the battle rages over which branch of government will control probation—and its $150 million budget—in Massachusetts. But looking for help to see how other states do it offers little in […]
Jack Sullivan
Jack Sullivan is now retired. A veteran of the Boston newspaper scene for nearly three decades. Prior to joining CommonWealth, he was editorial page editor of The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, a part of the GateHouse Media chain. Prior to that he was news editor at another GateHouse paper, The Enterprise of Brockton, and also was city edition editor at the Ledger. Jack was an investigative and enterprise reporter and executive city editor at the Boston Herald and a reporter at The Boston Globe.
He has reported stories such as the federal investigation into the Teamsters, the workings of the Yawkey Trust and sale of the Red Sox, organized crime, the church sex abuse scandal and the September 11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the State House, state and local politics, K-16 education, courts, crime, and general assignment.
Jack received the New England Press Association award for investigative reporting for a series on unused properties owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and shared the association's award for business for his reporting on the sale of the Boston Red Sox. As the Ledger editorial page editor, he won second place in 2007 for editorial writing from the Inland Press Association, the nation's oldest national journalism association of nearly 900 newspapers as members.
At CommonWealth, Jack and editor Bruce Mohl won first place for In-Depth Reporting from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors for a look at special education funding in Massachusetts. The same organization also awarded first place to a unique collaboration between WFXT-TV (FOX25) and CommonWealth for a series of stories on the Boston Redevelopment Authority and city employees getting affordable housing units, written by Jack and Bruce.
Posted inEconomy
Eating up deficits
with depleted coffers forcing belt-tightening at all levels of government, it would make sense that officials, especially at the local level, would grab onto any chance to pick up a […]
Posted inUncategorized
Fuel for thought
Power. It is, to turn a phrase, the fuel of our economy. For centuries, we have relied on fossil fuels to generate the power we need for our daily lives. […]
Posted inTransportation
Embattled railroad tie manufacturer fires back
In its first public comment, the Denver-based manufacturer being sued by the MBTA for selling defective concrete ties for South Shore commuter rail lines says it fully complied with the […]
Posted inPolitics
Senate sides with judiciary, for now
In the power struggle over probation between the three branches of state government, the Massachusetts Senate is siding, at least for now, with the judiciary. Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem of […]
Posted inPolitics
Probation chief put on leave; SJC appoints special counsel
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court today placed state Probation Commissioner John J. O’Brien on administrative leave and appointed an independent counsel to investigate patronage practices at the agency. “It has […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, Transportation
Tracking the truth
Click here for a timeline of what MBTA officials knew and when they knew it. Also see a suit by the MBTA, a private briefing for legislators, and correspondence involving the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Holding on tight and not letting go
By Jack Sullivan Judging from comments House Speaker Robert DeLeo made to The Republican of Springfield, it doesn’t appear there’s any appetite in the Legislature for reining in the autonomy […]
Posted inUncategorized
Defining nepotism is all relative
It’s not nepotism if you have the qualifications to do the job, no matter how many relatives work in the state’s trial court. That was the argument to the state’s […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Economy, Politics
Courts “functionally disabled” due to cuts
Budget cuts have created a “functionally disabled judiciary” that strains the lives of families and the operations of Massachusetts’ businesses in real and immeasurable ways, according to a panel of […]
Posted inTransportation
T confirms $91m pricetag to fix ties
MBTA officials , after a year of minimizing the problem, have confirmed it will cost more than $90 million to replace the 147,000 defective concrete ties on the Old Colony […]
Posted inUncategorized
Mihos out
WORCESTER—Republican delegates, still bitter over Christy Mihos’ independent run for governor they say cost Kerry Healey the corner office, gave Charles Baker a free pass to the three-way November election.“I’ve […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo flips 64 votes
For a breakdown of the House roll call on gambling, click here. House Speaker Robert DeLeo takes great pains to point out the differences between him and his predecessors but, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Education
Boarding school behind bars
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Posted inArts and Culture, Uncategorized
Poker deregulation is no bluff
A guy holding a 4 and 7 draws three cards in a poker game, successfully betting he’ll pull an inside straight flush. Skill or luck? Dumb luck for an unskilled […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics
Judge denies injunction
Gov. Deval Patrick scored a major election-year victory today when a judge denied a plea by Massachusetts health insurers for a temporary injunction against a cap Patrick ordered on premium […]
Posted inTransportation
T to spend millions replacing ties
The debt-ridden MBTA will spend tens of millions of dollars and disrupt South Shore commuter rail service over the next two years to replace nearly 150,000 defective concrete ties that […]
Posted inPolitics
The squeaky wheel
Christy Mihos needs to attract the support of 15 percent of the delegates to next week’s Republican State Convention, but he doesn’t seem to be interested in currying favor with […]
Posted inEconomy
Hedging the bet
Like most games of chance, the numbers looked too good to be true. And now it looks like they were. At the unveiling Thursday of House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s gaming […]
Posted inUncategorized
The big bet
If the “conservative” estimates by House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s casino bill hold up, Massachusetts would quickly be giving Las Vegas a run for its money. According to the speaker’s calculations, […]
Posted inPolitics
Cahill makes his pitch
State Treasurer Tim Cahill, looking to ignite his independent run for governor, is trying to grab onto some successful recent models of populism by invoking Bill Clinton’s mantra on the […]
Posted inPolitics
Free speech dust-up in Southborough
UPDATE: In the story below, I incorrectly wrote the Southborough Board of Selectmen sent a third letter to Susan Fitzgerald demanding she reveal the identity of one of the posters […]
Posted inEconomy
Reversal of fortune
House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s plan to bring casinos and racinos to the state looks on its face to be facing long odds — if the only casino vote on record […]
Posted inPolitics
All in the family
Stephen P. Anzalone Jr. is living proof that the state’s probation service is family friendly. When Anzalone was appointed a probation officer in 2007, he was set to join his […]