ROBERT PUTNAM, THE Harvard political scientist famous for his book Bowling Alone, has a new book out that powerfully documents the steady widening of the “opportunity gap” for children in […]
Putnam misses the mark
Posted inTransportation
Pollack’s evolution on more T revenue
EVERYONE ASSUMED THAT Stephanie Pollack, a long-time advocate for more funding for the MBTA and other transit agencies, was going to find rough going in the no-new-taxes Baker administration. But […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Panel calls for MBTA fiscal control board
The special panel appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker to examine the MBTA after the transit system’s winter collapse proposed a nuclear option – a fiscal and management control board, to […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Baker panel kicks the can
IN THE AFTERMATH of the drip drip drip of a series of strategically placed leaks, the governor’s special commission on the MBTA has finally issued its report. It is a […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Brother can you spare a dime? And a nickel and two pennies?
BOSTON MAYOR MARTIN WALSH has seen the light when it comes to the wage gap between men and women. The problem is how long he and others have been blinded by […]
Posted inOlympics, State House News Service
Zimbalist torches Olympics bid
At a recent public meeting on Boston’s 2024 Summer Olympic bid, an Allston resident cited the work of Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College economist, on cost overruns that host cities […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
Wynn’s problems pile up
Lately, the news hasn’t been good for Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn. He’s trying to kick his ex-wife off the Wynn Resorts board of directors, and the infighting is […]
Posted inEducation
Boston schools failing black and Latino males
AFTER DOCUMENTING LAST FALL how poorly the Boston Public Schools were doing in educating black and Latino males, researchers went looking for individual schools that were doing a good job, […]
Posted inPolitics
Group changing the way lawmakers are graded
THE ENVIRONMENTAL LEAGUE of Massachusetts is putting out a legislative scorecard that attempts to more accurately reflect the way votes are – or, increasingly, are not – actually taken on […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics, Transportation
Time to pop this trial balloon
I KNOW SOMETHING about trial balloons. I launched a few myself when I was state transportation secretary. It’s a tried and true way for public officials to test whether there […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Reform, not revenue, says Baker T panel
It’s been something of a parlor game in policy and political circles these last weeks. Can the group commissioned by the no-new-taxes Baker administration to review the troubled MBTA possibly […]
Posted inEducation
Mass. should offer tax incentives for college savings
NATIONAL AND STATEWIDE conversations around higher education have underscored two realities: a college degree is increasingly important in a knowledge-based global economy, and we need to do more as a […]
Posted inGambling
Baker administration deals blow to Wynn
STATE ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICIALS dealt a major blow to the proposed Wynn Resorts casino in Everett Friday night by ordering the Las Vegas company to make another round of revisions to […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Gordon Van Welie, do your job
THE US ENERGY Information Administration is a federal agency that “collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Herald teams with Franklin Pierce
New Boston Herald presidential polls released this week indicate Jeb Bush is tied with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker among Republicans and Hillary Clinton is all alone on the Democratic side. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Economy, Politics, State House News Service
Gun advocates protest billboards
A war of words over words erupted this week as gun rights advocates checkmated Boston developer John Rosenthal’s effort to spread his anti-gun violence message across Massachusetts via billboards. The […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Rules debate puts Beacon Hill on hold
THE MBTA ISN’T the only state entity that’s been operating with significant delays. The movement of legislation on Beacon Hill has been ground to a halt by a debate on […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion, Transportation
Pride alone won’t fix things
PRIDE IS A tricky emotion. Even in ancient times, thought leaders cautioned people about the dangers of pride. “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before the fall,” is […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Can the T do anything right?
Perhaps we should consider changing the name of the public transit agency from MBTA to MPTA, for Massachusetts Piñata Transportation Authority. From public records to the new casino industry, the […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Culture wars at the MBTA
The circular firing squad otherwise known as the MBTA unleashed more volleys during this week’s transportation oversight hearings on Beacon Hill. Thomas Murray, the Transport Workers Union president, summed the […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Union chief criticizes T’s commuter rail oversight
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A TRANSPORTATION UNION chief laid into the MBTA on Tuesday, referring to new equipment as “wrecks on wheels” and charging the transit agency with micro-managing the […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Earned income tax credit vs. film tax credit
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER made the first move, calling early in March for an expansion of the politically popular earned income tax credit and proposing to pay for it with money […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Pollack: “Hemorrhaging” MBTA needs tourniquet
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MBTA HAS an estimated 535 employees on its debt-funded capital budget and without state budget help will run a $187 million deficit next fiscal year, […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
End downtown Boston’s busmageddon
THIS WINTER’S PUBLIC transportation crisis offers our elected and appointed leaders a unique opportunity to undo decades of questionable decisions. Others can opine regarding commuter rail and other segments of […]