Good manners, perseverance, and a firm handshake aren't enough to put poor children on track to success in high school, college, and beyond. But they seem consistently to be essential ingredients in the small number […]
How “sweating the small stuff” adds up big in urban schools
Posted inArts and Culture, The Download, Uncategorized
Innovation at 10
If necessity is indeed the mother of invention, an economic meltdown should spark lots of new ideas – some good, some so-so, some the sort you’re embarrassed to admit you […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
More health coverage doesn’t necessarily mean more doctors
One challenge in extending health care coverage is that there may not be enough primary-care doctors to see new patients, according to Robert Pear in the New York Times. Massachusetts […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
“ArchitectureBoston” covers Gateway Cities
ArchitectureBoston, the quarterly published by the Boston Society of Architects, devotes its Summer 2009 issue to one of MassINC's favorite topics, the 11 Gateway Cities of Massachusetts. As editor Elizabeth […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
What do Bostonians think about their neighbors?
The Boston Public Health Commission has just released Health of Boston 2009, a hefty report on all manner of things affecting the well-being of residents, including environmental conditions, access to […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
MassINC is proud to be your “pure voice of gloom”
"Urban Writer" Jim Miara thinks I may be trying too hard to put a bad spin on the news that fewer people are moving out of Massachusetts: Sometimes the glass […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Everything you wanted to know about dying in Massachusetts
After our characterization as a “gloom and doom” organization, I hesitate to post this, but last week the state Department of Public Health released its Massachusetts Death 2007 report, and […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Hard times for moving companies, bubble wrap manufacturers
The US Census Bureau announced yesterday that the percentage of Americans who changed residences last year was the lowest since the feds began keeping records in 1948. Only 11.9 percent […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
FBI sniffing around Sox stadium deal in Florida?
The Boston Red Sox have sealed a sweet deal with Lee County officials in Florida for a publicly funded spring training complex, including a mini-Fenway, that raised a few eyebrows […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Spring issue of CommonWealth magazine now online
The spring issue of CommonWealth is out today, with eye-opening reports on the state of special education in Massachusetts and the email ineptitude of many government websites. There is also […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Weighty problems require complex solutions
By Alison LobronStarting next year, Massachusetts schools will calculate students’ Body Mass Index, a small shift in procedure that has attracted considerable attention. The shift is small because schools already […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Doctor discipline low in Massachusetts, lowest in Minnesota
Massachusetts ranks 38th in the incidence of "serious" disciplinary actions against doctors, according to a report released yesterday by Public Citizen. The public interest group noted that physicians in Alaska, […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
March unemployment rate by Mass. city and town
The state has released town-by-town unemployment rates for March 2009, and southeastern Massachusetts had the worst job picture, as seen on the map below: Unemployment was above 10 percent in […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service, The Download
To build or not to build: Brockton’s power plant plan
The New England Regional Council of Carpenters and other area unions are putting on their rally caps tonight in Brockton. But the show of force isn't for the Red Sox. […]
Posted inArts and Culture, The Download, Uncategorized
Statistically ignorant study ranks Boston 8th for literacy
Via Universal Hub: A study by the president of Central Connecticut University tags Boston as the 8th most literate city in the US, with Minneapolis and Seattle tied for first. […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Phil Primack: Casino chorus sings from shaky data
By Phil PrimackThey’re playing your song again, Clyde. Every time casino gambling tunes up on Beacon Hill, the background beat is almost always the same: If we ka-ching it in […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
All eyes on House, but with very different views
A "broken culture on Beacon Hill" or "one of the most audacious experiments of our time"? Depending on which Boston Globe columnist you read this morning, you would have a […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Budget sets up battle of competing reality shows
House Ways and Means chairman Charley Murphy was all about the facts yesterday as he unveiled a bare-bones 2010 budget that includes more than $1.8 billion in cuts. "This budget is […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Highway to Hell: Teams Trans previews coming attractions
Genuine public interest in real, comprehensive solutions to the Bay State's transportation troubles is low. Commuters worry about their own pocketbooks and no one else's. The prospect of a higher […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Murphy cuts deep, includes cap gains, tax credit measures
House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Murphy unveiled a lean $27.4 billion budget for next year that includes steep spending cuts across state government, as well as look-to-the-future initiatives to bolster […]
Posted inEconomy, Education
Labor lessons
INTRO TEXT Warren Wilson students carry outtheir chores earlier this spring. snow on warren Wilson College’s campus is an unusual sight — not only because western North Carolina rarely gets […]
Posted inEducation
Spending spiral
INTRO TEXT EDITOR’S NOTE: Since the publication of this story, CommonWealth has learned that some of the information it presented was incomplete. For clarification, please go here.
Posted inPolitics
High-tech breakdown
INTRO TEXT the websites of federal, state, and municipal agencies and officials can serve as pipelines to the public, allowing citizens and government officials to interact in a convenient, cost-effective […]
Posted inUncategorized
After the flood
take one flooded city. Add thousands of devastated inhabitants, a bungled federal response, and an absence of civic leadership. It doesn’t sound like a recipe for success, yet nearly four […]