the trend at first seemed heartening. The problems in the US education system had become so compelling that filmmakers recently produced several documentaries on the topic, with some even enjoying […]
Mixed media
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Transparency missing from government
For more on the Public Records Law, see CommonWealth’s updated guide to public records.last november i received an email from an attorney working at the Department of Transitional Assistance informing […]
Posted inUncategorized
Correspondence
Senator: Lawrence making progress Your article, “Lawrence on the mat,” in CommonWealth’s spring issue painted a misleading view of the city of Lawrence, which I represent in the state Senate. […]
Posted inEducation
Higher ed cheerleader
The University of Massachusetts matters. It matters for a lot of reasons and to a lot of people—parents, students, lawmakers, government officials, and taxpayers with no connections except that their […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, The Download
High-watt hearings on proposed utility merger
NStar and Northeast Utilities will begin a series of high-stakes regulatory hearings tomorrow that will determine whether the two electric giants will be allowed to merge — and may also […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Time for real pension reform
In January, Gov. Deval Patrick filed a pension reform proposal that could save $5 billion over 30 years, through measures such as raising the retirement age and basing pension payments […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Different gay marriage paths for Rhode Island, New York
We’re getting close to allowing same sex marriage throughout the country — or banning it altogether — depending on who you ask. Last week New York passed a bill allowing […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
The war on mini-bikes
A war of words has broken out over the connection between motorbikes and violent crime in some Boston neighborhoods. Common sense seems to be the first casualty. The argument comes […]
Posted inHealth Care
Health care panel’s money word is market
The money word during a panel discussion yesterday among health care executives was “market.” Market clout gives some providers an unfair advantage by allowing them to demand higher payments, said […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Coyne’s connections focus of hearing
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Peter Coyne, a 10-year assistant clerk magistrate in the Suffolk County Juvenile Court, as well as the brother of a prominent Beacon Hill lobbyist, rejected assertions […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Risky business
Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua isn’t the first American mayor to run into trouble with shipments of city-owned vehicles to the Dominican Republic. The Immigrant City controversy, involving promises of a […]
Posted inEducation
MCAS becomes test for teachers
Jeff Howard, a member of the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, may have put it best. “I can’t imagine a logic that would lead in any other direction,” […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Uncategorized
Legislating through the budget
The Legislature likes working like a harried college freshman, with the bulk of its work coming in late-night bursts just before a looming deadline. The body is famous for the […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
MBTA considering a ban on alcohol advertising
MBTA General Manager Richard Davey says he is “strongly looking at” a future systemwide ban on alcohol advertising. Davey made the comment last week at newly-renovated Ashmont Station in Dorchester, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Brotherly loyalty
While Whitey Bulger was at the center of the spectacle that played out Friday afternoon at the Moakley courthouse, the lead supporting actor in the day’s drama was undoubtedly his […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
White all over
Hard to tell if the arrest of James “Whitey” Bulger is the beginning of the end, the end of the beginning, a chance for closure or merely the end of […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Ticket resale redux
Companies that profit from the resale of tickets in Massachusetts are taking another run at scrapping the state’s antiquated ticket scalping law and replacing it with a measure that would […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
It’s the ethics, stupid
Lost in the din of Whitey Bulger’s capture is the latest effort to legislate ethics among elected and appointed officials at the state and local level. But you can bet […]
Posted inPolitics
Psychologist seeks return of license
A female psychologist is asking the state’s Supreme Judicial Court for her license back even though she violated one of the cardinal rules of her profession by having sex with […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Romney to Huntsman: Go away
Odds are Mitt Romney doesn’t much care what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid thinks about the Republican presidential nomination battle turning into a face-off between Romney and Jon Huntsman, the […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Culture of corruption, cont’d
If you thought convicted Beacon Hill lobbyist Richard “Dickie” McDonough couldn’t look like more of a snake than he already does, think again. Inspector General Gregory Sullivan is now alleging […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Dysfunction or just democracy in action?
With all the complaints about partisan gridlock and the polarized political atmosphere in Washington, Peter Baker asks in yesterday’s New York Times “Week in Review” section, “Is this any way […]
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized
DiMasi and black Boston
Within minutes of the news that Sal DiMasi had been convicted on federal corruption charges, messages starting flying through cyberspace among those in Boston’s black activist community. But the focus […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Wife’s cancer leads to his firing
It seems so unfair. First, Kathy Sorabella of Natick learned she had lung cancer and her prognosis wasn’t good. Then Carl Sorabella, her husband, told his boss that he might […]