Seeking to prevent blight in downtown Boston, an economic development agency is plugging a $2 million hole in the budget of a private group about to take over management of the Rose Fitzgerald […]
Greenway gets $2 million bailout to prevent “blight”
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
The Yellow Roads of Texas
Public-private partnerships are one way for states to secure funding for new transportation projects or to maintain existing roadways. But at this week’s transportation reform hearing, Secretary of Transportation Bernard […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
Team Trans fumbles at transportation reform hearing
Don’t make Sen. Steven Baddour angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry. “It’s going to get a lot uglier. The Legislature is going to get a lot more aggressive,” […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Bob Woodward warns North Adams audience about “secret government”
Bob Woodward was in North Adams last night, and MassINC executive vice president John Schneider has an analysis: It’s a long way from Boston to the campus of the Mass. […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Where local aid cuts may fall the heaviest
As the Boston Globe reported yesterday, House Speaker Sal DiMasi is predicting a cut of 5 percent to 10 percent in local aid, or funds from Beacon Hill to city […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Massachusetts welcomes California to its demographic nightmare
Things are so tough in Massachusetts that the closest thing I could find to good news today is a report that the biggest state in the US has many of […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Download, Transportation
State funding for Greenway Conservancy shrinking
The private group preparing to take over management of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway is going to have a lot less state money to do its job. Legislation passed earlier this […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Creedon leaves Senate, laments shrinkage of House
At times, Friday's session of the Massachusetts Senate seemed like a revival of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, as members offered tributes to four departing members: Edward Augustus of Worcester, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Markey, McGovern being pushed for Obama cabinet?
Gov. Deval Patrick insists he's staying put and is not interested in a Washington post, and John Kerry is turning to his new role as incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
The Bay State’s dangerous dependence on the capital gains tax
Plenty of Massachusetts residents have been hurting because of the stock market meltdown (ask everyone in your office to check their 401(k)s at the same time, and the cries of anguish […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
State lottery reports sales slump
This year's revenue from the state lottery is projected to fall 4 percent below last year's record take, State House News Service (subscription required) is reporting today. The $200 million decline is […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
A bad year for Anthony’s Pier 4
Anthony's Pier 4 is having its woes this year, writes CommonWealth contibutor Colman Herman: The Boston Globe reported this week that the storied seafood restaurant has run-up $822,000 in delinquent taxes […]
Posted inArts and Culture, The Download, Uncategorized
Jacob’s Pillow, BSO, and MFA top NEA recipients in Massachusetts
The National Endowment for the Arts announced its first round of grants for fiscal year 2009 yesterday. Below, in descending order of grant amounts, are the Massachusetts recipients and the […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Ethics task force hears nuts-and-bolts ideas
Some interesting nuts-and-bolts ideas surfaced at today's public hearing of the governor's task force on public integrity, but no radical measures were proposed to change the way business is done on Beacon Hill. […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Older cars hurting municipal revenues
The soft market for automobiles is hurting state treasuries, as I noted earlier this week, but municipal governments are also feeling the pinch. The Patriot Ledger reported in May that local revenue from […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Hub firefighters seek bonus for physical fitness
Hub firefighters are seeking bonuses for keeping fit, following the lead of the State Police, according to today's Boston Herald: The union brass is pushing for an undisclosed sum for firefighters […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Border war between Connecticut and Massachusetts?
The state of Massachusetts wants to impose fees on Connecticut residents who live on Congamond Lake, according to the Hartford Courant's Shawn Beals. Apparently, their houses are in the Nutmeg State but their […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Massachusetts: healthy but hard-drinking
Massachusetts is the nation's 6th healthiest state, up from 9th a year ago, according to the United Health Foundation's latest America's Health Rankings, released today. (Get a PDF of Massachusetts […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
The 401(k) blues are louder in Massachusetts
Massachusetts has a disproportionate number of workers nervously checking their 401(k) numbers this fall, according to new data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. The state ranks 13th in the […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Think big on education, says former IBM chief
Gov. Deval Patrick, who has gingerly raised the idea of consolidating some of Massachusetts' 327 school districts, looks like a downright piker next to Lou Gerstner. The former CEO of IBM […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Keep your old car and starve your state’s treasury
Another thing for state governments to worry about: people not buying cars. According to the Los Angeles Times: As the U.S. auto market marches toward its worst year in decades […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Lawrence is up, Cape Cod is down in voter turnout
Cape Cod and the Berkshires seem to have lost electoral clout over the past four years, according to preliminary town-by-town voter turnout in this month's presidential election. The map below […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
The “Partners Effect”: Health care hardball comes under a Spotlight
Notwithstanding the recent 4,700-word Spotlight report in the Boston Globe, the idea that Partners HealthCare has played a dominant role in setting health care prices in the Boston area and […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Wilkerson informant not so informative
In today's interview with the Globe's Adrian Walker, businessman Ron Wilburn publicly admits for the first time that he is the FBI informant seen handing cash to former state senator […]