Lots of sizzle, but not much steak. That's the best way to describe the narrow focus by legislative leaders and Gov. Deval Patrick on a pension perk that has been […]
Michael Jonas
Michael Jonas works with Laura in overseeing CommonWealth Beacon coverage and editing the work of reporters. His own reporting has a particular focus on politics, education, and criminal justice reform.
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Menino happy to debate, have root canal
Boston Mayor Tom Menino, who did all he could to avoid head-to-head sessions with opponents in past races, said today he'll agree to three debates with his challengers, and he acted like […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Globe pension ‘scoop’ is old news in the pages of CommonWealth
The Boston Globe, which teed up a story on its front-page yesterday on the generous, early pensions being granted to ex-lawmakers who choose to leave office, suggested it has uncovered the latest outrage in series of […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
How “sweating the small stuff” adds up big in urban schools
Good manners, perseverance, and a firm handshake aren't enough to put poor children on track to success in high school, college, and beyond. But they seem consistently to be essential ingredients in the small number […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
All eyes on House, but with very different views
A "broken culture on Beacon Hill" or "one of the most audacious experiments of our time"? Depending on which Boston Globe columnist you read this morning, you would have a […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Budget sets up battle of competing reality shows
House Ways and Means chairman Charley Murphy was all about the facts yesterday as he unveiled a bare-bones 2010 budget that includes more than $1.8 billion in cuts. "This budget is […]
Posted inEconomy
Banks balk at short sales of underwater homes
with banks bleeding red ink under the weight of massive losses on home loans, you would think lenders would be scrambling for every dollar they can squeeze out of the […]
Posted inPolitics
Strings attached
Illustration by Travis Foster It had been a rough year for Speaker Sal DiMasi, but you never would have known it when members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives gathered […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
In Boston, a mayoral race to the bottom?
We're getting an early taste of the Boston mayor's race, and it has a decidedly bitter flavor. Boston should be rolling out the red carpet for candidates who are serious about presenting […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Hub of politics no more
In my final column yesterday for the final edition of the Globe's City Weekly section, I ponder Boston's increasingly anemic political scene. One area I don't explore there is the impact of the media itself. […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
On Filene’s hole in the ground, mayor doth protest too much
There's a huge hole in the ground in Downtown Crossing where Filene's once stood and a $700 million redevelopment project isn't getting built, and Mayor Tom Menino isn't happy about […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Walshing to and fro
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 It seems citizens are now supposed to be about one-third less disgusted by the patronage appointment of state Sen. Marian Walsh to a high-paying post that […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Pension reform questions for Patrick and Cahill
Some straightforward questions for Gov. Deval Patrick, as well as for Treasurer Tim Cahill, in light of the governor's unusual Sunday press conference at the State House to announce his support for […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Just words
Deval Patrick famously dressed down a group of Massachusetts newspaper publishers in a speech delivered days after his election, telling the news honchos that many of their reporters just didn't get […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
An increasingly ordinary leader
From "No Ordinary Leader" to "Business as Usual." It's hard not to see that as the trajectory Gov. Deval Patrick is on after the latest slap in the face to those expecting […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Argument for “21st-century skills” lacking in critical thinking
The first thing to know about the debate over "21st-century skills" that has gripped the state's education circles is that it has nothing to do with 21st-century skills. That's because no one disputes […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Deval, help us put down our cynicism: send stimulus czar packing
Let's get this straight: The guy Deval Patrick has hired for $150,000 a year to help the state spend the federal stimulus money intended to help halt an economic slide set in motion […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Harsh reality underlies charter school boost
There is good news and bad news on the education front in Massachusetts. The good news is that the Patrick administration abandoned its dug-in resistance to more charter schools by […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Freshman rep gets it right on pension perk
Freshman state Rep. Jim Arciero has only been in office for a month, but he seems to know an antiquated taxpayer-funded boondoggle when he sees it. The Westford Democrat has […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Bay State “lurch” to the right?
In what can most charitably be chalked up to the dangers of wading into territory outside of one's zone of competence, The New Republic 's Marty Peretz has weighed in […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Idealism in the age of Obama
Barack Obama's election in November and inauguration on Tuesday present a challenge to the belief system of some of us who were born, like the new president, in the closing […]
Posted inEconomy
Broken homes
Helen Williams, of Dorchester, thought she was getting “a good deal”but is now facing foreclosure. Helen Williams certainly doesn’t know anything about credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligations, or mortgage-backed […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Pension perk for lawmakers may finally be curbed, but where’s the wholesale fix?
After disgraced former state senator Jim Marzilli recently sought a special state pension, the Boston Globe ran a follow-up story reporting that more than a dozen former lawmakers have taken advantage of a […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Finneran’s pardon plea
Tom Finneran may have been the original captain of the Straight Talk Express, the guy who told it like it was and didn't hesitate to deliver unpopular news, especially to the special […]