Boston University is investigating one of its lecturers who placed an ad on Craiglist looking for someone to help grade his students’ papers. The situation involving Duane Lefevre was brought […]
Colman M. Herman
Posted inPolitics
Occupy attracts few people of color
Three things stood out during five days and nights of visits last week to occupy Boston in Dewey Square – how peaceful things are, how committed the occupiers are, and […]
Posted inPolitics
Two points of view on small claims reforms
In his 1913 essay on “The Administration of Justice in the Modern City,” Harvard Law School Dean Roscoe Pound put forth a novel notion – a small claims or “people’s […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
IG sees subculture of corruption
Inspector General Gregory Sullivan, who has a broad mandate to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in state and local government, sat down recently with CommonWealth to discuss corruption […]
Posted inUncategorized
Psychologist withdraws SJC appeal on license
A female psychologist who had sex with a former patient is withdrawing her court appeal seeking the return of her license. Brookline psychologist Mary O’Neill acknowledged having a sexual relationship […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
Contract dispute
when officials at the Clarence Edwards Middle School in Charlestown needed someone to work as a lunch and hall monitor, they did what often happens in the Boston Public Schools. […]
Posted inEconomy
Swan Boats, Sullivan’s get sweet deals from city, state
the swan boats in the Public Garden and Sullivan’s hot dog stand on Castle Island in South Boston are two of Boston’s most beloved businesses. But the landmark operations are […]
Posted inPolitics
Psychologist seeks return of license
A female psychologist is asking the state’s Supreme Judicial Court for her license back even though she violated one of the cardinal rules of her profession by having sex with […]
Posted inPolitics
Records law doesn’t apply to governor
Another in a series of occasional articles concerning Massachusetts public records and open meetings laws. Responding to an appeal filed by CommonWealth, Secretary of State William F. Galvin officially ruled […]
Posted inPolitics
Judge rejects Globe’s records injunction
A Superior Court judge today rejected The Boston Globe’s bid for an injunction requiring Massachusetts officials to turn over the names of employees who have received lucrative settlement or severance […]
Posted inPolitics
Lottery plots against ‘slots’
Like those running any gambling enterprise, officials at the Massachusetts State Lottery don’t like anyone muscling in on their turf. And when they think someone is, they can lower the […]
Posted inPolitics
Coakley regs ban ‘gambling’ machines
Attorney General Martha Coakley, after months of silence on the issue, today filed emergency regulations banning what she called illegal gambling at cyber cafes and phone card terminals across the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Attorney suspended for term paper offer
The state’s Board of Bar Overseers issued a six-month license suspension to a former attorney for the Massachusetts Appeals Court who offered to write a law school term paper as […]
Posted inPolitics
Globe files suit on severance records
Another in a series of occasional articles on public records and open meetings issues. The Boston Globe is suing eight Massachusetts executive agencies plus the Massachusetts Port Authority and the […]
Posted inPolitics
Chuck Turner’s one unwelcomed arrest
Former Boston city councilor Chuck Turner died on Christmas Day at age 79 after a long illness. He is being lauded by many for his decades of activism on behalf […]
Posted inPolitics
Rebate records withheld by state
Second in a series of occasional articles on rulings issued by the Secretary of State’s office concerning appeals of public records requests filed with public agencies. The Great Appliance Exchange […]
Posted inPolitics
Probation scandal spurs calls for public records reform
the patronage scandal at the state’s Probation Department is prompting calls for all sorts of hiring reforms, but there is also a growing chorus of voices pushing for changes in […]
Posted inUncategorized
Sifting through records appeals
First in a series of occasional articles on rulings issued by the Secretary of State’s office concerning appeals of public records requests filed with public agencies. Last March, Boston Globe […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Uncategorized
The BPL’s dirty laundry
The Boston Public Library has quietly settled litigation with a lawyer-lobbyist who the library alleged was secretly paid by its former president for doing no work. The settlement offers few […]
Posted inPolitics
Slots on the sly?
Slot machines on Beacon Hill may be in legislative purgatory, but similar devices that allow people to play for cash are popping up across the state.The devices ostensibly sell high-priced […]
Posted inPolitics
BPL, ex-Rep. at odds over lobbying contract
The Boston Public Library , which is preparing to shut down four branches and lay off close to 80 employees to balance its budget, says in a court filing that […]
Posted inPolitics
Hidden treasure
A sense of awe envelops Nancy Powell as she waxes eloquently about The Birds of America, a multi-volume set of John James Audubon’s hand-painted prints of life-size images of 435 […]
Posted inEducation
State employee investigated for selling term papers
The Massachusetts Appeals Court has placed a senior staff attorney on paid administrative leave after CommonWealth reported that the attorney was running a side business writing term papers for students […]
Posted inEducation
Term paper trafficking
See an update to this story here. Despite laws in Massachusetts and 16 other states, lawsuits, honor codes, and even sophisticated plagiarism-detection software, college students continue to buy term papers […]