Nine black students, protected by the 101st AirborneDivision of the US Army, began classes at the all-whiteLittle Rock Central High School in 1957.Photo by UPI/LANDOV.as new england prepared to cheer […]
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 inPolitics
Municipal meltdown
From the archives This article first appeared in CommonWealth’s Fall 2007 issue. Click here view more issues. A MAJESTIC GROVE of evergreen trees overlooks the town swimming pools in West […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, State House News Service
Medford embraces wind power
INTRO TEXT As controversy continues to swirl around the Cape Wind proposal in Nantucket Sound, the city of Medford is leaping to the head of the class by shoring up […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
On district matters, a Patrick ally turns adversary
INTRO TEXT a year ago, Marty Walz was among the legion of liberal Democrats enthralled by Deval Patrick’s gubernatorial candidacy. The state representative from Boston’s Back Bay was an enthusiastic […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
Falling membership doesn’t affect PTA’s political clout
INTRO TEXT gov. deval patrick’s selection of Ruth Kaplan, a Brookline School Committee member and longtime MCAS critic, as his first pick for a seat on the Massachusetts Board of […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Closed meetings carry a cost
INTRO TEXT Municipal officials could be in for a rude—and costly—awakening if they don’t follow the letter of the law. The Open Meeting Law, that is. Under bills now pending […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Still working on the railroad: funding fuzzy for South Coast rail
INTRO TEXT “it’s easy to say, ‘Give me this, give me that,’” said Rep. Joseph Wagner, the Chicopee Democrat who co-chairs the Joint Committee on Transportation, during testimony on a […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Saline solution
Illustration by Greg Morgana small group of Hull residents have roused themselves early on a Saturday morning for a presentation at the local senior center on the feasibility of getting […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
A study in tax-study avoidance?
INTRO TEXT Of the seven business tax proposals put forward by Gov. Deval Patrick, “combined reporting” would deliver the biggest boost to state coffers, an estimated $136 million in fiscal […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Following the Money
Gregory Sullivan’s first termas IG ends in August, and he’smaking it known that he isavailable for another.phil johnston thought all hell was going to break loose at the State House. […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
Accreditation agency raises questions about school finance
INTRO TEXT at first, the news looked good for Georgetown Middle High School, the sole secondary school in a northern Essex County town of 7,377 residents, with students in grades […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Taking Off
andreas gottzmann racks up quite a few frequent-flyer miles, traveling to Germany on business, but getting to the gate is a hassle. With no flights to Europe from Hartford’s Bradley […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
On the Cape new homes for workers go begging
INTRO TEXT sandwich attorney jonathan Fitch doesn’t like the term “workforce housing.” He thinks it’s “gimmicky.” All he and his wife Nancy, who have been active on land-use issues in […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Two startups try to make consultants affordable for nonprofits
most nonprofit organizations run lean, if not mean, operations, with only the largest able to afford luxuries like contracting out a new database design to private management consultants. But even […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Towns get steamed over water rules
INTRO TEXT the soggiest spring on record may have given Quabbin Reservoir a two-year supply of water, but the rushing rains did little to replenish the groundwater that towns outside […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, State House News Service
Flirting with Disaster
Route 1, in Saugus, took a dipduring this May’s floods.Photo by Nancy Lane/Boston Heraldwhen disaster strikes, the planning that happened ahead of time means everything. With that in mind, shortly […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
The pilot school concept comes to Fitchburg
INTRO TEXT would you lend ancient Chinese masterpieces to a middle school? Maybe not, but the Sackler Foundation didn’t blink before sending 33 priceless artifacts, among them Chinese Buddhas and […]
Posted inUncategorized
Hazardous Duty
the department of social services was in the dock – again – and that meant Harry Spence was on the hot seat. This time, it was the horrifying tale of […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
Education officials grow impatient with perenially failing public schools
INTRO TEXT ‘F’ is for failing, and some Massachusetts public schools have the dubious distinction of doing just that. But school turnarounds have not taken place as fast as education […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Academics measure the effects of the Red Line expansion
INTRO TEXT Growth & Development Extra 2006 What’s mass transit worth to you? It depends on how close you are to it. “Proximity matters,” says Matthew Kahn, a Tufts University […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Mr Nice Guy
Growth & Development Extra 2006 If Grabauskas can turn around the RMV, perhaps he can revolutionize the MBTA. When Dan Grabauskas left the Registry of Motor Vehicles in 2002 to […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Municipalities face a deadline in making polling sites accessible for all
INTRO TEXT Fall 2005 Everything these days is regulation, regulation, regulation, penalty, fine, threats.” That’s Medfield town administrator Mike Sullivan’s take on the Help America Vote Act, which is requiring […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
DNA test cause headaches for the states crime lab
INTRO TEXT Even crime has its growth sector, and in the Bay State, it’s burglary. The only violent or property crime category to increase between 2002 and 2003, burglary rose […]