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, […]
Rethinking the Gateway Cities: A talk and photo exhibit at Smith College
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 […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, The Download
Worcester’s trial balloon: Tax dorm rooms
Like almost every other Massachusetts municipality, Worcester is starved for revenue, and one city councilor has come up with a new source of tax dollars. From the Worcester Telegram’s Lisa […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Jobs outlook in Mass. is stingy for the hospitality industry, devastating for construction
Via USA Today, Moody's Economy.com predicts that Massachusetts will tie with Kentucky for the seventh-worst job loss in 2009. (Who will supposedly be worse off than us? Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Freshman rep gets it right on pension perk
Freshman state Rep. Jim Arciero has only been in office for a month, but he seems to know an antiquated taxpayer-funded boondoggle when he sees it. The Westford Democrat has […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Pennies saved at the MBTA
Having your employer pay for your $10 commercial driver's license sounds fair. So the MBTA used to send bus drivers a $10 check reimbursing them for their license fees. They could look […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Follow the money
Follow the money. That was the advice Bob Woodward received from "Deep Throat" during the Watergate scandal and it's the advice reporters should be following on Beacon Hill during the upcoming debate […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Stateline.org calls Gov. Patrick “safe” for re-election in 2010
In a very early — if not premature — forecast of next year's gubernatorial races, Stateline.org lists Massachusetts as one of nine states considered "safe" for the incumbent party. (New […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Springfield budget cuts hit 311 phone line and CitiStat program
There's a widespread belief (or hope) that tough times can offer a "golden opportunity" for government reform, but things may not be working out that way in Springfield. Urban Compass […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Beacon Hill scandals and the one-party state
In the wake of Sal DiMasi's departure from Beacon Hill, CommonWealth magazine associate editor Alison Lobron weighs in on the Bay State's one-party political culture in today's Boston Globe: After […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Is Obama following in Romney’s devious, partisan footsteps?
Marc Ambinder reports on the GOP's shocked reaction to the idea that President Barack Obama might work toward electing more members from his own party in the next congressional election: […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Mike Dukakis on how to fix America
Former governor Michael Dukakis has an interview with The Infrastructurist in which he says he understands why Amtrak isn't getting that much money from President Obama's stimulus bill (not enough "shovel-ready" […]