The wrecking ball’s time, we were told, had come. It’s easy to forget important milestones when they mark something significant that didn’t happen, but it’s a moment worth recalling – and toasting.
Arts and Culture
Posted inHousing
Over 10 years in the making: Fitchburg cuts the ribbon on affordable housing project for artists
The city of Fitchburg has finally cut the ribbon on a nearly 13-year affordable housing project for artists. The post-industrial era city that suffered from the long-term decline of manufacturing has embraced arts and culture as a way to restore its standing as a vibrant hub of North-Central Massachusetts.
Posted inOpinion
Don’t let public access TV go dark
In communities across the Commonwealth, these stations have kept the lights on in meeting halls and school auditoriums, ensuring that local democracy happens in the open.
Posted inArts and Culture
Ali Noorani tapped as new Barr Foundation president
Noorani will succeed Jim Canales, the foundation’s longtime president who announced in January that he planned to step down after 11 years in the role.
Posted inOpinion
As we mark Juneteenth, don’t let Trump’s cuts to vital cultural institutions whitewash history
We live in a time when institutions with the honesty and integrity to tell difficult historical truths are bullied by those who seek to paper over our past.
Posted inArts and Culture
New Bedford building poised to rise as artist space — again
In 2023, efforts to harness arts and culture as part of New Bedford’s economic revitalization strategy were dealt a blindsiding blow. Two years later, it looks as if all’s well that ends well.
Posted inOpinion
As leaders of state and regional organizations, we’re sounding the alarm on Trump’s attacks on the arts
Our economic competitiveness, our educational excellence, and our role as a beacon of equality require us to protect and preserve our cultural sector. Every resident can play a role in this defining moment.
Posted inOpinion
Making the 250th anniversary of our founding matter
If we truly wish to compete with our fellow patriots in Pennsylvania and Virginia, let us follow the example of Samuel Adams. Let us be bold about our beliefs and the messages we send to the nation.
Posted inEducation
Canales stepping down as president of Barr Foundation
JIM CANALES, who has overseen a more than doubling of annual giving at the Barr Foundation while presiding over its emergence as a major civic player in Greater Boston, plans […]
Posted inMedia
The top ten CommonWealth Beacon stories of 2024
ALL ROADS lead to home, or perhaps the nearest T station. Housing and transportation are both issues that roiled policymakers on and off Beacon Hill, as state officials sought to […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Boston museum program now open to all
On Wednesday, Mayor Michelle Wu announced that starting in January all young people in Boston – regardless of what school they attend – will be eligible for the free museum program, which originally was only open to Boston Public Schools students.
Posted inOpinion
Governor should strip anticompetitive ticketing provision from economic development bill
Gov. Healey should send an amended version of the bill back to the Legislature to protect fans from the Ticketmaster monopoly and so that consumers can continue to freely shop around for tickets versus having a single source.
Posted inOpinion
Why kids should read obituaries
Obituaries are about life, not death – death is merely the detail that gets these stories of life printed. And kids should read these life stories.
Posted inState Government
Mass. preps for American revolution’s 250th anniversary
“And part of the launch today is to make sure we get ahead of this, because we are the birthplace,” said Gov. Maura Healey.
Posted inArts and Culture
Boston to expand free museum program to non-BPS kids
A pilot program providing free access to a set of Boston museums to Boston Public Schools students will be expanded starting in 2025 to include all school-age children in the city.
Posted inOpinion
Why risk-averse Gen Z is watching from the sidelines
When we weigh the decision of whether to engage effortfully with the world or just stay home, it’s no wonder we gravitate toward the option that involves less risk.
Posted inOlympics
20-20 hindsight on Boston 2024
Asked this week to reflect on the long-gone possibility of Boston hosting the 2024 Olympics, Senate President Karen Spilka didn’t hesitate. “I’m glad it’s in Paris,” she said. “That’s my quote.”
Posted inArts and Culture
Rename Logan Airport for Celtics legend Bill Russell? Mass. officials don’t rule it out
“Naming the airport for Russell would send a powerful message about the region it serves,” wrote Mark Leibovich.
Posted inArts and Culture
Not easy turning artists into a political force on Beacon Hill
Paradoxically, the reason that artists need state support so desperately is the same reason they are often missing in political mobilizing: they are strapped for time and money.
Posted inHousing
A divided Milton heads into court
Milton seems unprepared, partly because of the fast-moving pace of legal action and mostly because town officials are as divided as the town they represent.
Posted inArts and Culture
A first for Old Ironsides
“I fight and drive ships and lead sailors,” said Commander Billie JU. Farrell.. “And so that’s what I’ve done for the past 20 years. I’m very fortunate that I’ve worked with a bunch of great commanding officers.
Posted inArts and Culture
Embrace Boston looking to build two new monuments
The first monument, Paris Jeffries hopes, will be at the site of the former Emancipation statue and involve rotating interpretations of what emancipation means. Another will go at the promised King center in Roxbury.
Posted inArts and Culture
Bust of Frederick Douglass unveiled in Senate chamber
The Douglass bust is the first to be added to the Senate Chamber’s permanent collection since 1898. It now it sits in an alcove near his quote — “Truth, justice, liberty, and humanity will ultimately prevail” — which adorns the chamber.
Posted inOpinion
Book bans are bad for democracy
Massachusetts must fight against the national tide of intolerance promoting book bans, which post a particular threat to marginalized communities.