Because of a reporting error, the original version of this story attributed Edward McDermott’s testimony to the wrong person regarding retaliation and intimidation against people who did not comply with […]
Probation hiring rife with abuse, corruption
Posted inPolitics
Surprise surprise: Political ties help
Independent Counsel Paul Ware’s 308-page report on hiring practices at the state’s Probation Department reads a lot like a trashy novel. It’s full of politically juicy material, but in the […]
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized
Idealism put to the test
I’m not going to lie: When I went to see “Waiting for Superman” with my education major friend recently, my eyes filled up. Davis Guggenheim’s latest movie chronicles the struggle […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Uncategorized
The Download: Reality deficit
The message behind the bipartisan deficit-reduction panel’s recent report was, “See, fiscal discipline isn’t all that tough!” But the back-and-forth that followed the report’s release last week has seriously called […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Intrigue at the W
a federal bankruptcy judge is considering whether the W Boston, a gleaming new 26-story hotel and condominium tower in Boston’s theater district, should fall to foreclosure. On one level, the […]
Posted inPolitics
Brown hits the stump
Scott Brown took a few jabs at a political culture that has already begun boiling with talk about 2012 before anybody elected in the 2010 midterms has been sworn into […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Uncategorized
The Download: Time to regionalize
In Massachusetts, 911 calls are handled by 262 different facilities, or one for every 24,000 residents. Maryland, a state comparable to Massachusetts in population and land size, uses just 24 […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Uncategorized
The Download: Green is good
The Christian Science Monitor’s print weekly takes an in-depth look at the ongoing green revolution in a “Future of Energy” special issue. Once again, Jimmy Carter comes off as a […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Probation report delivered, impounded
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 The independent counsel investigating patronage practices at the state’s Probation Department has given his report to the Supreme Judicial Court, which impounded the document until the […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
The Herald’s head man
A 27-year veteran of the Boston Herald, editor-in-chief Joe Sciacca has spent most of his career covering Massachusetts politics. So on election night when US Rep. Barney Frank complained about […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Baker’s Brown deficit
Comparing last week’s election to the January special election for US Senate provides an interesting look at how Scott Brown was successful while Charlie Baker came up short. Baker’s loss […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics
Menino plans to file health care petition
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, frustrated by the Legislature’s refusal to let cities and towns join the state’s Group Insurance Commission without union approval, announced today he will file a […]
Posted inEducation
Radio Boston focuses on Title IX cover story
CommonWealth magazine senior investigative reporter Jack Sullivan today joined documentary film maker and former Olympic athlete Mary Mazzio and UMass Lowell athletic director Dana Skinner on WBUR’s Radio Boston.  The […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
The Download: Reviving the outside game?
Governor Deval Patrick spoke often on the campaign trail about having to learn to pause, take a victory lap, and puff out one’s chest, for the benefit of the voters […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, State House News Service, The Download
Mayors want Beacon Hill to get tough on health care, unions
By Gabrielle Gurley Massachusetts does not have the financial wherewithal to fully address the looming fiscal problems facing cities and towns. But municipal officials’ pleas that state lawmakers look at […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
The Download: Whose American Dream?
“The American dream mattered a lot in this election,” writes Christopher Caldwell in yesterday’s New York Times Magazine. But it mattered so much that it has practically lost any clear […]
Posted inPolitics
2 local affiliates plan to follow lead of US Chamber
The heavy spending by the US Chamber of Commerce in the recent election has prompted at least two local affiliates to crank up their own campaign advocacy while other chamber […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Ma. corrections commissioner’s move to Va. raises questions
Corrections Commissioner Harold Clarke is leaving Massachusetts this month to take the same job in Virginia, prompting speculation in both states about what his departure and arrival means. Clarke, who […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Why journalists need personal branding
I was in San Francisco recently addressing a roomful of journalists at their annual convention. Ten years ago, I would have been one of them. But these days—my youthful aspirations […]
Posted inUncategorized
Massachusetts bucks the GOP tide
Massachusetts bucked a rising Republican tide across the nation, electing Democrats to every statewide office and every congressional seat. Nationally, Republicans seized control of the House and gained ground in […]
Posted inPolitics
Bad day for bellwethers
Election Day was bad for Massachusetts bellwethers. The state as a whole bucked a national shift toward Republicans, but many cities and towns that have long been regarded as reliable […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The endorsement chase
Here is a run-down of endorsements from newspapers around the state in the races for governor, treasurer, and state auditor, the open 10th Congressional District seat, and on the three […]