Once a center of political power with a reach that extended well beyond its own boundaries, with clout at the city, state, and national scenes as well, South Boston’s outsized […]
Whither – or wither – Southie?
Posted inEconomy
Filmmaker admits tax fraud
A Cape Cod movie producer and director pled guilty Thursday to 10 counts of larceny and filing false tax returns and was ordered to repay $4.4 million in fraudulently obtained […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Warren, Brown and the optics of income tax returns
Let the name calling begin. The latest salvo in class warfare, Bay State edition , finds Elizabeth Warren trying to shake off the “elitist hypocrite” label bestowed upon her by […]
Posted inHealth Care
My bad
I’m sorry. Those two words could go a long way in cutting health care costs, experts say, and some Massachusetts hospitals in conjunction with the Massachusetts Medical Society are launching […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Bottle deposit bill going for No. 15?
For 14 years, supporters of the state’s bottle deposit law have been pushing to expand its reach to include a host of non-carbonated, non-alcoholic beverages such as bottled waters, juices, […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
A new tack in tax wars
In 2009, Tea Party activists used the federal tax filing deadline to stage a series of rallies that catapulted the protest movement into national prominence. Tax day started a wave […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Back Story
No new taxes but lots of tax breaks
House leaders proudly unveiled a $32 billion budget this week that avoids new taxes and fees by paring back 280 individual spending accounts and even ordering agencies to put contracts […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
“A constitutional crisis”
Seven of the state’s top jurists say a constitutional crisis is brewing in Massachusetts, with legislatively-imposed budget cuts creating a court system that is undermanned, overwhelmed, and increasingly unsafe. At […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
New Hampshire push poll law gets it wrong
Every four years, Granite State residents are bombarded with calls from political pollsters, gauging the state of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. Then, but a few months later, the shelling begins […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
A remote chance of seeing TV political spending records
Keep the clicker ready. Now that the final showdown between President Obama and Mitt Romney is all but set in stone, both sides and their surrogates are gearing up for […]
Posted inPolitics
City tweaks contract with Swan Boats
It’s that time of year again in Boston as the city makes way for the ducklings and for another unusual deal for the operator of the swan boats in the […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Brown-Warren trade fundraising appeals
Dear Friends, I want you to know exactly what we are up against. Thanks to you and thousands of others, our campaign raised $3.4 million in the last quarter, but […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Politics
For Gateway City leaders, time to get creative
Worcester City Manager Michael O’Brien, Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong, Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, and New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell. Building a vibrant arts sector has become a popular idea […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Jim Belushi steps into the Mass. medical marijuana debate
A California medical marijuana card won’t get you very far in Massachusetts, as comedian Jim Belushi recently discovered on Martha’s Vineyard. Medical marijuana isn’t legal in the Bay State just […]
Posted inPolitics
Boston City Council Oks wedding restrictions
UPDATE: The Boston City Council approved the new marriage ordinance on Wednesday. The Boston City Council is preparing to restrict when the city clerk can marry people during work hours […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Politics
House budget offers few new initiatives
House Democrats proposed a $32 billion spending plan that includes no new taxes, fees, or bottle deposits but does provide a slight increase in local aid, additional funding to combat […]
Posted inPolitics
Beacon Hill’s army of influence
special interests spent more than $67 million last year lobbying on Beacon Hill, the equivalent of about $335,000 per lawmaker, according to state records. The Massachusetts Teachers Association was the […]
Posted inPolitics
Closed-door government
the machinery of government, whether it’s a regulatory proceeding or the route a bill takes to become law, is designed to give members of the public the chance to voice […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Economy
The great divide
Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960 – 2010By Charles MurrayNew York, Crown Forum, 407 pages Reviewed by Ralph Whitehead, Jr in the america of 1960, writes Charles Murray […]
Posted inPolitics
Political repurposing
two weeks after his inauguration, President Obama invited supporters of his 2008 campaign to the White House to lay out his plan for a Middle Class Task Force. The idea […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Time out
Illustration by Eva Vazquez. DEAN WILLIAMSON, A high school senior from Worcester, came to the State House in late February hoping to see a debate in the House of Representatives. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Society’s lepers
on a chilly night in early February, the Massachusetts website that informs the public where the state’s most dangerous sex offenders are living indicates 41 of them are staying at […]
Posted inEducation
Log-on learning
Brynn Wetherbee, an eighth grader from Clinton, is a student at the Massachusetts Virtual Academy, the state’s first full-time online school. SCHOOL BOOKS, PAPERS, and two laptop computers are […]