THERE IS GOOD REASON TO BELIEVE a longer school day for students in high-poverty school districts could make a big difference in closing the persistent achievement gap that leaves poor […]
More school time needs to be part of broader effort
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, Transportation
Patrick muted in response to House-Senate tax plan
GOV. DEVAL PATRICK spent months racing around the state trying to whip up support for his $1.9 billion tax plan, but he seemed muted on Wednesday as the Legislature prepared […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Life in the fast lane
If Gov. Deval Patrick’s $1 billion, 10-year transportation plan telegraphs ambition in the fast lane, then the Legislature’s $500 million, five-year design signals austerity in the slow lane. CommonWealth’s Paul […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Osterville man says Cape Wind fight nearing end
Joe Keller, in a fundraising letter on behalf of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, predicts 2013 will be the beginning of the end for Cape Wind. The Osterville-based developer […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Tax tag team
HOUSE AND SENATE LEADERS issued an unusual united rebuke of Gov. Deval Patrick’s sweeping transportation finance proposal on Tuesday, countering a wide-ranging billion-dollar transportation pitch Patrick made in January with […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Big disparity on teen births
The state’s teen birth rate hit its lowest recorded level ever and analysts are crediting the use of contraception rather than a change in behavior for the decline. In 2010, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Menino meddling?
Globe columnist Adrian Walker welcomes the coming Boston mayoral campaign, the first open race for the city’s top job since Tom Menino took power 20 years ago. What’s more, he […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Bluestone, Clayton-Matthews answer life science criticism
STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS have, at best, a checkered past in providing public handouts to private industry. In a desperate attempt to retain jobs or attract them, many states, cities, […]
Posted inPolitics
Menino meddling?
Globe columnist Adrian Walker welcomes the coming Boston mayoral campaign, the first open race for the city’s top job since Tom Menino took power 20 years ago. What’s more, he […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download, Transportation
Transportation transparency fantasy land
House Speaker Robert DeLeo misspoke. The Speaker, out on a swing through Western Massachusetts, admitted that describing Gov. Deval Patrick’s transportation finance plan as “fantasy land” was a “poor choice […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
DeLeo calls tax plan ‘fantasy land’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEHOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO called the governor’s request for $1.9 billion in new tax revenue “fantasy land” during a private political caucus with Democrats on Wednesday, expressing […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Menino’s mark
Today, anyone with a shred of political ambition is staring at something that hasn’t been seen in Boston since 1983: an open mayor’s seat. Boston Mayor Tom Menino tipped his […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Voting Rights Act debate misses larger civic opportunities
US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts caused a civil rights brouhaha last month by citing a seeming disparity between voter registration and turnout rates among African-Americans living in Massachusetts […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Uncategorized
Gateway Cities gain two new members
Gov. Deval Patrick last year vetoed legislation that would have expanded the number of Gateway Cities, but this year the economy is forcing his hand. The Patrick administration added Attleboro […]
Posted inPolitics
Menino’s mark
Today, anyone with a shred of political ambition is staring at something that hasn’t been seen in Boston since 1983: an open mayor’s seat. Boston Mayor Tom Menino tipped his […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Shaky job findings in Life Sciences Center study
Barry Bluestone and Alan Clayton-Matthews are respected economists at Northeastern University, but their just-released report on the Massachusetts Life Sciences Institute, and particularly the tax credits the agency hands out, […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Rating agencies raise concerns on tax plan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEGOV. DEVAL PATRICK’S $34.8 billion state budget plan and his proposed tax reforms have raised some alarms at Wall Street credit rating agencies, which are concerned about […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Weeding out the issues over medical pot
More than 63 percent of Massachusetts voters last November said okay to medical marijuana dispensaries. The ballot question passed easily in every county and the law took effect on Jan. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Corrections reform lagging, report says
Massachusetts may be a leader in such areas as clean energy, health care, and education, but we are a big laggard when it comes to reform of a corrections system […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
The Phoenix’s Web goodbye
Last week the Boston Phoenix published its last print edition. This week brings the last online edition, featuring interesting stories by David Bernstein on Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s emerging profile in […]
Posted inEconomy
Film spending rebounds
FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCTION spending in Massachusetts rebounded in 2011 and is starting to experience rapid growth, but most of the money is continuing to flow to out-of-state residents […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, State House News Service, The Download
Oil and water don’t mix for Stephen Lynch
If the Massachusetts Senate race shapes up as the first US election where the environment is a decisive factor, Stephen Lynch could be in for a very rough ride. Lynch […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
New Jersey pre-K holds lessons for Mass.
In 1998, in the landmark Abbott v. Burke school finance ruling that the New York Times called “the most significant education case” since Brown v. Board of Education, the New […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Targeting the stars
Keeping tabs on Hollywood stars is becoming a favorite pastime in Massachusetts (Was that Bradley Cooper on the Common?), but some officials on Beacon Hill are starting to wonder whether […]