One of the best things the O.J. Simpson trial did was introduce the vast majority of Americans to the criminal justice system. One of the worst things the case did […]
Jack Sullivan
Jack Sullivan is now retired. A veteran of the Boston newspaper scene for nearly three decades. Prior to joining CommonWealth, he was editorial page editor of The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, a part of the GateHouse Media chain. Prior to that he was news editor at another GateHouse paper, The Enterprise of Brockton, and also was city edition editor at the Ledger. Jack was an investigative and enterprise reporter and executive city editor at the Boston Herald and a reporter at The Boston Globe.
He has reported stories such as the federal investigation into the Teamsters, the workings of the Yawkey Trust and sale of the Red Sox, organized crime, the church sex abuse scandal and the September 11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the State House, state and local politics, K-16 education, courts, crime, and general assignment.
Jack received the New England Press Association award for investigative reporting for a series on unused properties owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and shared the association's award for business for his reporting on the sale of the Boston Red Sox. As the Ledger editorial page editor, he won second place in 2007 for editorial writing from the Inland Press Association, the nation's oldest national journalism association of nearly 900 newspapers as members.
At CommonWealth, Jack and editor Bruce Mohl won first place for In-Depth Reporting from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors for a look at special education funding in Massachusetts. The same organization also awarded first place to a unique collaboration between WFXT-TV (FOX25) and CommonWealth for a series of stories on the Boston Redevelopment Authority and city employees getting affordable housing units, written by Jack and Bruce.
A new mysterious Cape Wind foe
A new group trying to rally opposition to Cape Wind is being run by the owner of an ice cream shop located on a quiet back road in Kingston, N.H., […]
The prism of the media
Holiday weekends are usually bereft of real news and five-day summertime weekends can be especially challenging for assignment desks. But anyone who picked up the Boston Herald on Friday morning […]
The vast nothingness of special elections
What if they held a special election and, relatively speaking, nobody came? It could happen. It actually could happen tomorrow with the uninspiring special Senate election that has been relegated […]
Challenging the myth of college sports
Odds are unless you’re a devout follower of college basketball, you probably barely remember Ed O’Bannon. That, however, could change if the former member of the 1995 UCLA national champion […]
Putting the nix on presidential comparisons
Resolved: President Obama has had a pretty bad week. You might even say he’s had a horrible week. You could even say he’s had the worst week of his presidency. […]
Shifting winds
One year ago today, Kially Ruiz says he received his first noise complaint about the new turbine his company built and operates under an agreement with the town of Kingston. […]
SJC removes Barnstable clerk for abusing office
In a highly unusual move, the Supreme Judicial Court has ordered the removal of the Barnstable District Court clerk-magistrate for consistently arriving late for work; yelling at litigants, attorneys, employees, […]
GOP makes the going tougher for Gomez
By all rights, Regina McCarthy’s nomination by President Obama to head the Environmental Protection Agency should be sailing through the normally partisan-riven Senate. The Dorchester native and UMass Boston graduate […]
Job insecurity
Johnny Ramos is back working as a security guard again, and state officials are now hedging on whether they’ll have him removed because of a felony conviction 34 years ago […]
Marathon bombings cloud immigration debate
About 2,000 immigrants swore allegiance to the United States yesterday as they raised their hands to take the oath of citizenship in the World Trade Center on the South Boston […]
Is it bribery absent a willing recipient?
LOST IN THE OVERWHELMING COVERAGE of last week’s Boston Marathon bombings was the acquittal of former Probation Commissioner John J. O’Brien on all state corruption charges, a statement by […]
The MBTA’s got a ticket to write
THE STATE AND MOST MUNICIPALITIES impose a surcharge for parking violations and give the vehicle owner 21 days to appeal before assessing a penalty. The MBTA, by contrast, assesses a […]
A souper campaign
FALLR RIVER MAYOR WILL FLANAGAN is up for reelection this year. He’s also launching a new soup that will be sold in area supermarkets, with the proceeds going to provide […]
What happened to Johnny Ramos is criminal
JOHNNY RAMOS SAYs he did “a lot of stupid things” when he was a teenager growing up in Boston’s South End. He says he never used drugs or carried a […]
Is two years too short?
THIRTEEN TIMES between 1983 and 2010, John Barrett III ran for mayor of North Adams and won. But Barrett said the constant drumbeat of running for election in the […]
Tax battle joined
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE late Monday night approved a $500 million transportation tax plan by a 97-55 margin, eight votes shy of being able to override Gov. Deval Patrick’s promised veto. […]
Women lean every which way
Nearly a century after women got the right to vote and several generations after they became mainstays in the workforce, it seems society – at least the male half – […]
Bacon Hill
Prosecutors said former Probation Commissioner John J. O’Brien was successful in getting his wife a job at the state Lottery because the office of then-Treasurer Tim Cahill was just as […]
Gateway Cities gain two new members
Gov. Deval Patrick last year vetoed legislation that would have expanded the number of Gateway Cities, but this year the economy is forcing his hand. The Patrick administration added Attleboro […]
Weeding out the issues over medical pot
More than 63 percent of Massachusetts voters last November said okay to medical marijuana dispensaries. The ballot question passed easily in every county and the law took effect on Jan. […]
Dead presidents no laughing matter
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. President Nixon is roaming the halls of the White House in the midst of the Watergate scandal when he is visited by […]
Gabriel Gomez: A man for all seasons
Are you a diehard Massachusetts Republican looking to cast your lot with a Senate candidate who shared your support for 2008 presidential nominee John McCain? Gabriel Gomez could be your […]
Lawyers, guns, and money
Four gun measures are slated to be voted on today by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the votes will give some clues as to the fate of tougher gun control […]
