Richard Davey, the state secretary of transportation, wants to wean the Greenway off public funds. state transportation secretary Richard Davey darts across Atlantic Avenue, lays down his umbrella, and settles under […]
Paul McMorrow
Paul McMorrow comes to CommonWealth from Banker & Tradesman, where he covered commercial real estate and development. He previously worked as a contributing editor to Boston magazine, where he covered local politics in print and online. He got his start at the Weekly Dig, where he worked as a staff writer, and later news and features editor. Paul writes a frequent column about real estate for the Boston Globe’s Op-Ed page, and is a regular contributor to BeerAdvocate magazine. His work has been recognized by the City and Regional Magazine Association, the New England Press Association, and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. He is a Boston University graduate and a lifelong New Englander.
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Back Story
Parking politics
The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is ratcheting down the tension surrounding its proposal to construct a 1,000-car garage under Storrow Drive and expand its facility out over the Charles […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Gambling glitch
The gambling conglomerate bankrolling the efforts to build a tribal casino in Taunton has become embroiled in an apparent pay-to-play scandal in New York, a fact that sheds new light […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Storrow Drive garage, park proposed
Clarification: Mass Eye and Ear says the profit on the existing Storrow Drive parking lot it leases from the state is less than $500,000 a year. CommonWealth reported it was […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Convention center chess
The House rolled out a major economic development package this week, but one key proposal that has been kicking around Beacon Hill for two-and-a-half years was noticeably absent – the […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
South Station NOT on track
More than 18 months ago, state transportation officials announced a major federal grant that would enable them to expand South Station in Boston. But the state hasn’t tapped the funds […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
What’s up with the sales tax?
Sales tax receipts normally behave like you’d expect them to: They rise when the economy is expanding, and fall when unemployment spikes. Data from across the country show that, historically, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Finding her voice
Attorney General Martha Coakley at a financial literacy workshop at East Boston High School.Martha Coakley has a cold. The attorney general apologized for this fact as she took the […]
Posted inPolitics
Cahill lawsuit leads to indictment
Attorney General Martha Coakley learned about the alleged political connection to a 2010 Lottery ad blitz the same way everyone else in Massachusetts did – she read about it in […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Globe raising price again
The Boston Globe is raising the newsstand price of its daily paper by 25 percent next week as it scrambles to prop up circulation revenue in the face of declining […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Essex official wants to sue over mortgage mess
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’)); John O’Brien is a […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Lawyering up on Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill lawmakers are lawyering up as state and federal investigators probe hiring practices at the Massachusetts Probation Department. Campaign finance records indicate a number of lawmakers identified as frequent […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Uncategorized
The Mashpee mad dash
A section of the state’s new casino gambling law that was intended to give a head start to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe may now be working against the tribe. The […]
Posted inEconomy
Galvin trades barbs with S. Coast officials
South Coast officials traded pointed accusations with an unusually animated Secretary of State William Galvin today, as the two sides battled over a bill exempting a stalled Freetown office development […]
Posted inEconomy
Historical roadblock
The proposed site of the Meditech office park development. Photo by J. Cappuccio. Peace summits are preceded by battles. And as far as Beacon Hill turf battles go, the […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Smart growth funds running out
The account that funds the state’s smart growth law is running out of cash, raising the prospect that the state’s first major effort at using incentives to promote housing construction […]
Posted inPolitics
New Bedford developer sues over gambling law
Hours after Gov. Deval Patrick signed legislation legalizing casino gambling in Massachusetts, the would-be developer of a New Bedford casino is asking a federal judge to block the law’s implementation. […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Somerville: End the liquor license cap
Thanks to the recently-passed casino gambling bill, the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission will soon be launching a two-year comprehensive review of Massachusetts’s liquor laws. Somerville officials have one suggestion for […]
Posted inEconomy
Out of reach
Jeffrey Goldstein lived the American Dream growing up. His father joined the postwar exodus from the city, and got his own piece of land out in the suburbs. Like many […]
Posted inPolitics
Court rejects Parente pension claim
A state appeals court has rejected a bid by a former lawmaker who sought to increase the value of her pension by counting her monthly walking-around stipend and per diem […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Winn pleads guilty to 2 misdemeanors
The prominent Boston developer Arthur Winn is pleading guilty to a pair of misdemeanor campaign finance violations, and a development company formerly headed by Winn agreed to pay a $1.5 […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Playing offense on redistricting
The last time lawmakers sat down to redraw the state’s legislative districts, they protected three white incumbents by sequestering black votes in Boston, an action that put them on the […]
Posted inEconomy, Transportation
North Station garage deal on shaky ground?
Members of the MassDOT board of directors are raising questions about the pending sale of the MBTA’s North Station garage, raising the possibility that the struggling transit agency could face […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Greenway lowers its BID price
The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy has entered the final stretch of its effort to launch a Business Improvement District to help fund its operations. The conservancy has made concessions to […]
