We’re getting close to allowing same sex marriage throughout the country — or banning it altogether — depending on who you ask. Last week New York passed a bill allowing […]
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Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Risky business
Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua isn’t the first American mayor to run into trouble with shipments of city-owned vehicles to the Dominican Republic. The Immigrant City controversy, involving promises of a […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Uncategorized
Legislating through the budget
The Legislature likes working like a harried college freshman, with the bulk of its work coming in late-night bursts just before a looming deadline. The body is famous for the […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
It’s the ethics, stupid
Lost in the din of Whitey Bulger’s capture is the latest effort to legislate ethics among elected and appointed officials at the state and local level. But you can bet […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Romney to Huntsman: Go away
Odds are Mitt Romney doesn’t much care what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid thinks about the Republican presidential nomination battle turning into a face-off between Romney and Jon Huntsman, the […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Culture of corruption, cont’d
If you thought convicted Beacon Hill lobbyist Richard “Dickie” McDonough couldn’t look like more of a snake than he already does, think again. Inspector General Gregory Sullivan is now alleging […]
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized
DiMasi and black Boston
Within minutes of the news that Sal DiMasi had been convicted on federal corruption charges, messages starting flying through cyberspace among those in Boston’s black activist community. But the focus […]
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Dysfunction or just democracy in action?
With all the complaints about partisan gridlock and the polarized political atmosphere in Washington, Peter Baker asks in yesterday’s New York Times “Week in Review” section, “Is this any way […]
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METCO gets high marks in new report
The Pioneer Institute, in conjunction with the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice (CHHIRJ) at Harvard Law School, today published a report on the status of METCO, a […]
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Nothing to see here, folks
There’s probably no more happy sports fans in Massachusetts than Beacon Hill lawmakers that the Bruins won the Stanley Cup. Not just because it’s yet another feather in the city’s […]
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DeLeo distances himself from DiMasi
“You’re nothing to me now. You’re not a brother, you’re not a friend. I don’t want to know you or what you do. I don’t want to see you at […]
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The gay marriage divide
In Massachusetts, when someone suggests that a judge’s sexual orientation interferes with both logic and law, that suggestion invites public ridicule and rebuke. In California, it’s grounds for an appeals […]
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Rainbow Boston
For all of its inglorious history when it comes to matters of race, Boston is now a national leader in diversity and multiculturalism. That’s the finding from a new look […]
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Cutting the profits from nonprofits
Nonprofits, it seems, are in the official cross hairs and under assault.A bill filed by state Sen. Mark Montigny of New Bedford to stop health plans from paying “volunteer” board […]
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The Download: Mediscare
Say what you will about Sen. Scott Brown, but our man in Washington certainly knows what makes a good political commercial and he wanted no part of it. Brown was […]
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Lobbyists, DiMasi met ‘all the time,’ aide says
Lobbyists constantly called the office of former Speaker Salvatore DiMasi to arrange meetings between their clients and the speaker, DiMasi’s former administrative assistant testified Monday in federal court.Katie Quinn, the […]
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The Download: Another patronage haven bites the dust
One by one, state government’s biggest patronage havens are being shut down. The state’s Probation Department, long an employment agency for politically connected friends of state lawmakers, got a makeover […]
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CommonWealth magazine’s new video conversations feature
CommonWealth has launched the beta version of a new video feature we’re hoping will become a mainstay of our website – and a must-see for those who follow policy and […]
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Bin Laden’s long time on the lam
By Michael Jonas Just how long was the period between Osama Bin Laden’s emergence as the most wanted man on the planet following the 9/11 attacks and his killing last […]
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized
Hugs for Democrats
When I see the politically humbled I offer comfort. When I see the politically downtrodden I rush to bring hope. When I see the politically bullied I want to envelope […]
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Who does he think he is?
IT’S AN EARLY March afternoon and a gaggle of reporters are waiting outside the House chamber. The focus of their interest finally steps out and obliges the group. He and […]
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Spring 2011 Correspondence
Utilities are the rats Regarding your article “The Meter is Running” (Winter ’11), the only rats hiding under the rocks are the electric utility companies who refuse to buy meaningful […]
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Michael Jonas appears on Emily Rooney
CommonWealth’s Michael Jonas, who reviewed Patrick’s book for Sunday’s Boston Globe, discussed the the governor’s memoir yesterday in this segment on “The Emily Rooney Show” on WGBH radio and on […]
