By Jack Sullivan Paul Levy, president and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, has an insider’s take on an emerging trend in medical imaging that is having an effect […]
Picturing what’s next in cutting health costs
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Is open space in danger?
Mass Audubon knows how to grab your attention. In a recent fundraising letter, the state’s largest conservation group says the state is losing more than 8,000 acres of open space […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Back story misses mark
Bruce Mohl’s opinion piece “Is Open Space in Danger?” misses the mark on the challenge to preserve land in Massachusetts.Thanks to the collaborative work of state environmental agencies and conservation […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
No victory on open space
CommonWealth magazine’s Back Story may create the erroneous impression that the Commonwealth can now declare final victory in the effort to protect the natural resources and landscapes of Massachusetts. The […]
Posted inPolitics
Anger fuels challenge to Senate president
Senate President Therese Murray says she’s as angry as anyone at the chaos and bickering that passes for governing in Washington. The problem for Murray is voters are just as […]
Posted inEconomy
Right to rent slow to catch on
As the sun broke through a bank of gray clouds one recent September morning in Dorchester, a glimmer of hope filled a small group of protestors. A Massachusetts constable had […]
Posted inEconomy
Boston nonprofit helping foreclosure victims
For nearly two years, the federal government has pledged billions of dollars to keep banks from foreclosing on homes—with little result. But while the bailout has faltered and foreclosures have […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Taking his reform elsewhere
Massachusetts Corrections Commissioner Harold Clarke is leaving after just three years on the job to become the director of Virginia’s prison system. The departure was so sudden that it prompted […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Reading between the (poll) lines
Over the last month or so, we have seen a steady stream of new polling data in the Massachusetts gubernatorial election. In reading these polls, there seem to be two […]
Posted inPolitics
A campaign car wreck
“(Bleep) him.” It’s probably the most honest utterance to date in the increasingly toxic battle for the governor’s office, which is starting to look more like a barroom brawl than […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Taking the T to the Big Apple
By Gabrielle Gurley The financially hobbled MBTA continues to come up with creative ways to reel in cash. World Wide Tours, a New York City-based, family-run bus company, approached the […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Movie mystery
Each year the Massachusetts Department of Revenue is required to release a report analyzing the financial impact of the state’s film tax credit. The first report, covering 2006 and 2007, […]
Posted inPolitics
Probation chief kept detailed records on who backed job applicants
The patronage probe at the state’s Probation Department has taken a startling new turn, with agency officials disclosing to investigators that they maintain a database of people who contact the […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Uncategorized
Parks crisis leads to ballot question
California’s budget crisis has taken a terrible toll on the state’s park system, with more than half of the state’s parks partially closed or struggling with deep service cuts. But […]
Posted inEnvironment
Net metering windfall in works?
A state program designed to help homeowners and municipalities launch renewable energy projects is getting a makeover on Beacon Hill that could give private wind power developers a financial bonanza. […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Tea Party for real in Massachusetts
For those who continue to view the Tea Party as a fringe group of “nutcases” or the butt of an easy political joke, take notice. The Tea Party has a […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
High housing costs still pricing many out
By Paul McMorrow The housing bust has done little to ease the pressure housing costs exert on working families in eastern Massachusetts, a new report from the Urban Land Institute […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Uncategorized
Convention center tries hand at banking
The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority jumped into the banking business this week, offering an unusual $18 million loan to a private company seeking to build a new Boston Tea Party […]
Posted inPolitics
Globe to charge for newspaper content
The Boston Globe made waves today by announcing its plans to lock its newspaper content behind a paid subscription firewall. But setting up a paywall is one thing. Making it […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Can an index lead to more creative thinking?
This past July Newsweek reported on an emerging “Creativity Crisis.” According to research described in their report, American kids are steadily losing their creativity. Presciently, just a few days before […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Download
Wind subsidy tucked inside spending bill
By Bruce Mohl A special interest wind power subsidy is tucked inside a spending bill that is the focus of a power struggle between Democrats and Republicans on Beacon Hill. […]
Posted inEconomy
City begins revoking Filene’s permits
Boston development officials are initiating a process to pull development permits from the stalled Filene’s project today. Aides to Mayor Tom Menino believe the move, which they are describing as […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Wind bill aids Kingston project
The push and pull over wind turbine siting legislation in the Massachusetts Senate revolves around issues of policy and politics, but it’s also about money. A little-noticed section of the […]
Posted inPolitics
New probation officer donated to senator
The state’s probation commissioner was suspended in May for allegedly handing out jobs and promotions to people who donated money to politicians on Beacon Hill, but his replacement is doing […]