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 […]
After the flood
Posted inEducation, Opinion, Politics
The 85 percent solution
at a recent MassINC board meeting, we were discussing the achievement gap between students from wealthy versus poor school districts and how best to shrink it. I found myself saying […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion, Politics
One size doesn’t fit all
the national conference of State Legislatures reported in January that 40 states must address shortfalls in their 2009 budgets, and 34 states also face shortfalls in their 2010 budgets. In […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics, Transportation
Massport: Government that works
fifty years ago, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts launched a bold experiment in bringing business principles to government when it entrusted its most important transportation facilities to a new agency, the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Correspondence
Candidates need a level playing field I’m a three-term selectman in Falmouth and a recent independent candidate for the Third Barnstable District seat in the House of Representatives, held by […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
On the set
you may not know Lynda Obst’s face or name, but if you pay taxes in Massachusetts you are an investor in the producer’s latest movie, with the working title This […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
School mergers in Maine hit snags
massachusetts officials looking to consolidate some of the state’s school districts need only look north to Maine to see how tough that job will be. Maine Gov. John Baldacci first […]
Posted inEconomy, Education
IBM offers transition to teaching careers
When Elizabeth Cowles of Bedford graduated from college in 1987, she had two job offers: one to work for IBM and one to teach high school physics. She chose IBM […]
Posted inPolitics
Email exchanges reveal Wilkerson’s tenacity
the federal affidavits filed in conjunction with the bribery investigation of former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson reveal how relentless she could be in pursuing policies and projects of interest to […]
Posted inPolitics
Beacon Hill pols share their bounty
Massachusetts legislators are big givers with other people’s money. Campaign finance reports for 2008 indicate lawmakers took about $1 million of the $9.8 million they raised from supporters and donated […]
Posted inEconomy
Banks balk at short sales of underwater homes
with banks bleeding red ink under the weight of massive losses on home loans, you would think lenders would be scrambling for every dollar they can squeeze out of the […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, State House News Service
The shape of watts to come
Leonard Bicknell confesses that he’s a nut about consuming less energy, even if it costs him more to do so. Over the years, the South Shore heating oil dealer has […]
Posted inPolitics
Strings attached
Illustration by Travis Foster It had been a rough year for Speaker Sal DiMasi, but you never would have known it when members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives gathered […]
Posted inPolitics
Back in the sunshine
during his eight years in office, President Bush alienated few groups more than scientists, who complained that he ignored them and impeded their work. So when President Barack Obama took […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Statistically significant
Illustrations by Travis Foster bay state farms get fruitful and multiplyAre “buy local” campaigns helping to preserve the state’s small farming sector? New data from the US Department of Agriculture […]
Posted inUncategorized
End of an exodus
Only a couple of years ago, many of us fretted about the Bay State’s declining population. (See “A Fading Dream?”, Civic Sense, CW, Fall ’06.) We didn’t realize that something […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Patrick vs. Cahill
UPDATE: State Treasurer Tim Cahill is running for governor as an independent, not as a challenger to incumbent Gov. Deval Patrick in the Democratic primary. Still, this CW map from […]
Posted inEconomy
Making an impact
every time our magazine comes out, I wonder what kind of impact it will have. I know I’m interested in the issues we’re covering, but will others find them compelling? […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Sox score monster deal in Florida
UPDATE: A probe by the FBI may put a hold on the deal.The Boston Red Sox are showing they have lots of power off the field, negotiating a monster deal […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
CW in the news
Colman M. Herman’s CW story “Term Paper Trafficking” was reprinted in the Boston Phoenix (as “Inside the term-paper machine”) on November 5, 2009. Herman’s investigation has also been the subject […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Online forum: Special education in Massachusetts
We welcome your comments on the cover story of the Spring 2009 issue of CommonWealth magazine.Commenters below include James Major, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of 766 Approved Private […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, Politics, The Download
In Chicago, “green jobs” are nothing new
Since President Obama’s campaign-trail promise to create 5 million new “green jobs,” there’s been a scramble among employers, job training programs, and whole business sectors to declare themselves “green,” and, […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Blue Cross says GIC is not the only way for towns to cut insurance costs
One of Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposals to ease financial pressure on Bay State cities and towns is to move municipal employees into the Group Insurance Commission (GIC), which negotiates health […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
MBTA puts the squeeze on suburban legislators, the MFA, and the BSO
The MBTA has released a detailed list of service cuts it's threatening to make if it doesn't get any help in reducing its $160 million deficit — presumably in the […]