for 34 percent of T riders in the period from 2015 to 2017. In 2022, however, that percentage had risen to 58 percent.