Boston’s largest newspaper seems to have dodged the closure bullet for now, but the question of what the city might look like without it – and what might spring up […]
Life after newspapers
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Raynham deems 0.54% voter turnout good enough for town meeting
The South Coast community of Raynham, which has 9,283 registered voters and about 13,600 residents, last night "saved" its town meeting by lowering the quorum from 200 to 50 people, […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Boston’s reliance on property tax may be a saving grace
A new report looks at the budget crises facing 13 American cities, including Boston. Tough Decisions and Limited Options: How Philadelphia and Other Cities are Balancing Budgets in a Time […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Pension commission chair doesn’t mince words on termination benefits
State leaders may be wavering on some aspects of pension reform, but Alicia Munnell, the Boston College professor heading a special commission on the state pension system, is suffering from none of that. […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Head Count maps now archived
CW Unbound has a new page listing all of the maps of Massachusetts with town-by-town data that we've compiled on the blog, and in CommonWealth magazine, over the past few […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Florida calls Boston “thick” (in a nice way)
Sociologist Richard Florida is subbing at Andrew Sullivan's blog, and today he puts another brick in his monument to cool, creative, and gay-friendly cities like Boston. (Remember that these are […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Download
Greenway tries to build traffic, but there’s a long way to go
Officials running the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway are circulating their latest plans to drive traffic to the downtown Boston park, including a carousel, a farmers' market, and a makeover of […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Public records politics
By Colman M. HermanRepublican state senators are pushing an ethics amendment that would mandate Gov. Deval Patrick's office to follow the Public Records Law. Sources say Senate Democrats, weary of […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
“Remember my name,” sing Arizona officials
If you're getting tired of reading about wasteful spending and narcissistic politicians in Massachusetts, why not read about wasteful spending and narcissistic politicians in Arizona? The Goldwater Institute has just […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Punting on pension reform
Lots of sizzle, but not much steak. That's the best way to describe the narrow focus by legislative leaders and Gov. Deval Patrick on a pension perk that has been […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Head Count
Population change by town, 2007-08 and 2000-08 July 14, 2009 April unemployment rate by Mass. city and townMay 26, 2009March unemployment rate by Mass. city and townApril 21, 2009 Primary […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Patrick “boxed in” on his 2010 re-election strategy?
State House News Service's Jim O'Sullivan has a succinct forecast of gubernatorial politics over the next 18 months (subscription required for full story): Gov. Deval Patrick's sharp words last week […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Looking for government savings from the homeless and carless
On Friday the Boston Herald reported on "an expanding state program handing out donated cars to welfare recipients with state-funded insurance and AAA memberships" — and on efforts by Republican […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Proposed taxes unlikely to solve transportation crisis
The transportation reform debate has gone quiet since the hand-wringing over the wider fiscal crisis pushed state government’s most troubled sector out of the headlines. But expect "reform before revenue" […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Rennie forum seeks help for special ed students before, during, and after high school
There is no dearth of studies or reports on special education in Massachusetts. It is an issue and a service that everyone agrees is a mandate that must be met […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Ryan is top baby name in Mass. and nowhere else
Bay Staters insist that Ryan is the best name for a newborn boy, but the rest of the country is "meh" about the moniker. The Social Security Administration has posted […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
‘Reform before revenue’ claims another TeamTrans victim
In a predictable coda to the Mother of All Traffic Jams, Massachusetts Turnpike Executive Director Alan LeBovidge politely told Gov. Deval Patrick to take this job and shove it."Given today’s […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Southern NE, Hawaii have fewest gun victims
The Violence Policy Center yesterday released a ranking of the states by frequency of deaths by firearms. The gun control group concludes states with tougher laws against firearms, such as […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Galvin sitting on development tax credits
Secretary of State William Galvin is sitting on millions of dollars in tax credits designed to spur the economic development of historic buildings across the state. Despite the severe economic […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
The Commonwealth of Tweet
Marshall McLuhan famously said that the medium is the message, but with social-networking sites the opposite seems to be true. Last night, at a MassINC forum examining the recession’s effect […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Grist for a higher meals tax?
It's axiomatic that people eat out less often during a recession, but restaurant meals may not be such a bad value in Boston. According to the latest Consumer Price Index, […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
New Bedford heading south again?
Steve Urbon of the Standard-Times has a succinct but awfully bleak assessment of how New Bedford is doing in the current recession. Opening sentence:Unemployment has hung like a dark cloud […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Fitchburg
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 In Fitchburg, an arts pilot school takes off but may hit turbulence By Gabrielle GurleySpring 2006
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Brockton
Requiem for a heavyweight: In Massachusetts city famous for shoes, a loss of soul By Sam Allis Boston Globe, April 26, 2009 Broken homes: The housing bubble was built on […]