Clarification: Alec Loftus, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, says Secretary JudyAnn Bigby did not see the monthly composite reports on the state drug lab’s […]
Dookhan players covering their assets
Posted inEconomy
Time running out, Patrick dreams again
Deval Patrick didn’t run for governor back in 2006 to become a caretaker for state government. Like most politicians, he had big ideas. He wanted to hire 1,000 new police […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, The Download
Taxing questions for Patrick, Legislature
When a young person once complained about taxes to Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, the Bostonian replied, “I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.” Holmes’s rejoinder […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, State House News Service
Gun control pushed by Obama, state officials
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEGOV. DEVAL PATRICK AND REP. DAVID LINSKY of Natick are pushing gun control measures in Massachusetts, while President Obama unveiled a $500 million package of reforms, calling […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Casino deadline
The casino competition in Massachusetts gets real today. Would-be developers have until 5 pm Tuesday to apply for a casino license and submit a non-refundable $400,000 deposit. The deadline, which […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Tsongas coming into her own
THERE’S A LONG TRADITION in Washington of political wives following their husbands into office. Sometimes those spouses have an impact apart from anything their husband accomplished—think Hillary Clinton—but more often […]
Posted inPolitics
Only some opinions count
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEYS, done well, offer people an opportunity to speak to their leaders in an organized way. But the hunt for Electoral College votes tends to […]
Posted inEducation
Schooling outside the box
MASSACHUSETTS CLAIMS A RICH HISTORY as the birthplace of public education in the United States. These days it’s giving rise to new forms of public schooling in response […]
Posted inUncategorized
Is character key to student success?
AS A THOUGHT experiment, imagine you’re magically “shaping” a high school senior. You’re lucky. Her starting point is that she’s at the 80th percentile in both IQ and “character”—a composite […]
Posted inPolitics
Mixed grade for Obama’s first term
BARACK OBAMA’S FIRST TERM was marked by daunting political realities. Upon entering office, he faced an economic crisis unmatched since the Great Depression. The banking system teetered on the verge […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion, Politics
Keeping the public in parks
FUNDING PARKS has long been a low priority of state government. While the state budget has increased by 3.7 percent since 2001, the share devoted to environmental programs, including parks, […]
Posted inPolitics
Root of the problem
“RICH” AND “POWERFUL” go together so naturally that they seem to be not just partners but synonyms. When it comes to the workings of our democracy, however, Lawrence Lessig says […]
Posted inUncategorized
Look into my crystal ball
RUNNING A QUARTERLY PRINT MAGAZINE is a little like fortune telling. You have to pick what stories you want to cover a month or two in advance, which means you […]
Posted inUncategorized
Winter 2013 letters
More Lawrence charters needed Lawrence schools Receiver/Superintendent Jeff Riley is to be congratulated for moving away from the top-down model that has characterized most district turnaround efforts (“High-stakes test,” Fall […]
Posted inEconomy
Eminent domain for mortgages
ON THE MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 28, Brockton police arrested 51-year old Tyrone Hubbard and his two sons for trespassing in their own home. Fannie Mae, the federally chartered purchaser of […]
Posted inPolitics
Senate president showdown coming
THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE SENATE has had firm term limits for its leaders on the books for nearly 20 years. William Bulger put the limits in place (prospectively) as a way […]
Posted inPolitics
Vendors outside Fenway being phased out
THE CITY OF BOSTON is slowly phasing out the street vendors around Fenway Park, claiming that the 18 small business people selling grilled chicken sandwiches, sausage sandwiches, peanuts, and baseball […]
Posted inHealth Care
New tack on Lyme disease
DIAGNOSED WITH LYME DISEASE in 2006, Trish McCleary of Sturbridge spent a month on antibiotics that did little to relieve symptoms that left her partially paralyzed and unable to […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Politics
UMass football thrown for loss
THERE WEREN’T MANY bright spots last year as the University of Massachusetts Amherst stepped up to the top level of college football, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The team went […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Film tax credit launching businesses
A.J. BOLES HAD AN IDEA big enough to drive a truck through. Through his work on a number of films in Massachusetts, including Shutter Island, filmed at the former Medfield […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Casualties of war
One of the defendants affected by Annie Dookhan’s mishandling of drug lab tests seeks a later curfew before Special Magistrate Elizabeth Donovan. IT WAS THE SUMMER OF 2010. Robert Annunziata […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Economy, Politics
Cause development
JOHN ROSENTHAL’S BLACKBERRY lit up. Media requests poured in from NECN, WCVB, and WBUR. MSNBC wanted to talk. Even the Arabic-language network Al Jazeera found its way to his door. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Police misconduct
Outside the Area C police station in the Fields Corner section of Dorchester. Photo by J. Cappuccio. ON APRIL 22, 2009, CHRISTOPHER KNIGHT and his girlfriend were driving in Boston […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Harboring ambition
Photographs by Mark Morelli HALLOWEEN IS A WORKING HOLIDAY for Kim Driscoll, so she comes to City Hall as herself. Clad in a simple dark business suit, she meets up […]