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 […]
Mayors want Beacon Hill to get tough on health care, unions
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 […]
Posted inPolitics
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 […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Video: Brown refuses to answer on Question 3 vote
Video courtesy of the State House News Service.
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Transportation
Candidates mum on how to fund transit
On Tuesday, a Boston Globe editorial called transportation finance “one of the more complex and thankless areas of state policy.” Perhaps that’s why Gov. Deval Patrick, Charlie Baker, Tim Cahill, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
Saving the money machine
Don’t get Back Story? Sign up here. The Boston Redevelopment Authority is asking a federal housing agency not to throw a wrench in its never-ending money machine. When the BRA […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Yin and Yang? Or Mike and Ike?
We’ve heard over and over about the stark choice facing voters in the contest for governor. We can elect someone who understands the human pain behind unemployment rates and foreclosure […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Razor edge support for Question 3
Milford residents appear to narrowly support Question 3, according to CommonWealth magazine’s Bellwether project. The Bellwether project’s online town forum found that supporters of the ballot question, which would cut […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Globe’s man-bites-dog endorsement for auditor
By Michael Jonas Last week, my colleague Bruce Mohl wrote about the ins and outs of the candidate endorsement process at Boston’s two daily papers. The Boston Herald, which leans […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
A strategy to believe in
Baseball fans flocked to Moneyball: The Art of an Unfair Game for its insights into how an undercapitalized franchise like the Oakland A’s managed to compete with financial giants like […]
Posted inPolitics
Finance money flows to Bielat
Sean Bielat is giving Barney Frank the toughest run he’s had in decades. That’s due, in part, to the savage beatings Frank is taking over his financial ties to the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
The art of endorsements
Political endorsements by newspapers don’t carry as much weight today as they once did, but campaigns still scramble for them. They represent a stamp of approval seen by thousands of […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Sept. report shows job growth slows
Today’s unemployment report – the last before the November gubernatorial election – suggests the pace of recent job growth may be slowing. The unemployment rate in September fell to 8.4 […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Primary care docs in short supply
Primary care physicians continue to be short supply in the Bay State for the fifth year in a row, according to the 2010 workforce study released today by the Massachusetts […]
Posted inEconomy
A ballpark assessment
can you believe it? Fenway Park, America’s most beloved ballpark, home to the Green Monster and Pesky’s Pole, and sacred ground to Red Sox Nation, is worth less than some […]
Posted inPolitics
Legislative pay
many massachusetts legislators say the salary they receive as full-time lawmakers is not enough to live on and raise a family, so the majority—nearly 60 percent—report some form of outside […]
Posted inPolitics
Road warriors
when the four gubernatorial candidates were queried at a debate about the cars they drove, Republican Charlie Baker drew some envious chuckles when he said he had a ’66 Mustang. […]
Posted inPolitics
Stop pushing paper
More than 4,500 state and local officials file statements of financial interest each year with the State Ethics Commission. The ethics forms are supposed to be readily available to the […]