INTRO TEXT A law designed to shine a bright light on the inner workings of state and local government in Massachusetts is instead leaving much of the bureaucracy in shadows, […]
Paper tiger
Posted inPolitics
Divided loyalties
“So, what do you do?” My friend visiting from San Francisco stifled a laugh when she heard this familiar line at a cocktail party. She has a theory that Bostonians […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Economy, Opinion, Politics
The elimination of the states income tax is back on the ballot in November We present four distinct views on the question
Cut the waste and build the economy Why are 1.35 million Massachusetts voters already planning to vote yes on Question 1 to end the state income tax? Should you join […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Help wanted
the job of being the voice of consumers in government has been vacant for years in Massachusetts. Not since the ’80s and early ’90s have we had political figures who […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Working in the dark
states and cities in the US spend more than $50 billion a year in the name of economic development. But these subsidies to create and retain jobs, called everything from […]
Posted inPolitics
Correspondence
Fall 2008 Historical Commission also has secret side In “Preserving Power” (CW, Summer ’08), you raise questions about the lack of transparency in Secretary of State William Galvin’s awarding of […]
Posted inEducation
Cos for action
THE OCCASION WAS an NAACP dinner to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision outlawing school segregation, but Bill Cosby was in no mood to […]
Posted inEducation
Mentor program brings college option to low-income youths
INTRO TEXT Yan Zheng is the type of student who typically falls through the cracks in the state’s education system. She’s a hard worker and a bright student, but she […]
Posted inEconomy
Lawrence’s mill makeover gets a second start
INTRO TEXT Monarch on the Merrimack, a mill makeover once viewed as a potential linchpin to the revival of Lawrence, is trying to get back on track. The massive redevelopment […]
Posted inEconomy
Galvin gets cagier about rehabilitation tax credits
Secretary of State William Galvin’s sphinx-like administration of a $50 million-a-year tax credit program is causing confusion among developers and anger among some lawmakers. Galvin handed out nearly $16.4 million […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Emails reveal no love for AG
INTRO TEXT The attorney general’s office and the governor’s insurance commissioner often disagree, but a public records request earlier this year showed that the squabbling gets nasty at times. Glenn […]
Posted inPolitics
Plush park
Maintenance of the 13-acre Greenway isexpected to cost $3.2 million a year. Like the Big Dig that gave birth to it, there’s nothing low-budget about the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The […]
Posted inEconomy
Meeting market
The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.Photo courtesy of Denterlein Worldwide.the boston convention & exhibition center edges toward Summer Street, hovering like a giant spaceship looking for a place to park. […]
Posted inPolitics
The Bay State goes to K Street
Lobbying is a $3 billion-a-year business in the nation’s capital, and Massachusetts–based corporations and nonprofits are active participants. A CommonWealth review of lobbying records filed with the House and Senate […]
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
Statistically Significant
Illustrations by Travis Foster Commuter trains to nowhere Increased commuter-rail service is a key component of “smart growth,” but not all train stops allow for car-free living. Some are simply […]
Posted inPolitics
Free riders
Massachusetts, once known for its raucous politics, now ranks last in the nation in the percentage of voters with a choice as to who represents them in the State House. […]
Posted inPolitics
Three thoughts
I first met Colman Herman, the author of this issue’s cover story on the Massachusetts Public Records Law, years ago when I was a Boston Globe reporter. He had asked […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Quincy insurer snubs its rep
Officials at Arbella Insurance Group of Quincy were no-shows at a recent award ceremony for their local state representative, Ronald Mariano, the House chairman of the Legislature’s Committee on Financial […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Wall Street Journal discovers Patrick-Obama connection
We thought the idea that there are similarities between the background, style, message and, by implication, substance of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Barack Obama was a pretty old storyline […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
The Fix We’re In
With the stock market nosediving, credit lines freezing, retirement savings disappearing overnight, and the state budget on the chopping block, we are facing an economic peril as great as any […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
The Fix We’re In: Jacob Hacker on the “Great Risk Shift” hitting home
With the stock market nosediving, credit lines freezing, retirement savings disappearing overnight, and the state budget on the chopping block, we are facing an economic peril as great as any […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
The Fix We’re In: Stephen Crosby on budgeting in an economic crisis
With the stock market nosediving, credit lines freezing, retirement savings disappearing overnight, and the state budget on the chopping block, we are facing an economic peril as great as any […]