This year’s Muslim celebration of Eid is tempered by the Boston Marathon bombings and violence in the Middle East. 

Parishioner Arthur McCaffrey reflects on a decade of fighting to keep his church open.  

The Legislature should pass a bill that caps out-of-pocket expenses for patients with chronic and rare diseases, writes Diane Lima of of the New England Hemophilia Association. 

Alan M. Dershowitz writes that Hamas actions forced Israel to impose blockade. 

Senator Bernie Sanders urges passage of a bill that addresses problems facing the Department of Veterans Affairs.  

The state should be allowed to buy back unmetered streetlights from the utilities that own them, says state senator Brian A. Joyce 

Sara Roy of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University describes the deteriorating conditions in Gaza. 

Biotech investor Oleg Nodelman reflects on the future of the industry. 

David Harris of the American Jewish Committee spells out the stakes in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Boston’s youth participatory budgeting election last month is part of a trend to recapture Americans’ sense of civic engagement, writes Hollie Russon Gilman of Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Innovation and Governance. 

Price caps fail to protect consumers, make secondary markets less efficient, and label far too many people criminals. 

The state needs to be promoting a range of housing choices appropriate to multi-generational communities, writes Angus Jennings, a candidate for lieutenant governor on the Falchuk-Jennings ticket.  

The murder of four teenagers has captured the world’s attention, and with good reason. 

The Clean Energy Resources Act brings significant benefits to ratepayers and the region, say Paul Gaynor, CEO of First Wind, and Peter Rothstein, president of the New England Clean Energy Council. 

Larry Sauer of the Cardinal Cushing Centers calls on the Legislature to continue supporting students with special needs.  

A solar bill would curtail many of the progressive policies that have benefited solar owners in the state, write solar coach David Enos and Worth Robbins of Harvard Solar Garden. 

Stephen Goldsmith explains how Massachusetts’ beleaguered DCF can go digital — and protect children 

Rev. Ray Hammond of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and Natick Police Chief James Hicks call on the Legislature to pass a bill that would reduce gun violence. 

The Navy and Marine Corps are working hard to ensure that we use energy efficiently.  

The administration is not proposing any gas pipeline, nor is it rushing ahead with potentially dangerous energy initiatives. 

Lynn Jurich, CEO of the rooftop solar company Sunrun, and Marcy Reed, president of National Grid Massachusetts, come together to urge passage of a solar energy bill.  

Shelley Metzenbaum, former director of capital budgeting for Massachusetts, urges the gubernatorial candidates to commit to the management reforms begun by Governor Patrick.  

Rachel E. Rosenbloom of Northeastern University School of Law writes that detained immigrants deserve counsel in the courtroom. 

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and former US Senator Olympia Snowe warn about the economic risks posed by sea level rise and other climate change impacts. 

The Patrick administration is rushing ahead with two potentially dangerous energy initiatives, according to George Bachrach of the Environmental League of Massachusetts and Tedd Saunders of the Saunders Hotel Group. 

Robert P. Franks, president and CEO of the Judge Baker Children’s Center, says it’s time to reinvent the way we treat mental health issues affecting children. 

Massachusetts House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Steve Vinter, an engineering director at Google Boston, urge passage of the economic development bill that funds computer science education. 

Dr. Robert M. Wah, president of the American Medical Association, recommends treatment and prevention in the fight against prescription drug abuse. 

Legislation for a new net metering and renewable energy incentive program is critical to maintaining momentum on the clean energy economy in Massachusetts, write New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchel and former environment secretary John DeVillars.  

The other day I listened as a friend with a passion for history recalled his college days. It took him a while, he recounted, to figure out the point of studying history at all — but eventually he got it: To avoid repeating past mistakes. “So why,” he asked rhetorically, “do we insist on repeating them?”