BUSES TAKE A HEAVY TOLL ON THE T Passenger fares accounted for only 29 percent of operating expenses on the MBTA during 2006, according to new data from the Federal […]
Statistically Significant
Posted inPolitics
Needs improvement
Here’s one report card that Massachusetts might want to hide: Governing magazine and the Pew Center on the States gave the state a “C” in their Grading the States report, […]
Posted inPolitics
Your blog of blogs
Illustration by Nick Galifianakis HERE’S WHAT Adam Gaffin finds frustrating. He’s in his car, heading for a meeting in Framingham, where he works in tech publishing. He’s got the radio […]
Posted inEconomy
Job seekers
UPDATE: The Bay State’s unemployment rate over the 2009 calendar year was 8.4 percent, far above the 4.5 percent that we found worrying in 2007. See the map below for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Editors Note
Sometimes you get lucky. I bumped into photographer Bill Brett walking through Downtown Crossing in January. He told me about his latest book project, which led to an interesting conversation […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Politics, State House News Service
A shot seen round the world
every era has its touchstone photograph. The Marines hoisting the American flag on Iwo Jima telegraphs the hard-fought triumphs of World War II. The New York City firemen raising the […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Uncategorized
Easy street
zero tolerance is always a favorite concept in American politics, and publicity-hungry politicians are still finding plenty of things they want to ban: transfats, people without health insurance, violent video […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Don’t make these voters angry
I’m working on some charts and maps showing which counties have a consistent bias for or against the incumbent party in presidential elections, which may take a little while. As […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Does it even matter who the Democrats nominate?
John Judis has a New Republic piece warning that Barack Obama will have a very tough time winning the "white working class vote" in November:Obama comes from a modest background […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
No more gambling with second-hand smoke
Monday, April 14, 2008 No more smoking in the public areas of Atlantic City casinos, thanks to a new law by the city council. The state government may have mixed […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
No complaints must mean no problems!
It’s become an institution in New York City and Somerville, but Boston has no plans to add a 311 hotline to handle residents’ non-emergency complaints and questions. The Boston Globe’s […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Sen. Clinton, Massachusetts has already voted
"Why is Barack Obama smiling?" I wondered. But I quickly realized that the 8-1/2 inch x 12 glossy in my mailbox wasn’t from the Illinois senator. It was a stinging […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Sal DiMasi and the chicken-or-egg question
In the current Boston Phoenix, David Bernstein writes about the lack of dissent (and dissenting votes) in the state House of Representatives as ruled by Speaker Sal DiMasi — who, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The lay of the land in Florida’s Gold Coast
After looking at the map of the 10 States of American Politics, Brian wrote:A friend suggested Broward County (FL) be included with Northeast Corridor, just as Miami-Dade was put with […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
No welfare for people with too many cable channels?
MassINC is now hosting a reader’s forum on the state budget in Massachusetts and the "point of reckoning" caused by an economic downturn and soaring health care costs. Daniel Winslow, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Where the political earth moved in 1976
In our journey through recent presidential elections, we come to 1976, the high-water mark for the Democratic Party over the past 40 years and the last time that party […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Shhh… don’t tell anyone how much our school cost
The Cape Cod Times reports on the town of Falmouth’s own "Big Dig," a high school renovation project that is only two-thirds complete and has already cost $67 million. According […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Fired or retired? The difference is nearly $50,000 a year
The Boston Globe’s Sean Murphy reports on former Big Dig administrator Michael Lewis, who was able to triple his annual pension to $73,000 as a result of being "fired" by […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Joel Garreau’s Nine Nations of North America
A few readers have commented on similarities between Beyond Red & Blue’s 10 States of American Politics and a 1981 book by Joel Garreau of the Washington Post called The […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, The Download
Electoral College compromise?
Reader Peter Porcupine responded to my post about the Electoral College and the possibility of repeating the 2000 election by suggesting an alternative: There is an intermediate step between the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
New maps: Democratic primary results as of April 5
Taking into account updated results from several primary and caucus states, here is a county-by-county map on the relative strengths of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton so far. (Look for […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Stats and spreadsheets from the Democratic primaries so far
As promised, here is more data than is good for anyone. There may still be minor variations from official totals, but I think this is about 99% complete — except, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Legislator collects $306,000 for his 14-mile commute
A state senator in California has collected $306,000 for the hardship of living within running distance from his job. The Los Angeles Times reports that Tom McClintock, who claims to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Paper beats rock, says western Mass. legislator
State Rep. Denis Guyer, whose district is about as far away from a subway stop as one can get in Massachusetts, is peeved that MBTA vending machines give change in […]