By Eric Fehrnstrom News that Dr. Robert Lanza and his team of scientists at Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester have been injecting human DNA into cow, mouse, and rabbit eggs […]
Time has vindicated Gov. Romney’s stand on embryo research
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Home builders deem Worcester “80 percent affordable”
The Worcester area has the most affordable housing stock in New England, according to new data from the National Association of Home Builders. The group's Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) estimated that 79.5 […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Mass. bucks trend, drives more in December
The Federal Highway Administration estimates that Americans drove 1.6 percent fewer miles in December 2008 than in December of the previous year. That makes 14 consecutive months of driving declines. The biggest […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Use stimulus funds to speed up the local permitting process
The following Perspective column was written and submitted to CW Unbound by the law firm Robinson & Cole LLP. Massachusetts stands to receive billions in overall stimulus funds under the $787 […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Will a “vehicle miles traveled” tax fly in Massachusetts?
Though Gov. Patrick didn't mention the idea in his prepared remarks at today's press conference, Transportation Secretary Jim Aloisi told Blue Mass Group that the administration plans to try out […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Download, Transportation
Patrick finally embraces gas tax increase
Gov. Deval Patrick made a very persuasive case for raising the state gasoline tax immediately by 19 cents and having it rise in the future in tandem with the Consumer Price Index. My […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Politics, The Download
Norton, Fitchburg now dead to state library board
Last week Norton became the 17th community in Massachusetts to lose certification for its library system, thanks to underfunding — specifically, a town meeting vote to cut funding by 33 […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Download
Air-conditioning costs to rise in Worcester this summer?
Thursday, February 19, 2009 If this street is any indication, a lot of homes are losing their natural umbrellas against the summer sun. Thanks, Asian longhorned beetles! (Hat tip: Daily […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, The Download
Save the earth, build to the sky
If you care about the environment, stop fighting downtown high-rises. That's the gist of an article in the current issue of City Journal by Harvard professor Edward Glaeser (who wrote about […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Blue Mass Group: One-party state may not be so bad
Would a genuine two-party state in Massachusetts lead to the something like the fiscal mess now plaguing California, in which Republican legislators have defied Republican Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Democratic majority by blocking […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Rethinking the Gateway Cities: A talk and photo exhibit at Smith College
MassINC executive vice president John Schneider will be one of four panelists at "Rethinking Decline: New Perspectives on Massachusetts Gateway Cities," which begins at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, February 24, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Choosing between cops and library books in Springfield
The quote of the day, from Urban Compass: "I had to choose between keeping police on the streets, and books” — Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno Sarno announced the layoffs of […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Rep. Murphy no longer has many private business dealings
Rep. Charles A. Murphy, the House's recently appointed Ways and Means Committee chairman, told CW Unbound in a phone interview today that he has shed all of his private business dealings and faces no potential conflicts of interest in […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Massachusetts is 10th most economically stressed state
That's according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's StateHealthFacts.org. The Bay State's 10th-place showing is mainly due to an increase in Food Stamp program participation from October 2007 to October 2008 […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
“Stimulus Watch” drills down to “shovel-ready” projects
Via David Bernstein and Talking Politics: The website Stimulus Watch lists thousands of "shovel-ready" projects vying for federal stimulus funds all over the US, including 266 in Massachusetts. Website visitors can […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Big differences in teen birth rates among Bay State cities
Last week the state Department of Public Health released its 119-page report on the 77,934 births that occurred in Massachusetts in 2007. (You can get a considerably briefer press release […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Better know a Massachusetts district, thanks to Google Maps
The Electoral Map discovers a fun (for political geeks) way to use Google Maps: "walking" through congressional districts using the Street View feature. What would you see if you visited […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Deval, help us put down our cynicism: send stimulus czar packing
Let's get this straight: The guy Deval Patrick has hired for $150,000 a year to help the state spend the federal stimulus money intended to help halt an economic slide set in motion […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Boston’s successful Census challenge may not be such a surprise
The Daily News Tribune reports that the state "could stand to gain anywhere between $2.5 million and $5 million in federal funding" as a result of a coordinated effort to challenge […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Pew report shows how good data can lead to better state budgets
The Pew Center for the States has released an intriguing issue brief ("Trade-off Time: How Four States Continue to Deliver") recommending "evidence-based decision making" in the state budget process. The […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Harsh reality underlies charter school boost
There is good news and bad news on the education front in Massachusetts. The good news is that the Patrick administration abandoned its dug-in resistance to more charter schools by […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service, The Download
“Starting Line 2009” tackles DeLeo, State House scandals, and the bleak economy
Is new House Speaker Robert DeLeo really just "a hamburger guy", and are other members of the House no more than "sheep"? Do voters pay more attention to public pension […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Download
Private conservancy signs lease with Turnpike to maintain Greenway
A private conservancy will take over day-to-day operations of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway later this month under the terms of a five-year lease signed with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. The […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Up, up, and away in my beautiful gas tax trial balloon…
When last we saw Team Trans, we were waiting on the mother of all transportation plans, the one that would save our roads, our bridges, and our mass transit from […]