State officials are seeking to expand commuter rail and extend the Green Line even as ridership figures indicate suburbanites are slowly abandoning the existing public transit options available to them. […]
A troubling transit trend line
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Darwin rolls the dice
Now that the dust is settling, you have to wonder when it comes to casino permits: What the heck do we need a Gaming Commission for? There’s a sort of […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Taking stock: Election ’13
Mr. Personality Politics is a world of debating points and policy papers and voter turnout machines, but it’s also a world where personal relationships matter greatly. Marty Walsh stormed into […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
MAYOR MATTERS: Walk with me
Sixth in a series In 1990, there were 152 homicides in Boston. Youth from what we now call violent crime “hot spots” stopped playing outside. They made “walk-with-me friends,” linking […]
Posted inPolitics
What’s the true meaning of Boston Strong?
Seventeenth in a series Writing this series about Boston’s mayoral history, I have been struck by how many of the issues that the city has grappled with in its past […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Flood of Super PAC dollars the new normal
Boston’s mayoral race closes today with a fire hose of outside super PAC money dousing the city. It’s an unprecedented shift for municipal politics in the city. But it’s not […]
Posted inPolitics
Boston should go all in on innovation
Sixteenth in a series Writing history is hard work, but it’s easier than predicting the future. Boston’s future is a story not yet written, but the pen (or keyboard) is […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion, Politics
Painting Boston shades of green
The next mayor of Boston will face many challenges, but few will be as long-term and as far-reaching as climate change. A peculiar result of the broken political system in […]
Posted inPolitics
A change in ethics
The State Ethics Commission on Monday proposed making it easier for business owners to run for or hold public office in Massachusetts, allowing executives to retain their stake in a […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
GOP seeks probe of Coakley spending
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE State Republican Party Chairwoman Kirsten Hughes called on Monday for a “thorough” and independent investigation into the campaign finances of Attorney General Martha Coakley following revelations […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Against all odds, casino vote in doubt
In the gambling world, the house always wins. In the case of a bid to build a billion dollar casino in East Boston, the house is Suffolk Downs and its […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Politics
MAYOR MATTERS: Steady start
Fifth in a series Boston’s next mayor will face a range of crucial issues when he assumes office in January. Three areas that should receive particular attention, however, are the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Mystery money floods Boston mayoral race
With just days to go before Boston’s mayoral election, mystery money is flooding the race, most of it going to benefit Marty Walsh. CommonWealth’s Paul McMorrow called it “dark money” […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, Transportation
MAYOR MATTERS: Keep Boston moving
Fourth in a series Of the many issues facing the next mayor of Boston, one of the more pressing is ensuring that the city fulfills its potential for continued economic […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Payne and Domke go independent
Dan Payne and Todd Domke are well-known political consultants who often moonlight together as pundits for media outlets, with Payne representing the Democrat point of view and Domke the Republican. […]
Posted inEducation
Boston schools embrace autonomy in hiring
Boston officials say they plan to give leaders at every public school the autonomy to fill teacher vacancies with anyone they want while steering unplaced tenured teachers into professional development […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, The Download
Obama: Every little thing’s gonna be alright
With the Red Sox sucking all the oxygen out of the news cycle in these parts, it might have been a little hard to notice other things going on yesterday, […]
Posted inPolitics
When it comes to skylines, bigger isn’t always better
Fifteenth in a series When Boston College Dean W. Seavey Joyce flew over Boston in the mid-1950s for the first time (he was a fearful flyer), he looked down upon […]
Posted inPolitics
MAYOR MATTERS: A 21st century mayor
Third in a series Boston is embarking on a new era, as Mayor Thomas Menino leaves office after two decades. His successor will have to both build on Menino’s accomplishments […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
State taking over 4 different schools
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEThe state will take over four chronically under-performing schools that have been “stuck” as other troubled schools have made “quite good progress,” Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Cape officials show how to get rail done
For years, Cape Cod officials wanted to use rail to get tourists off their clogged roads and onto beaches and into restaurants and shops. Coordinated by the Cape Cod Regional […]
Posted inPolitics
MAYOR MATTERS: Boston’s parks need to play catch-up
Second in a series Boston is home to the oldest park in the country, so perhaps it’s no surprise that innovation may not be the first thing that comes to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Linehan’s total isolation
Bill Linehan held on to his Boston City Council seat two years ago, but it appears that victory cost him the support of much of the city’s political establishment. Now, […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Regional planner slams S. Coast Rail article
I am writing to give your readers some additional perspective on South Coast Rail in response to Gabrielle Gurley’s October 23 opinion piece singling out the project (“Deval Patrick, John […]