The years of legislative infighting that led up to the legalization of casinos in Massachusetts were supposed to be the hard part. When Gov. Deval Patrick signed casinos into law […]
The uphill casino climb
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Fresolo soap opera ends
The on-again, off-again run by John Fresolo to recapture his old state rep seat in Worcester ended on Wednesday when he sent a letter to state officials asking them to […]
Posted inPolitics
Walsh asserts casino double standard
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and a group opposed to casinos suggested on Friday that the proposed Mohegan Sun gambling facility is so intertwined with the Suffolk Downs race track straddling […]
Posted inEducation, The Back Story
BPS forecasting 200 teacher leftovers
John McDonough, the interim Boston Public Schools superintendent, and Richard Stutman, president of the Boston Teachers Union, respond to this article here. The Boston Public Schools system is now forecasting […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Things are looking ducky for Elizabeth Warren
Politicians can proclaim their disinterest in an office all they want, especially president, but until the deadline passes – or they stop talking and acting like a candidate – they […]
Posted inPolitics
Where’s Martha?
It took place on the opposite side of Boston Common from the city’s theatre district, but the best show in town today was the matinee on the steps of the […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Walsh at 101 days
Marty Walsh rang in his 101st day as mayor of Boston on Wednesday. As he stood at the front of an East Boston gymnasium, ticking off a laundry list of […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
The SAT fills in the blanks
The SAT, the college admission standardized test, has been under siege for years. Many critics of the exam contend that the test does not correlate to academic success in college […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
Lawmakers pitch ways to ease student debt
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE As student loan debt tops $1 trillion nationally, state lawmakers are recommending ways to ease the burden on Massachusetts college students. Approximately 66 percent of Massachusetts […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Doctors bone up on medical marijuana
for doctors, accustomed to prescribing drugs only after they have been thoroughly researched and run through clinical trials, marijuana is a problem. The drug has been illegal in the United […]
Posted inEducation, Health Care
Heaviest lobbying by health care firms
health care firms, led by hospital systems and insurance companies, spent the most money on Beacon Hill lobbying activities in 2013. Partners HealthCare, which owns Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
Can Bay State schools afford online standardized testing?
this spring, there’s a twist to the annual ritual of standardized testing. Many students will trade in pencil and paper and move into the 21st century, taking the state’s new […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
Here comes UMass Haverhill
Officials at the University of Massachusetts Lowell hope to open a permanent branch of their campus in downtown Haverhill with a $2.5 million appropriation contained in a supplemental budget lawmakers […]
Posted inPolitics
Paving the way for votes
CORRECTION: The original map that accompanied this story was based on a 2010 draft redistricting plan provided by the Lawrence city clerk’s office in error. The map and legend have […]
Posted inPolitics
Cashing in
CommonWealth has obtained all settlement and judgment payouts by the State Comptroller from Fiscal Year 2005 though the second quarter of Fiscal 2014. Click here for the data, which includes […]
Posted inHealth Care
Free agency
Dr. Richard Dupee chats with a patient after an examination. Dr. Richard Dupee is old school. Instead of rushing from one examining room to the next as fast as he […]
Posted inPolitics
Threading the needle
From the archives This article first appeared in CommonWealth’s Spring 2014 issue. Click here view more issues. CHARLIE BAKER BOUNDS into the Charlestown Knights of Columbus, where the once and […]
Posted inPolitics
Harsh history lessons
IT’S HARD TO HEAR as the chatter bounces off the bare tile floor of the crowded VFW hall in Ipswich. The Democratic town committee is holding its annual breakfast on […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
DOR web problems force deadline change
State officials have extended the filing deadline for income tax filers because of problems with the Department of Revenue’s website, the latest technology glitch that is causing issues for state […]
Posted inGambling
Don’t bet against me (Full Transcript)
What follows is a transcript of an unedited interview with Steve Wynn of Wynn Enterprises on March 5 at his villa in Las Vegas. For the edited version, click here. […]
Posted inGambling
Don’t bet against me
Steve Wynn, in his Las Vegas villa, in front of Picasso’s The Sailor and a Giacometti sculpture. steve wynn is giving an art tour inside his villa, which is located […]
Posted inEducation
Back to school on the American Dream
Degrees of Inequality: How the Politics of Higher Education Sabotaged the American Dream By Suzanne Mettler New York: Basic Books 261 pages the american dream is in trouble. As our […]
Posted inTransportation
A can-do attitude
The Race Underground: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry that Built America’s First Subway By Doug Most New York: St. Martin’s Press 404 pages once upon a time, before […]
Posted inPolitics
The guiding hand
mindy myers has never called New England home, but she’s nevertheless left her political mark on the region. The 37-year-old Washington insider has run the successful election campaigns of three […]