Al Franken isn't the only news in Minnesota politics. One of the Gopher State's more innovative approaches to good government — giving citizens refunds of up to $50 for political donations, […]
The recession’s latest victim: campaign finance innovation
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Will Cahill emulate Schwarzenegger or Finneran?
Independence Day weekend saw Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin skip out on her job, state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg come out of the closet, and state Treasurer Tim Cahill drop out of […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Reviews vary on film tax credit report
The Department of Revenue's report on the state's film tax credit is generating wildly different reviews. The Boston Herald headlined its story "Follywood", and the Boston Globe said the report indicated […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Take the Red Line to….Chinatown?
Harvard economist Ed Glaeser offers a thought-provoking argument in today's Globe that rational planning should dictate that we focus transit spending in densely populated urban areas and not get taken […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
State of the States links
Friday, July 3, 2009 Obesity rates Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Unemployment rates Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Most film tax credit spending goes to nonresidents
The Massachusetts film tax credit induced movie and TV producers to spend $676 million here over the last three years, but more than half of the money went to people who live outside […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Patrick administration divided on film tax credit
Gov. Deval Patrick officially supports the state's film tax credit, but key members of his cabinet are divided on the issue. Greg Bialecki, the secretary of housing and urban development, sees […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Are Boston shootings getting drowned out by rain?
The seemingly unending rainfall in Boston has put a damper on lots of fun outdoor doings. Might it also be washing out some activities no one would be sorry to […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
A “new” neighbor?
Massachusetts isn't the only place thinking about history in spite of — or as a distraction from — the gloomy fiscal future. State legislators here recently opted against eliminating Bunker Hill […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Patrick says he changed his mind on film tax credit change
Gov. Deval Patrick says he initially supported a budget proposal to limit how much of a movie star's salary would be eligible for the Massachusetts film tax credits, but then changed his mind […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Tom Cruise stars in Beacon Hill budget thriller
Talk about star power: The fear that a Tom Cruise movie might decamp Massachusetts for Georgia prompted Beacon Hill lawmakers and Gov. Deval Patrick to flip-flop on a proposal to […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
On school reform, time to get on with the show
If education reform in Massachusetts were a theater production, the first 15 years might be regarded as its very drawn-out first act. When the curtain goes up in 1993, there is a flurry […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The shadow over ethics reform
The elbows came flying out, with everyone rushing to take credit for the ethics reform bill that emerged from the State House this week. And it is, by all accounts, […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Gov. Patrick Goes to Arlington
“We can do the lounge-singing routine.” That was no stand-up comedian. That was Gov. Deval Patrick fiddling with a long, red microphone cord before taking questions Monday at Arlington Town […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Cattle call begins for Boston council candidates
They were packed into the Community Church of Boston last night for the first candidates' forum of this year's Boston at-large city council race. And there was a full house […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Drivers over 75 don’t deserve insurance discount, official says
Drivers age 75 and above in Massachusetts don’t deserve the 25 percent discount on their auto insurance premiums that state law mandates, according to preliminary claims data being reviewed by […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
The cost of delaying a special education
In a highly anticipated ruling, the Supreme Court has ruled that parents of special needs children in private schools can seek tuition reimbursement from their public school districts if the […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Talking the talk on ed reform
Monday, June 22, 2009 Kudos to the Pioneer Institute, which has assembled opinion pieces from a high-profile line-up of education thinkers and doers who provide strong arguments on behalf of […]
Posted inEconomy
Ben Franklin was right
TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, the concept of thrift represented a forward-looking way of life in the New World. Franklin believed that by harnessing its twin virtues of industry and frugality, which […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Gains and credit in the state’s tax foundation
The $27.4 billion budget headed for the governor’s desk contains outside sections that would attempt to smooth out the state’s year-to-year budget gyrations and reveal whether the hundreds of millions […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
May brings more service jobs, fewer construction jobs
Massachusetts gained 4,900 jobs last month, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, the first time we saw an increase since May 2008. The shift from blue- […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Did the pension bill go far enough?
NECN's Jim Braude talks with CommonWealth executive editor Michael Jonas about the public pension reform bill signed by Gov. Patrick. Jonas says that the bill mostly goes after "low-hanging fruit." […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
A perfectly reasonable approach to getting rid of MCAS?
Opponents of standardized tests as a requirement for high school graduation take note. The California Legislature has made a move toward eliminating that state's version of MCAS — apparently because […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Can we talk?
Correction: My face is red. Even though the artist John Ewing received a 2009 Knight Foundation grant announced Wednesday for his Virtual Street Corners project, the dates we gave you were […]