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, […]
Grist for a higher meals tax?
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 […]
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Fitchburg
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 In Fitchburg, an arts pilot school takes off but may hit turbulence By Gabrielle GurleySpring 2006
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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 […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Menino happy to debate, have root canal
Boston Mayor Tom Menino, who did all he could to avoid head-to-head sessions with opponents in past races, said today he'll agree to three debates with his challengers, and he acted like […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Globe pension ‘scoop’ is old news in the pages of CommonWealth
The Boston Globe, which teed up a story on its front-page yesterday on the generous, early pensions being granted to ex-lawmakers who choose to leave office, suggested it has uncovered the latest outrage in series of […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Nobody wants too many restaurants
It's a familiar pattern in Boston: A neighborhood becomes gentrified (i.e., safe and attractive), raising hopes that stores selling things like books and household necessities will move in. But instead […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
How “sweating the small stuff” adds up big in urban schools
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 […]
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 […]
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“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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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. […]
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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 […]