THE STATE’S RAINY DAY FUND is set aside for years when the economy is tanking, tax revenues are falling, and officials are scrambling to fill budget gaps. That’s what happened in […]
Rainy day fund taking hits
Posted inPolitics
Tom Brady hitting lecture circuit
IS NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS quarterback Tom Brady laying the groundwork for life after football? After four Super Bowl victories and three Super Bowl MVPs, we certainly hope not. But the […]
Posted inOlympics, Politics
First out of the blocks
You were the first to formally move for ballot questions on the Olympics for Boston voters. The Boston 2024 organizers have now called for a statewide referendum. Does that affect […]
Posted inEducation
Fixing failing schools
(Illustration by James Steinberg) DEVIN SHEEHAN, THE vice chairman of the Holyoke School Committee, welcomed Rob Curtin to the board’s monthly meeting in early March, but no one there was […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Lessons from Ferguson
FOR MONTHS WE’VE all watched the travesty in Ferguson, Missouri, unfold from the death of Michael Brown, to the militarized police response to public protest, to the Department of Justice […]
Posted inEducation
Getting along
WHEN BOSTON SCHOOL officials and the city’s teachers union announced an agreement last year on extending the K-8 school day by 40 minutes, it was hailed as an important breakthrough […]
Posted inEducation
Special ed spikes
HOW TO FUND special education has always vexed state and local officials, but now many of them are struggling to deal with unexpected mid-year spikes in special ed costs as […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
Young kids’ behavior alarms schools
A TIMEOUT USED to be a way to solve kindergarten temper tantrums, but it’s not that simple anymore. School officials say extreme behavior is more prevalent among young children who […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Editor’s note: Spring 2015
I’M IN FAVOR of jobs and investments as much as the next guy, but something doesn’t smell right about the so-called EB-5 immigration program, the subject of our cover story, […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Time to end offshore tax loophole
IT COULD BUY a dozen new energy-efficient locomotives for the MBTA every year, put nearly 1,000 more police on our streets, or pay for more than 8,000 needy children to […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, State House News Service
Charting postpartum depression
WHENEVER SHE PICKED UP a knife, Jamie Zahlaway Belsito thought about stabbing herself. The thought intruded so often that the mother-to-be thought it was a sign that having a baby was […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
DeLeo vs. Rosenberg
The battle for control of the legislative process on Beacon Hill took an interesting turn on Tuesday, when House Speaker Robert DeLeo dismissed a Senate rules proposal as “ill-advised, disruptive, […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Sketchy federal program sells citizenship
Photos by Michael Manning THE BASTILLE KITCHEN is the kind of destination restaurant that stamps a redeveloped neighborhood as a success. The Innovation District bistro, owned in part by renowned […]
Posted inMedia
Spotlight movie brings issue of credit to fore
THE TWO SCREENWRITERS of Spotlight, the upcoming movie about the Boston Globe Spotlight Team’s investigation of pedophile priests in the Catholic Church, paid a visit to a former reporter for […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
What really happened at Probation’s electronic monitoring operation?
IT STARTED WITH Michael Bizanowicz, a dangerous sex offender who broke into a Woburn home in 2004 and raped and killed Joanne Presti and then murdered her 12-year-old daughter, Alyssa. […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
British Columbia officials say carbon tax is working
OFFICIALS FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA came to MIT on Monday to make the case for their seven-year-old tax on carbon, which some lawmakers and clean energy advocates in Massachusetts want to […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Reality and unreality in new Congressional Medicare deal
THIS WEEK, YOU can be confident that the US Senate will approve bipartisan legislation approved on March 26 in the House of Representatives by an overwhelming (392-37) bipartisan majority to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Hillary happens, but it’s still party that matters
It was surely one of the most widely anticipated presidential campaign kickoff announcements in history. But the lack of suspense did nothing to stop the floodgates from opening for yet […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Boston 3d most inequitable city
BOSTON HAS SERVED as a moral beacon for the nation on key social justice issues. We have taken great strides to ensure quality healthcare for all, led the way on […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
DiCara is wrong about Boston buses
IN A RECENT Â CommonWealth piece, Larry DiCara decried the routing of MBTA buses through downtown Boston, which he said was clogging its already congested streets. If you look at downtown […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Remembering a fighter for homeownership
IN A DINGY Dorchester church basement in late 1990, Florence Hagins walked in and took a seat in one of the metal folding chairs. She listened as a couple of […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Baker’s leak strategy
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S press strategy for this week’s MBTA advisory panel report — which involved a steady diet of leaks in advance of its official Wednesday release — was masterful, […]
Posted inEducation, The Back Story
Study of black and Latino boys excludes charter success
Researchers conducting a study looking for effective practices that are helping black and Latino boys close the achievement reported a stunning finding this week: No Boston schools are succeeding at […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Baker’s MBTA control board gift to Legislature
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER gave House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Stan Rosenberg a big gift. The present did not come wrapped in colorful paper with a fancy bow. It’s mundane […]