The University of Massachusetts is taking tentative steps toward opening a satellite campus in Springfield that would be overseen by UMass Amherst and provide on-site and online courses offered by […]
UMass satellite center explored for Springfield
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Bezos: The perfect newspaper owner
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos fished around in his pockets yesterday, plucked out some lint, and used it to buy the Washington Post. Bezos dropped $250 million in cash on the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
In mayor’s race, out of town cash is king
An unusually crowded race for mayor of Boston is forcing candidates to look outside the city for campaign cash. Candidates in the wide-open, 12-person mayoral field are tapping into suburban […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Elections highlight shifts in Boston voting
In the spring issue of CommonWealth, we wrote about the shifts occurring in the distribution of votes in Boston, highlighting the big increase in votes coming from downtown and other […]
Posted inPolitics
Barrier-breaking candidate of status quo
There was excitement in the air last Wednesday night as Charlotte Golar Richie addressed several hundred supporters gathered at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury. But the charge in the room certainly […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
As the Globe turns
The timing did not suggest the best news sense in the world, but high-stakes deal-making evidently doesn’t take its cues from lowly ink-stained newsies. In the wee hours Saturday morning, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Many mayoral mini-mes
Rob Consalvo, in this profile by WBUR’s David Scharfenberg, doesn’t try to hide his message that a Consalvo administration would look a lot like the Menino administration. “In Consalvo world,” […]
Posted inPolitics
Many mayoral mini-mes
Rob Consalvo, in this profile by WBUR’s David Scharfenberg, doesn’t try to hide his message that a Consalvo administration would look a lot like the Menino administration. “In Consalvo world,” […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
What’s up at the Globe
The upcoming sale of the Boston Globe by the New York Times is getting really confusing. First, the Globe reported that there were six bidders. Then the field was narrowed […]
Posted inPolitics
Rosenberg corrals votes to become Senate president
Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, an Amherst Democrat, announced on Wednesday that he had the votes necessary to replace Therese Murray as president of the Senate when she leaves office, setting the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Education, The Download
MIT’s neutrality in the Swartz case
The long-awaited report on MIT’s role in the Aaron Swartz case seems to ring true: the university technically did nothing wrong but its lack of leadership may have been a […]
Posted inEnvironment
Patrick issues emergency solar regs
Seeking to avoid the boom and bust cycles that have plagued solar markets in other states, the Patrick administration is issuing emergency regulations that will temporarily allow solar developers continued […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Get ready for some Fiscal Armageddon
House Republicans have all the zeal in the world. What they’ve lacked, until now, is some sexy branding. Sequestration does not roll off the tongue all that well. The fiscal […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
The (destructive) power of social media
The Boston Marathon bombings, along with all their horror, became the latest event to showcase the incredible power of social media. Sometimes that was clearly for the better. A tweet […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
State transit routes now on Google Maps
I am writing in response to the June 12th Voices article titled MassDOT takes on the last mile by Peter O’Connor. MassDOT appreciated Mr. O’Connor’s discussion regarding challenges with “last […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Environment, The Download
A green mafia
Today we offer a cautionary tale from Italy, where the mafia has apparently been investing in wind farms and other forms of renewable energy to launder money. In a series […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Yancey Show
Charles Yancey has no shot at getting elected mayor of Boston in November. Charles Yancey is also a veteran Boston politician whom none of the 11 other would-be mayors of […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Globe scuttlebutt
Correction: The story’s original reference to layoffs at the Tampa Tribune was incorrect and the correct information is now included below. The sale of the Boston Globe is entering its […]
Posted inPolitics
The Yancey Show
Charles Yancey has no shot at getting elected mayor of Boston in November. Charles Yancey is also a veteran Boston politician whom none of the 11 other would-be mayors of […]
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
Lawmakers dismiss Patrick warnings, vote to override
The Legislature on Wednesday dismissed Gov. Deval Patrick’s warnings about a future shortage of transportation funds, voting overwhelmingly to override the governor’s veto of a $500 million revenue package made […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics
Revenue smoke signals
THE BATTLE OVER transportation funding on Beacon Hill came down to how much to raise and how to raise it. Gov. Deval Patrick pushed for more than $1 billion in […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
All’s fare in the Bay State transportation wars
Another year, another transportation finance debacle in progress. Legislators balked at Gov. Deval Patrick’s tax-laden $1.1 billion proposal and crafted one that injects a few million less dollars into the […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, Transportation
Cabral: Administration using ‘scare tactics’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENIOR TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS on Tuesday cautioned that major expansion projects prioritized by the Patrick administration could be in jeopardy if tolls on the western portion of […]
Posted inPolitics
Markey edging Brown
NEWLY ELECTED SEN. ED MARKEY leads Republican Scott Brown by 5 points in a new poll, a significant shift from December when Markey was trailing Brown in a head-to-head matchup […]