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 […]
Is character key to student success?
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 […]
Posted inEnvironment
Solar state
ON APRIL 17, 2007, Gov. Deval Patrick traveled to Marlborough to make two announcements. One was that Evergreen Solar was going to stay in Massachusetts and open a $150 million […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
www.aaronswartz.rip
Internet activist Aaron Swartz’s suicide on Friday has prompted a wave of heartfelt eulogies, commentary — and criticism of his prosecution by US Attorney Carmen Ortiz on charges related to […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Patrick pitches spending, punts funding decision
The last time Gov. Deval Patrick tried fixing the state’s transportation system, he pitched a 19-cent hike in the gas tax, the Legislature balked, and that was as far as […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Gateway Cities investment proposed
The think tank MassINC called on the state of Massachusetts to invest $1.7 billion over 10 years to help revitalize some of the state’s Gateway Cities. The investment amounts to […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Hall pass
Another election, another controversy, though this one may not have the same impact as the presidential race or even the special Senate election. But the results of the Baseball Hall […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Back Story
More in Mass. packing heat
Over the last four years, the number of Massachusetts residents with so-called Class A licenses that allow them to carry high-capacity weapons has increased almost 27 percent. In Boston, the […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Patrick aims at more than housing authority woes
PUSH HAS FINALLY COME TO SHOVE. The oil that is the lieutenant governor’s back-slapping, patronage ways has met the water that is the reform impulse the governor rode into office […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Linsky taking new slant on gun control
A KEY HOUSE LAWMAKER said he plans to file legislation shortly that would require Massachusetts gun owners to obtain liability insurance and store any large capacity rifles at licensed gun […]