I AGREE WITH Commissioner Chester that some around K-12 education are enthusiastic about Common Core. Washington, DC-based trade groups like the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Governor’s […]
Moving backwards
Posted inEducation
Educating for the 21st century
THIS SUMMER MARKS the 20th anniversary of the Commonwealth’s landmark Education Reform Act of 1993. That law ushered in a new era of clear, measurable academic standards for all students […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
The push and pull of school reform
The driving force behind the education reform movement in the US has been a recognition that poor and minority children were being left far behind by a public education system […]
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized
The worker’s champion
Boston-based lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan has represented cab drivers, baristas, exotic dancers, and waiters in class action lawsuits, but as the new owner of a Harvard Square-based pizzeria she’s hoping to […]
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
Patrick signs budget, vetoes local aid, T funds
GOV. DEVAL PATRICK on Friday signed a $33.6 billion budget for the already-underway fiscal year, but vetoed $417 million in transportation and local aid funds because of an ongoing dispute […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Patrick’s bewildering tax standoff
If you’re confused about the tax standoff on Beacon Hill, you’re not alone. Gov. Deval Patrick is going to the mat with legislative leaders over the mere possibility that transportation […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Transportation
Patrick threatens veto of transportation bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. DEVAL PATRICK for the first time on Thursday promised to veto the Legislature’s transportation financing plan if it is not amended to replace toll revenues […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Bills push tax credits for angel investors
TWO STATE LAWMAKERS are pushing legislation that would create a new tax credit benefitting investors in Massachusetts startup companies, particularly firms located in struggling areas of the state. Rep. Claire […]
Posted inPolitics
July 11th Boston mayoral forum transcript
This is a transcript of a July 11th Boston mayoral forum with City Councilor Felix Arroyo, Charlotte Richie, and Bill Walczak. The forum was hosted by CommonWealth magazine, the Boston […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
CSI: Boston
One of the best things the O.J. Simpson trial did was introduce the vast majority of Americans to the criminal justice system. One of the worst things the case did […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
A new mysterious Cape Wind foe
A new group trying to rally opposition to Cape Wind is being run by the owner of an ice cream shop located on a quiet back road in Kingston, N.H., […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Getting smart about Cape summer traffic
On a hot and sunny Sunday after the Fourth of July, hundreds of people decided to leave the Cape “early” to get a jump on getting ready for the work […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Frenzy over firearms
Gun lobbyists and gun control activists butted heads at a legislative committee public hearing in Worcester but were able to find some common ground over the importance of mental health […]
Posted inPolitics
Boston mayor candidates similar on environment
THE CROWDED FIELD in the race for mayor of Boston is transforming some candidate forums and debates into little more than get-acquainted sessions for voters. At a forum on Tuesday […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download, Transportation
Beacon Hill game of chess
Beacon Hill’s top three political leaders, accustomed to working out most disagreements behind closed doors, are playing an interesting public game of chess with the state budget and a transportation […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Report documents impact of poor public transit
A NEW RESEARCH REPORT produced by the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University and the community organizing group Neighbor to Neighbor suggests public transit is inadequate […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The prism of the media
Holiday weekends are usually bereft of real news and five-day summertime weekends can be especially challenging for assignment desks. But anyone who picked up the Boston Herald on Friday morning […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Lawmakers block ethanol trains
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LEGISLATION THAT WOULD BAR major ethanol storage or blending facilities from nearby densely populated areas helped to torpedo a plan for a gas company to start […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, State House News Service
Patrick asks lawmakers for gas tax backup
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEGOV. DEVAL PATRICK PLANS to return the Legislature’s transportation financing plan on Tuesday with an amendment that would trigger an automatic increase in the gas tax in […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
A muddled Markey victory map?
Blue-collar cities made the difference between Scott Brown upsetting Martha Coakley in 2010, and Elizabeth Warren toppling Brown two years later. If that pattern holds true, Sen.-elect Ed Markey […]
Posted inEducation
Student loan rate doubles to 6.8%
THE INTEREST RATE on a key government-subsidized student loan doubled on Monday, an action that could potentially have a major impact on college-rich Massachusetts and the estimated 7 million students […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Voting rights ruling leaves protections in doubt
Did the sky fall with last week’s Supreme Court ruling invalidating a key section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act? You would certainly have thought so judging by some of […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Weld: Charters real legacy of ed reform
Former governor William Weld, always a political wild card, offers an interesting take on the Education Reform Act he signed into law 20 years ago. He says most of the […]
Posted inEnvironment
New route for power line from Quebec proposed
The utility seeking to build a 140-mile power line to carry hydroelectricity from Quebec into New England took another stab on Thursday at appeasing concerns in New Hampshire by moving […]