There was tough talk aplenty in Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. And it was all built on a strange paradox. Menino isn’t asking […]
The Download: Setting up a schoolyard brawl
Posted inEconomy, Environment, State House News Service, The Download
The Download: House hunting
Headlines about housing woes are usually followed by tales of low-income families squeezed by the sky-high cost of housing in Greater Boston. But that very difficult reality has obscured a […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, The Download
The Download: Where the grads are
Well-educated people tend to congregate together, and sometimes so do high school dropouts. Portfolio.com scoured Census data for information on educational attainment and then ranked the 200 largest metropolitan statistical […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Education, The Download
The Download: Counterpunch
Suspended, and likely to be soon ousted, commissioner of Probation John O’Brien is fighting back. O’Brien’s attorney, Paul Flavin, went on “Greater Boston” last night to repeat his allegations that he gave scores of notes […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Uncategorized
Should we subsidize Canadian hydro?
Republican Charlie Baker may not have won the race for governor, but his idea to import more hydroelectric power from Canada isn’t going away. Canadian provinces are eager to do […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Download
The Download: Obama hits back
When it comes to taxes, presidents can’t get a break and Barack Obama is no exception. Obama is on the defensive after the announcement of a tax deal that includes […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
The Download: Kick the can
The midterm elections last month presented the country with the prospect of a deadlocked Congress, one that had been birthed by obstructionism, and one whose leadership measured success in terms […]
Posted inPolitics
Harshbarger dismisses Civil Service call
The head of a task force reviewing hiring practices at the Probation Department hit the ground running today, calling for the agency to be subject to the state’s Public Record […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Economy, Education, Politics, The Download
The Download: Crusadin’ Galvin
Bill Galvin has always been something of an enigma in Massachusetts politics. A former Brighton state rep who has served as the Commonwealth’s secretary of state for 15 years, Galvin cuts […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo: Put probation under Civil Service
House Speaker Robert DeLeo now says he wants all hires at the state’s Probation Department to be subject to Civil Service requirements, an approach he raised concerns about less than […]
Posted inEconomy, Health Care, The Download
The Download: Immunization exemptions
Whooping cough, an infectious bacterial disease that causes uncontrollable coughing, used to be one of the most common childhood diseases in the United States and a major cause of childhood […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Driving in the breakdown lane
US investment in the preservation and development of transportation infrastructure lags so far behind that of China, Russia and European nations that it will lead to “a steady erosion of […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Politics, The Download
The Download: Brownie points
Is Sen. Scott Brown the real-life personification of Bedford Fall’s Henry Potter, caring only for his rich ilk and kicking the working class to the curb at Christmastime, or is he someone who is offering a fiscally […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Was Murray playing the patronage game?
Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray wasn’t mentioned in the 337-page report on probation patronage, but maybe he should have been. It’s hard to tell how deep Murray’s involvement was with probation, […]
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized
Welfare, booze, and slots
On Nov. 7 the Globe ran a story describing Gov. Deval Patrick as angry that during the campaign Republicans had tried to blame him for a long-established system that provides […]
Posted inPolitics
A shameful last act
For a guy who has long claimed the advancement of minority political power in Boston as his cause, Chuck Turner has a funny way of showing it. Turner railed yesterday […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Environment, Politics, The Download
The Download: House proud
Real estate helped sink the American economy, but real estate can bring it back. However, only if policymakers and developers keep two of the country’s largest demographic groups in mind. […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
The Download: Murphy’s moment
It took eight years of effort, but Steve Murphy is close to getting that thing he has chased for so long. After an unsuccessful run for Suffolk County sheriff bracketed […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
The Download: Pondering patronage
Former Senate president Billy Bulger practiced the trade with such abandon that MBTA was said to stand for “Mr. Bulger’s Transportation Authority,” an only partially tongue-in-cheek reference that seemed to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Turner doth protest (way) too much
By Michael Jonas No one in town seriously could have expected Boston City Council President Mike Ross to do anything other than what he did today: file an order recommending […]
Posted inEducation, Environment, Health Care, Politics, State House News Service, The Download
The Download: Dreams deferred
Last week Gov. Deval Patrick said that he wanted to facilitate undocumented immigrants’ access to college and drivers’ licenses in his overall strategy to expand opportunities for legal and illegal immigrants. Yet […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
Parking garage intrigue
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is looking to raise a substantial amount of money for the cash-strapped MBTA by leasing the T’s parking garages, but Boston development interests are warning […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
Not all districts “Race to the Top”
State officials and school district leaders across Massachusetts are eagerly anticipating an infusion of $250 million in education funding over the next four years from the federal Race to the […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Don’t give GE $25m in tax credits
I received a voicemail this morning from a machine tool manufacturer in Springfield. The owner was irate about a Boston Globe report describing tax credits the state has been negotiating […]