Two-party government is critical to the future of Massachusetts, but if it’s to become a reality, Republicans must do a better job of attracting more voters and viable candidates to […]
The two-party solution
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Pilot program
On a hazy August day in 1983, with about seven miles of visibility, I took my first solo flight in a Piper Cherokee single engine aircraft. I was 20 years […]
Posted inUncategorized
Correspondence
Attorney general still fights for the ‘little guy’ In his Perspective column (“Help Wanted: Massachusetts Consumers Need Champions on Beacon Hill,” CW, Fall ’08), Edgar Dworsky declares that the needs […]
Posted inHealth Care
Back in the game
Primary care doctors are like speed daters. They rush from one patient to another, trying to glean a person’s health status from a brief physical exam and a short chat. […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Task force targets underground economy
During the 2006 gubernatorial campaign, candidate Deval Patrick wanted to see firsthand how the underground economy worked. Volunteering to be his guide, Mark Erlich, executive secretary-treasurer of the New England […]
Posted inPolitics
Rep Cabral to push public records bill
A key state lawmaker says he plans to push legislation this session addressing weaknesses in the state’s Public Records Law — and there appear to be plenty of them. Rep. […]
Posted inEconomy
Plymouth plots on cash from cremation
Trying to corner the local market on both death and taxes, the town of Plymouth is jumping into the cremation business. Town officials say they expect more and more people […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawmaker targets lobbyists largesse
Would a ban on political contributions by lobbyists clean up Beacon Hill? State Rep. Jennifer Callahan, a Democrat from Sutton, doesn’t think a ban would end corruption, but she feels […]
Posted inPolitics
Four months to get utility bill
Getting to the bottom of a story isn’t always easy. Several sources told CommonWealth that electricity usage at the state-owned Ulin Rink in Milton spiked dramatically for several years before […]
Posted inPolitics
The maverick
Bristol County SheriffThomas Hodgson is in a showdown with the governor. Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson is headed for a high-noon showdown with Gov. Deval Patrick. The Patrick administration is […]
Posted inEconomy
Broken homes
Helen Williams, of Dorchester, thought she was getting “a good deal”but is now facing foreclosure. Helen Williams certainly doesn’t know anything about credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligations, or mortgage-backed […]
Posted inPolitics
Frank, Syron, and the blame game
Two Massachusetts guys, Richard Syron and Barney Frank, are among those at the center of the blame game going on in Washington concerning the root causes of the country’s worst […]
Posted inPolitics
Statistically significant
Illustrations by Travis Foster bridgewater’s town meeting bottoms out One of the largest communities in the Bay State that’s still governed by open town meetings may soon make the switch […]
Posted inUncategorized
Staying put
With so much attention given to the business of selling houses (and, now, losing houses to banks), it may be easy to forget that few Americans actually change residences in […]
Posted inPolitics
Second life
Sometime this April, one of New England’s most venerable daily newspapers will cease to be a daily newspaper.The Christian Science Monitor, which marked its 100th anniversary this past November, is […]
Posted inEconomy
Emptied nests
Failed mortgages are almost always more common in lower-income areas, but in the current housing crisis, all of the Bay State’s foreclosure hotspots are in communities with relatively low home […]
Posted inPolitics
A dysfunctional democracy
The election of Barack Obama was a historic moment for America. Faced with a choice between two very different candidates at a perilous time in the nation’s history, voters turned […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Old Boston may have to feel sorry for that punk city in Arizona
Last summer, the Census Bureau admitted that Boston's population is growing (though not as much as the city claims it is). This week, the Arizona Republic reported on signs that […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Economy, The Download
1,000 great places to see before you die – on a budget
Gov. Patrick got into the swing of the recession yesterday, signing a law that costs nothing and will (maybe) make us feel better about not taking the Caribbean vacations we […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Skirting the grad rate challenge
A recent report highlighting the abysmally low college graduation rates of Boston public school graduates who go on to higher education ought to be a call to arms. Instead, some education […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Surgeons should adopt “cockpit” checklists
Today's Boston Globe reports that "deaths and complications dropped by an astounding one-third" when doctors and nurses began using a "safety checklist" before surgery, according to a Harvard study. This shouldn't be surprising, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Democrats pull a “Finneran” in Tennessee House
Last week Sal DiMasi sailed to another term as Speaker of the Massachusetts House, but there was a far more interesting leadership vote in Nashville yesterday. Republicans outnumber Democrats 50-49 […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Download, Transportation
Murray to Beacon Hill: No gas tax, at least not yet
The Massachusetts Senate drew a line in the sand today, vowing not to hike anyone's taxes or tolls until a massive consolidation of the state's transportation network is completed or at […]