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Gabrielle Gurley
Gabrielle covers several beats, including mass transit, municipal government, child welfare, and energy and the environment. Her recent articles have explored municipal hiring practices in Pittsfield, public defender pay, and medical marijuana, and she has won several national journalism awards for her work. Prior to coming to CommonWealth in 2005, Gabrielle wrote for the State House News Service, The Boston Globe, and other publications. She launched her media career in broadcast journalism with C-SPAN in Washington, DC. The Philadelphia native holds degrees from Boston College and Georgetown University.
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Western Mass beats South Coast for rail funds
By Gabrielle Gurley Bay State transportation officials continue to throw everything they’ve got into South Coast Rail , but the feds took a pass, deciding that three western New England […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
All aboard
Sen. Steven Baddour, the co-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation, was ticked off. The five members of the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation board of directors had been […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
“Walk-in” contract fails the transparency test at the MBTA
Why did MBTA's single largest contract fail to appear on its board of directors' January open meeting agenda? The MBTA Board of Directors voted Wednesday to exercise the final option on […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Where’s Martha Coakley’s love for the League of Women Voters?
Some debates are more equal than others. That’s one political strategy that plenty of candidates for higher office have embraced, and Attorney General Martha Coakley is no exception. Coakley has […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Uncategorized
Lawrence: The next Springfield?
Two years ago, CommonWealth found civic leaders in Lawrence "Thinking Big" about the city's future. Not anymore. On Wednesday, Gov. Deval Patrick travels north for a closed door meeting with […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Who says the federal stimulus program isn’t working? Not the MBTA
Deficits have continued to plague the MBTA. Going into November, the transit agency was about $25 million in the hole, despite receiving $160 million in sales tax revenues for fiscal […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
No backing off the Green Line extension
If state leaders have to back off any transit projects, the Green Line extension won’t be one of them. Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey Mullan again reaffirmed support for the project […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
An inconvenient truth: Fixing the MBTA’s problems costs $$$
So many problems, so little money. Few people understand, much less want to wrestle with, the MBTA’s financial morass. That’s why safety issues captured the headlines with this week’s release […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
All aboard for MassDOT
"This is new, and anything new draws critics." Ever mindful of the less-than-stellar reception his picks for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation board of directors received on Beacon Hill and […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Uncategorized
Harvard panel, Boston police chief Davis discuss the Gates controversy
That human beings profile one another isn’t surprising. But when certain social, class, and cultural norms and values collide during confrontations between police and civilians, those instincts sometimes take on […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Can South Coast Rail qualify for stimulus funding?
Securing funds to offset the some of the costs associated with the $1.9 billion South Coast Rail project would be a significant coup not only for southeastern Massachusetts, but also […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Towns offer space to keep popular RMV branches open
cities and towns across the Commonwealth are making the state an offer it can’t refuse: Free or low-cost public space for Registry of Motor Vehicles branches. To save $1.7 million […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
State of the unions
”Governor Patrick, Anti-Labor.” ”Governor Patrick, Anti-Public Safety.” That was the 411 from Arlington and Medford police officers lined up more than 200 strong in front of Arlington’s Town Hall in […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service, The Download
Federal stimulus funding cushions state budget
With Washington coming to the rescue, Massachusetts has been able to save programs that would have been decimated without federal stimulus funds. According to a report published Wednesday by the […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, The Download
Gateways Cities leaders introduce economic development plan
Massachusetts needs to rework its tax incentive programs to create jobs, stimulate commercial development, and build market-rate housing in the state’s most economically distressed cities. That was the message from […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Mission Impossible II: MBTA Crisis Management
Good afternoon, Mr. Mullan. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is plagued by many problems, among them multibillion debt, aging infrastructure, and a significant cohort of employees for whom customer service […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Trick or Treat: The Revenge of Dan Grabauskas
Revenge is a dish best served cold. For the former MBTA general manager, there's probably nothing more delicious than the headline "State Transportation Secretary is resigning "Secretary of Transportation James […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Oooh-no! A municipal wake-up call from Hurricane Bill
The New England saying, “Wait five minutes and the weather will change,” goes doubly so for hurricanes. Hurricane Bill is a Category 4 storm, one that could pack a devastating […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service, The Download
Stimulating a Bristol County cleanup
Bristol County is receiving the largest infusion of total federal dollars ($162.4 million) outside Suffolk County ($323.2 million) according to a county-by-county breakdown of federal stimulus funds flowing to the […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
The Pottery Barn Rule of MBTA management
When Dan Grabauskas emerged from the initial two-hour plus MBTA Board of Directors executive session on Thursday, he looked like he’d been hit by a Silver Line bus. With the clock […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
How the MBTA general manager wins friends and influences people
Newton Mayor David Cohen, chairman of the MBTA Advisory Board, is the latest public official to side with MBTA general manager Dan Grabauskas in the still-smoldering MBTA civil war.In a […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Head games at the MBTA
Now that four MBTA board members have come out in support of embattled MBTA General Manager Dan Grabauskas, perhaps Gov. Deval Patrick should take a page out of President Barack […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, State House News Service
Hub youth work to bring civics class back to public schools
It’s civic engagement at its finest. Like most students, Boston youth organizer Katherine Garcia, 16, had never designed a curriculum for a high school course. Roy Karp, executive director of […]