The developer of a major wind power project in Maine is suing top officials in the Patrick administration for steering state subsidies to renewable energy projects in Massachusetts. TransCanada Power […]
Bowles sued on renewable policies
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Uncategorized
Missing the Scott Brown juggernaut
By Gabrielle Gurley This week, Boston University and The Pew Research’s Center Project for Excellence in Journalism published Hidden In Plain Sight, From Kennedy to Brown. The report dissects national […]
Posted inUncategorized
Party registration by town 2008
As of fall 2008, the last time that the secretary of state’s office released town-level data, independent voters (technically, “unenrolled” voters), made up a slight majority of the Bay […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Globe’s dominating presence at the GOP convention
By Jack Sullivan If the GOP state convention in Worcester over the weekend is any indication, the Globe is still the paper of record for all things local, especially when […]
Posted inUncategorized
Mihos out
WORCESTER—Republican delegates, still bitter over Christy Mihos’ independent run for governor they say cost Kerry Healey the corner office, gave Charles Baker a free pass to the three-way November election.“I’ve […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
One sad Story
To understand the withered state of democracy in the Massachusetts House of Representatives look no further than the eye-popping comments this week of state Rep. Ellen Story. In years past, […]
Posted inPolitics
BPL, ex-Rep. at odds over lobbying contract
The Boston Public Library , which is preparing to shut down four branches and lay off close to 80 employees to balance its budget, says in a court filing that […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo flips 64 votes
For a breakdown of the House roll call on gambling, click here. House Speaker Robert DeLeo takes great pains to point out the differences between him and his predecessors but, […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Budget cuts could close 10-15 courthouses
Top officials of the Massachusetts Trial Court say they would have to close 10 to 15 courthouses and lay off hundreds of employees if the House’s budget proposal is enacted. […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Murray’s health cost plan
Edited version of Senate president’s speech to Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.Small businesses are the job producers in our state. So, we must find a way to help them. Health […]
Posted inPolitics
Status quo on probation
Rep. Charles Murphy’s House budget proposal sticks with the status quo on the state’s probation service, keeping the department within the judiciary but under the tight control of the Legislature. […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Sarah Palin: No shades of gray
By Bruce Mohl I went to the Boston Common this morning because I was curious about Sarah Palin. I wanted to see for myself whether she was the vacuous caricature […]
Posted inEducation
Charters are closing the gap
Read the opposite view in “A Setback for Diversity” here. for decades, education policymakers have attempted to bridge the yawning achievement gap between affluent white students and poor black and […]
Posted inEducation
A setback for diversity
Read the response to “A Setback for Diversity” here. prodded by financial incentives offered by the Obama administration, Massachusetts and most other states are loosening restrictions on establishing charter schools. […]
Posted inPolitics
Political preview 2010
the surprise election of Republican Scott Brown as US Senator in January (get complete town-level results here) was only the beginning of what promises to be a tumultuous year of […]
Posted inEconomy
Raised stakes
any debate over the possible arrival of casinos in Massachusetts (see “Ka-ching”) has to take into account how much we already rely on the state lottery, and whether scratch ticket […]
Posted inUncategorized
Redefining parents
by traditional definitions, the percentage of children living in “single-parent” households has risen steadily over the past few decades, both nationally and in Massachusetts. One measure is the share of […]
Posted inEconomy
Job prospects
the no. 1 issue on the minds of voters this year is jobs, and politicians on Beacon Hill are responding with a flurry of proposals. Most of them fall in […]
Posted inEconomy
Private developers ape BRA controversial resale fees
the controversial resale fees assessed by the Boston Redevelopment Authority may be coming to a private development near you. In the Winter 2010 issue of CommonWealth, we reported how the […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Uncategorized
Poker deregulation is no bluff
A guy holding a 4 and 7 draws three cards in a poker game, successfully betting he’ll pull an inside straight flush. Skill or luck? Dumb luck for an unskilled […]
Posted inEducation
Northeastern program aims to keep students past their first year
on the path to keeping kids in college, Northeastern University has so far met with considerable success — and encountered a few big surprises. Foundation Year, an NU pilot program […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
New England’s major airports moving to taxi out of the recession
as the economy slowly starts to recover, three of New England’s busiest airports are well-positioned for strong, complementary growth. Boston’s Logan International Airport is already posting passenger gains. T.F. Green […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Galvin gets less secretive about tax credit recipients
secretary of state William Galvin is starting to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding his management of the state’s historic rehabilitation tax credit program, which provides financial incentives for developers […]