Back in January, Newt Gingrich did something so craven and bloodless, it sent shockwaves across the already craven, bloodless world of presidential politics: He cribbed a line of attack from […]
Return of the King of Bain
Posted inEconomy, Education, The Download
College debt daze
It’s tough to make the math work on a social worker’s starting salary and $80,000 in student loans. But that’s what 23-year-old Jillian Potter, a recent graduate of Anderson University […]
Posted inEducation, The Back Story
Filling the job training gap
Sometimes a good story is worth a thousand well-reasoned policy reports. Adrian Walker’s column in the Boston Globe on Monday, outlining a tale of shockingly clueless leadership at Roxbury Community […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, The Download
Sex offender faces probation hearing for saying hi
A Level 3 sex offender in Andover is scheduled for a probation violation hearing after police discovered he helped a 10-year-old boy recover a lost hockey puck and said hello […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
You say you want an evolution
President Obama’s pronouncement that he supports gay marriage is a seismic shift in the presidential campaign, though it’s little more than a talking point here in Massachusetts, the first state […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Does religion matter in the Brown-Warren race?
When the debate over the Blunt Amendment was underway, I received a number of calls from reporters looking for any insight on how the Massachusetts Senate race might be breaking […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
A ripple of hope
A rainy late afternoon in Boston, and I’m walking down Tremont Street, toward the corner of Boylston near Emerson College. It’s a busy traffic intersection, and the light has just […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Mass. bake sale ban falling flat
What do Rush Limbaugh and Anderson Cooper have in common? They both think that the new ban on school bake sales in Massachusetts is nuts. Beginning in August, public schools […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Full-day kindergarten should be universal
Massachusetts has seen a dramatic increase in full-day kindergarten over the past decade and is poised for even more growth. With 83 percent of children in public school kindergarten now […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
More charter schools on the way
The news that the state will lift the temporary moratorium it had imposed on new charter schools in several Massachusetts cities was greeted with the expected applause from charter school […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Update: Newton goes green – at a price
UPDATE, May 9, 2012: Newton officials said on Tuesday that they expect to save an estimated $300,000 over the next three years by purchasing electricity generated from renewable energy, but […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
John Kerry’s ambitious dilemma
Today’s Boston Herald bats around the case of John Kerry, who is a politician from Massachusetts. Specifically, the paper adds to a mountain of news clips speculating about Kerry’s desire […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
South Station NOT on track
More than 18 months ago, state transportation officials announced a major federal grant that would enable them to expand South Station in Boston. But the state hasn’t tapped the funds […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Strange doings on Beacon Hill
Senate President Therese Murray said of the fiscal 2013 House budget last weekend: “They have these very large amendments so I really don’t know everything that’s in there.” That makes […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
When will it end in Lawrence?
Lawrence may be the longest-running soap opera in Massachusetts politics. The plot line is pretty depressing. The city’s schools have been taken over by the state. The former school superintendent […]
Posted inHealth Care
House files bill to curb health costs
The House unveiled an ambitious payment reform plan that would cap health care cost increases while giving consumers more information about their own health and control over how their money […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Texas justice
Jerry Madden couldn’t help but acknowledge the oddity of the situation. A conservative Republican who serves as House chairman of the Texas Legislature’s Committee on Corrections, Madden was the featured […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Death of a gladiator
As the tributes pour in for former New England Patriots linebacker Tiana Baul “Junior” Seau, the questions are mounting about what was going on inside the head of the outwardly […]
Posted inHealth Care
Steward responds to ‘red flags’ in RI
A consultant hired by the state of Rhode Island is raising “red flags” about the financial health of Steward Health Care System, but the Boston-based hospital chain says its business […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Mitt Romney’s faulty gaydar
Mitt Romney has gotten himself into another fine mess, this time with his inability to stand up to the anti-gay wing of the Republican Party. Romney got props for his […]
Posted inPolitics
Article examines Patrick’s representation of blacks
Gov. Deval Patrick has successfully represented black interests on Beacon Hill with legislation, executive orders, and the appointment of more than 200 African-Americans to positions in state government, according to […]
Posted inPolitics
DCR, club strike deal on rent
The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is ending a standoff with the Wollaston Yacht Club by renewing the organization’s permit at its existing $5,000-a-year level as long as the […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Occupy turns left
Liberals have had lots of fun mocking Tea Party activists who decry federal spending and government overreach while fiercely defending their access to Social Security and Medicare. Today, the left […]
Posted inEconomy, Health Care, Opinion
Pairing social services with housing saves money, improves lives
It is a rare and precious thing in government when “doing good deeds” coincides with sound fiscal responsibility and actually saves money. Just in the last few weeks Beacon Hill […]