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 […]
FBI sniffing around Sox stadium deal in Florida?
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 […]
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 […]