Baker consultant wields influence on commuter rail, charter schools

Governor Charlie Baker.

Kayana Szymczak for the Boston Globe

E-mails show that a consulting firm working for Keolis Commuter Services helped orchestrate the communication strategy with the administration on a controversial proposal.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/10/25/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/a20bc56d550b466fb73c3dbd2b1e129d-a20bc56d550b466fb73c3dbd2b1e129d-0.jpg Patriots acquire linebacker, then trade away A.J. Derby

Shortly after acquiring Kyle Van Noy from the Lions, the Patriots sent one of their tight ends to Denver.

Evan Horowitz | Quick Study

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/10/25/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/AFP_HH2MV.jpg Will rising insurance premiums sink Obamacare?

President Obama?s signature health care law is about to get a lot more expensive.

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 19: Thousands of city teachers rally in Foley Square on Wednesday afternoon to demand that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio take action on charter school growth on October 19, 2016 in New York City. The teachers want the mayor to approve the opening of new charter schools, which members of the teacher's union are against. The protesters want to see the doubling of the number of students served by charters to 200,000, which would be 20 percent of the city's public school enrollment. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

SCOT LEHIGH

What if your kids were stuck in a poorly performing school?

Make no mistake, charter schools provide educational options for urban kids.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/10/21/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/AmeriCannInc_24freedom01_biz.jpg Plans for massive marijuana greenhouse advance

On the eve of a legalization vote, construction of the state-of-the-art complex for medical marijuana could begin within months.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/10/04/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/fa04a3eb-c558-4269-8557-fcabe7c44bdc.jpg Harvard men?s soccer players gave female players sexually explicit ratings

A member of the 2012 team wrote and circulated a sexually explicit ?scouting report? on incoming freshmen.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/10/25/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/faf7dbda800946f68c01c373af11e9f1-d4b5504f4f0a4312b13ffc524e15fccf-0.jpg The Rolling Stones are going to rack up a big bill at the Four Seasons

A conservative estimate would put the total cost for lodging at about $50,000 nightly, including taxes, though the tab could easily reach into the six figures.

NFL notebook

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/10/25/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/1033efb3be674a179f3957880c0b1e89-1033efb3be674a179f3957880c0b1e89-0-10185-kpV--90x90@BostonGlobe.com.jpg Giants release kicker Josh Brown in wake of spousal abuse

The team president said the Giants were ?misguided? in the way they handled the case.

Shrimp tacos at Casa Verde in Jamaica Plain.

photos by Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

Cheap Eats

Casa Verde: A Mexican restaurant for all of JP

The folks who run the place ? also behind Tres Gatos and Centre Street Cafe ? clearly understand the neighborhood.

Donnie Wahlberg sets a Guinness record ? for selfies

The record for the most selfies taken in three minutes belongs not to a Kardashian, but to Dorchester?s own Donnie Wahlberg.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/10/25/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/ad.jpg DraftKings settles NY lawsuit over TV ad blitz

The lawsuit was the final piece of a legal challenge against daily fantasy companies by the New York attorney general.

5 important facts from the ?Gilmore Girls? revival trailer

When the official trailer for ?Gilmore Girls: Year in the Life? dropped on Tuesday, it marked an important occasion for any TV nostalgia project.

Family of driver in deadly wrong-way crash ?heartbroken?

Valantein Burson, 31, was a Stoughton native who once worked counseling teens, relatives said Tuesday.

Pool

Man is charged with killing his father in Dedham

Alex Anderson allegedly stabbed and beat his father, then threw him down a flight of stairs.

A school bus crashed on Quarry Street in Quincy on Tuesday.

Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff

Seven hospitalized after crash involving school bus in Quincy

Five children, the school bus driver, and a driver of another vehicle were taken to local hospitals for minor injuries.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/10/25/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/2016-10-25T195312Z_1977125142_S1AEUJBGFWAA_RTRMADP_3_USA-ELECTION-POWELL.jpg Colin Powell says he will vote for Hillary Clinton

Powell, a Republican who served as secretary of state under President George W. Bush, made his announcement in Long Island on Tuesday.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/10/25/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/blanding102511626weld1met.jpg Weld rips into Trump, saying he feels ?fear for our country?

Former Mass. governor William Weld, the Libertarian vice presidential candidate, slammed Donald Trump but did not endorse Hillary Clinton.

CAPITAL SOURCE

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/10/25/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/04a85850131f42a4b32070bb4671d6e9-04a85850131f42a4b32070bb4671d6e9-0.jpg Kelly Ayotte and Maggie Hassan both worked the same job?and they hated it

They both agreed it was the worst job they ever had.

Campaign signs outside of a polling precinct in Akron, Ohio.

Fearing Election Day trouble, some US schools cancel classes

The claims, threats, and passions surrounding the 2016 race have led communities to move polling places out of schools or cancel classes.

ground game

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/10/25/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/617806558.jpg Is Trump the one who?s choking now?

The latest polls suggest that Donald Trump will end the race in the same way as Mitt Romney did: a loser.

Sponsored by Rockland Trust

Attention family business owners: An important tax rule is about to change

The IRS will soon be changing how businesses get passed down from one generation to the next. Learn what you need to know before these changes take effect.

This content was produced by Boston Globe Media in collaboration with the advertiser. The news and editorial departments of The Boston Globe had no role in its production or display.

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The desperate and the dead

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/08/29/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/spotlight9090-11856.jpg The broken covenant

Behind the fragmented state of mental health care lies a political system failure that spans decades ? and continues.

The Big Picture

Lane Turner/Globe Staff

Big Picture

Traveling back in time on the Mattapan trolley

The trolleys that rolled out of Worcester?s Pullman-Standard factory in 1944 and 1945 are still rolling, seven decades later, along Boston?s most scenic commute.

Real Estate Partner Content

Downtown Boston neighborhood named to state?s ?Most Endangered Historic Resources? list

Every year, Preservation Massachusetts, the state's historic preservation organization, puts together a list of historic properties and/or neighborhoods that are at risk of being lost. This year, a Boston neighborhood is featured on the list.

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Top 10 auto brands account for 75 percent of US sales

Boston.com Cars is your go-to resource for coverage of local car news, events, and reviews. In the market for a car or truck? Check out our new car specials and used car specials curated by our local dealer network. Every month, automakers release their sales figures and, in the way TV networks do with ratings [?]