The state Department of Conservation and Recreation is coming under fire yet again for leasing state land to private entities at below-market rates, but this time even one of the […]
Colman M. Herman
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Herald drops libel appeal, to pay $903,000
The Boston Herald dropped its appeal and agreed to pay $903,000 to end a libel case stemming from a 2009 story alleging that a woman engaged in “sexual acts” with […]
Posted inPolitics
Elder Affairs worker placed on paid leave
Peter Antonellis, a compliance officer with the state’s Office of Elder Affairs who has been highly critical of the agency’s oversight of assisted living residences, was told on Tuesday morning […]
Posted inHealth Care
Coakley’s defense of DCF foster care
The foster care case that has become a flashpoint in the race for governor is complicated, messy, and in some ways shocking, which makes it ideal as a political football. […]
Posted inPolitics
A critic from within
Peter Antonellis, a compliance officer with the state’s Elder Affairs office, has become his agency’s biggest critic. In a series of investigative stories this month on problems concerning the agency’s […]
Posted inHealth Care
Elder Affairs lets Athol facility remain open
The state’s Executive Office of Elder Affairs allowed a boarding house in Athol to function as an assisted living facility for 2½ years without being certified by the state. The […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics
Oversight questions raised on Elder Affairs
The state’s Elder Affairs office, which is charged with regulating some 200 assisted living facilities that care for more than 12,000 senior citizens, some of them suffering from dementia, appears […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Checking Bump’s mileage
Every St. Patrick’s Day the state’s leading politicians flock to South Boston for a roast that features jokes, songs, and lots of laughs. Most of the pols view the event […]
Posted inPolitics
Temp CFO earns $262,000 for 10 months
A temporary replacement for the chief financial officer at the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency ended up making nearly $262,000 — $34,000 more than the full-time president and CEO – because […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
120 days and counting
The state’s Public Records Law has three major blind spots. The Legislature, which passed the initial law in 1851, exempted itself from the law’s reach in 1897. The judicial branch […]
Posted inEconomy
State boosting rents for yacht, boat clubs
state officials are trying to put their property management practices in order, preparing to charge 31 yacht and boat clubs more for the public lands they are leasing and possibly […]
Posted inEconomy
Agency heads differ on expense reimbursements
the people who run the state’s quasi-public agencies have very different philosophies about seeking reimbursement for the expenses they incur. Noting that “perceptions matter a lot,” Clark Ziegler, the executive […]
Posted inPolitics
SJC judges in dark about Probation hiring
Robert Mulligan and John O’Brien are squaring off in federal court over hiring practices, much as they squared off when Mulligan was the chief justice of administration and management at […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, The Back Story
Welder at Back Bay fire cited before for no permit
A Malden welding company being sued for failing to obtain a city permit for work that spawned a fatal, nine-alarm Back Bay fire in March has apparently operated before without […]
Posted inPolitics
Tabloid trouble
The Boston Herald and one of its reporters, Jessica Van Sack, recklessly published a false and defamatory story in 2009 alleging that a woman engaged in “sexual acts” with a […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Walsh reviewing Red Sox deal
The administration of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said it is reviewing an agreement the city struck with the Boston Red Sox in October that formalized a long-standing arrangement allowing the […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Back Story
Meade sought legal advice on Red Sox invite
On June 25, 2012, Peter Meade got to do what most Boston fans only dream of doing: He filled in as the public address announcer at Fenway Park as the […]
Posted inEconomy
BRA lawyers don’t do eminent domain
The Boston Redevelopment Authority has eight attorneys on staff, but apparently none of them are qualified to do eminent domain work. Records indicate the agency farms out the eminent domain […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Public Records Law changes likely
The Massachusetts House seems poised to make some changes to the state’s Public Records Law, and will even explore bringing Beacon Hill lawmakers under the law’s purview. A bill drafted […]
Posted inUncategorized
What should a city charge for renting a sidewalk?
The city of Boston rents its sidewalks for outside dining to more than 50 restaurants using a fee structure that is getting poor reviews from budget watchdogs and economists.The base […]
Posted inPolitics
Asians do better than their numbers would suggest
One minority group that seems to be moving assertively into Greater Boston’s power structure is Asians. They are making stronger inroads in the workplace than blacks and Hispanics, who outnumber […]
Posted inPolitics
The numbers for the state, Boston show improvement
The minority hiring records of the state of Massachusetts and the city of Boston are both relatively good, a sharp contrast to most companies in the private sector. State records […]
Posted inUncategorized
Diversity lacking at Boston law firms
Nutter McClennen & Fish, one of the largest law firms in Boston, is proud to point to the fact it was founded way back in 1879 by renowned Supreme Court […]
Posted inUncategorized
No seat at the table
Boston has come a long way since the days of school busing in the 1970s. The city is far more racially diverse, with blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and other minority groups […]
