you would think that Massachusetts, a leader in many cutting-edge economic sectors, would have a comprehensive overall strategy to ensure that it has a competitive edge in the global economy. […]
Going global
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized
Park benchmarks
the state department of Conservation and Recreation recently announced that it will defer filing environmental reports on the rebuilding of Storrow Drive, with the likely result that repairs to the […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics
Correspondence
IT’S NOT FAIR TO PUNISH MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES In reference to your article “Municipal Meltdown” (CW, Fall ’07), I would like to set the record straight. You stated that the Professional […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Uncategorized
Engineering challenge
Photo by Frank Curran Ioannis Miaoulis swears he has nothing against dinosaurs or grasshoppers. That’s a good thing, since he presides over Boston’s Museum of Science, which attracts more than […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Voters get another shot at erasing the state income tax
INTRO TEXT she’s back. The coming throw-down over the personal income tax finds libertarian dynamo Carla Howell back in the ring. Howell’s first attempt to end the income tax by […]
Posted inEconomy
Mixed-use project raises hope for Salisbury Beach comeback
INTRO TEXT Like the wooden roller coaster that once dominated its Atlantic Ocean skyline, Salisbury Beach’s economic fortunes have climbed and fallen with changing times and demographics. Once a summer […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
In unemployment insurance showdown, labor still has muscle
INTRO TEXT organized labor may represent just over 14 percent of the Massachusetts workforce, but unions showed last year that they still have plenty of juice on Beacon Hill. Despite […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Legislators’ per diems may get a DC boost
INTRO TEXT Per diem payments for mileage, meals, and lodging for Bay State legislators have long been fodder for critics who see no justification for politicians dining out on the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Turning down the heat
North Shore Task Force member Bob Hogan (left) and fellow Lynn police detective Oren Wright make the rounds in Lynn in December. THUNDERSTORMS HAVE RAGED over the Tobin Bridge, pelting […]
Posted inPolitics
Reality sets in
As a candidate, Deval Patrick was highlysuccessful without “listening to the experts.”AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki.On a Friday afternoon in early November 2006, I went to the office of Michael Dukakis, deep […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Playing the numbers
as a candidate for governor, Deval Patrick sounded a cautionary note about the perennial calls to bring casino gambling to Massachusetts. While not morally opposed to slot machines or blackjack […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, State House News Service
A question of equity
Nine black students, protected by the 101st AirborneDivision of the US Army, began classes at the all-whiteLittle Rock Central High School in 1957.Photo by UPI/LANDOV.as new england prepared to cheer […]
Posted inPolitics
No-shout zone
jerry from mattapan never knew what hit him. It’s a Monday evening in late October, and the journalist Sally Bedell Smith is a guest on NightSide with Dan Rea, on […]
Posted inEconomy
House hikes
UPDATE: Get town-level data on average property-tax bills for single-family households in 2000 and 2009 as an Excel spreadsheet or PDF. Note that the state’s Division of Local services does not […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Dispatches
HISTORIC HANGAR AS THE NEW WALDEN POND? Ah, the civilized village of Concord. Home of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, and historic landmarks like the Old North Bridge, Walden […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Politics
Generation slap
mushy-middle political columnists often despair over the “blame game” that has supposedly poisoned American politics. And when a questionable use of taxpayer money appears on the front page of the […]
Posted inEconomy
The money pit
residents of massachusetts do not need to be reminded just how expensive construction can be. Now practically as famous as the Freedom Trail or the Red Sox, the Big Dig […]
Posted inEnvironment
The bottom line
you could say Maine’s lobster industry has been on a roll. By throwing back breeding lobsters, Maine’s lobstermen have preserved their fishery and actually increased its size, even as other […]
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
Statistically Significant
Illustrations by Travis Foster VOTING AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT According to a recent article in Scientific American, whether or not you vote may be “hardwired” in your genetic […]
Posted inEconomy
Mass. in the middle
at the end of 2007, “free-market economists” Stephen Moore and Arthur Laffer—most famous for the “Laffer Curve” illustrating the idea that higher tax rates can actually bring in less revenue—touted […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
An election rumble in Milford?
There’s plenty of election action outside of the presidential primaries this spring. The Milford Daily News reports on the battle for the highway surveyor’s position in that Worcester County town […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Miami not so nice to McCain?
Next week’s Republican primary in Florida could be a key turning point in the campaign, as it’s the last chance for candidates to gain momentum before the primaries on Feb. […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Hail, hail, Freedonia!
Good magazine’s Christopher Ketcham looks at the secessionist movement in Vermont. One of its leaders is 70-year-old author Kirkpatrick Sale, who wants the US out of the Green Mountains:One day […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Lay of the land: How McCain won South Carolina
As a follow-up to this post, here is how McCain was able to put together a narrow plurality in Saturday’s South Carolina Republican primary. As in 2000, McCain did best […]