It is now widely recognized that daily newspapers, amid the upheaval that is occurring in the journalism business, have been cutting back on the origination of serious news coverage. What […]
News cuts tilt coverage toward upscale
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Brian McGrory goes soft
By Michael Jonas Did Brian McGrory send any signals that he’d give Lawrence Mayor — and state Rep. — Willie Lantigua kid-gloves treatment in order to secure what McGrory boasts […]
Posted inHealth Care
Patrick vows ‘soft cap’ on health premium hikes
Echoing President Obama’s call to shore up small businesses, Gov. Deval Patrick says he is instituting a “soft cap” on health care premium hikes at companies with fewer than 50 […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Not enough money in politics?
The American Prospect’s Mark Schmitt has a counterintuitive take on the Citizens United ruling that has supposedly “opened the floodgates” for corporate money in American politics. He worries about not […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Are two jobs in Lawrence better than one?
By Gabrielle Gurley Rep. William Lantigua thinks so. Elected mayor of Lawrence last fall, the Democrat is hanging on to his House seat for dear life. And no one — […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Game show college planning
If you’ve been to college recently, or you’re the parent of a student, you know how planning for college has become a bit like the game show The Price is […]
Posted inEducation
School turnarounds
The new education reform law signed with great fanfare last month by Gov. Deval Patrick is designed to address one of the most urgent tasks facing public schools: the persistent […]
Posted inPolitics
State OKs corporate campaign spending
In the wake of a US Supreme Court decision last month, state officials are giving the green light to corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money trying to influence state […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Lowell doesn’t cotton to the Internet
By Robert David Sullivan MassBeacon.com’s Conor discovers that the city of Lowell will provide you with statistics from last month’s election if you use this newfangled system of communication called […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Boston deemed “least drunk” city in US (!)
Men’s Health magazine is about to declare Boston the “least drunk” among 100 major American cities, reports USA Today. (See the other outliers below.) That really doesn’t feel right: Per-capita […]
Posted inUncategorized
An early lesson from Howard Zinn
I thought of it as a sin of omission. The nuns thought of it as a subversive act.It was 1969 when I invited Howard Zinn to speak to an assembly […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Transportation
MBTA employees allege discrimination
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Posted inUncategorized
Introducing Charlie Baker
Republican Charlie Baker, a longtime political insider trying to raise his profile and his chances as he runs to unseat Gov. Deval Patrick, said he would back a single casino […]
Posted inEconomy
Alcohol sales up despite new tax
Massachusetts residents seem to be drinking more alcohol, despite new sales taxes on beer, wine, and spirits. The Revenue Department said its reading of tax revenue numbers indicates the volume […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
WSJ: Cahill got contributions from firm vying for state pension business
By Bruce Mohl The Wall Street Journal reports that a number of Massachusetts officials, including state Treasurer Timothy Cahill, received campaign contributions from out-of-state law firms in connection with their […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Herald’s hack obsession
By Robert David Sullivan Today’s Boston Herald has a follow-up to yesterday’s story by Jay Fitzgerald that implied that the lion’s share of federal stimulus funds were hijacked by the […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
The BRA’s “pre-buttal”
By Bruce Mohl David Guarino, in a blog post on MS&L Boston’s PR Finish Line, praises the Boston Redevelopment Authority for releasing what he calls a pre-buttal to last week’s […]
Posted inUncategorized
Q&A with Setti Warren
Newton’s new mayor, Setti Warren, talks to CommonWealth’s Alison Lobron about the challenges of a 24/7 job, the meaning of Martha Coakley’s loss, and how to govern a highly opinionated […]
Posted inUncategorized
Most late money came from outside Bay State
Massachusetts voters sent Scott Brown to the US Senate, but the flood of cash coming into his campaign from around the country indicates his race against Attorney General Martha Coakley […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Western Mass beats South Coast for rail funds
By Gabrielle Gurley Bay State transportation officials continue to throw everything they’ve got into South Coast Rail , but the feds took a pass, deciding that three western New England […]
Posted inPolitics
The politics of policymaking
The business on Beacon Hill is always a mix of political posturing and policy, with it sometimes difficult to know where one leaves off and the other begins. That can […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Judges to Patrick: Hands off probation
Two top state court officials say they oppose Gov. Deval Patrick’s “radical proposal” to wrest control of the probation department and warn that budget cuts proposed by the governor would […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Economy
Patrick seeks cap on film tax credit
JANUARY 28 UPDATE: A top House leader says the $50 million cap on film tax credits proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick would be a disaster for the movie business in […]
Posted inPolitics
The wild, wild west
the Massachusetts GOP is gazing longingly at 1990, the last time that anti-incumbent fever put one of their own — Bill Weld — in the governor’s office. And Charles Baker, […]