On the eve of the World Series, it’s time to ask: Exactly where is Red Sox Nation? Strange Maps (click on the map to get a more complete view) has […]
Red Sox Nation border skirmishes
Posted inPolitics
Joke candidates
Romney: so handsome it’s not funny?AP Photo/Jim Cole it’s too early to predict how far Mitt Romney will go in his bid for the White House, but what does it […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion, Politics
Ed reform’ missing piece
when massachusetts passed its education reform law in 1993, everyone expected that the combination of greatly increased funding and high-stakes testing would produce dramatic gains in student achievement. Since then, […]
Posted inEconomy, Health Care
CPA FUNDS BENEFIT THE ENTIRE STATE
The Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston’s report on the Community Preservation Act (“Study Says CPA Steers Money to Wealthy Towns,” Inquiries, CW, Summer ’07) is so flawed it is difficult […]
Posted inEconomy
Unions fight moves against construction labor agreements
INTRO TEXT fiscal watchdog groups have long railed against agreements guaranteeing union-only workers on major construction projects. But with public budgets under stress, even some usual labor allies are questioning […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Transportation pros make tough calls, get cold shoulder
INTRO TEXT columbus day fell during a particularly volatile moment in the 2006 gubernatorial campaign. Three weeks past his runaway primary win, there were still doubts about Deval Patrick’s electability-specifically, […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, State House News Service
Medford embraces wind power
INTRO TEXT As controversy continues to swirl around the Cape Wind proposal in Nantucket Sound, the city of Medford is leaping to the head of the class by shoring up […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
On district matters, a Patrick ally turns adversary
INTRO TEXT a year ago, Marty Walz was among the legion of liberal Democrats enthralled by Deval Patrick’s gubernatorial candidacy. The state representative from Boston’s Back Bay was an enthusiastic […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Top cop
at a park on the corner of Talbot and Washington in Dorchester’s Codman Square, a sea of blue uniforms behind him, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis is announcing the expansion […]
Posted inPolitics
Municipal meltdown
From the archives This article first appeared in CommonWealth’s Fall 2007 issue. Click here view more issues. A MAJESTIC GROVE of evergreen trees overlooks the town swimming pools in West […]
Posted inPolitics
Betting the farm
on july 28, thousands of Middleborough voters assembled on a high school football field for town meeting, one of the purest exercises in grass-roots democracy. Carpenters and lawyers, farmers and […]
Posted inPolitics
Dispatches
THE $15 MILLION PARKING SPOT It’s one thing to figure out the tax bill for a homeowner’s new deck or rehabbed kitchen, but the board of assessors in the town […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
The 0.1 solution
in the summer of 1995, the entire Boston public school system seemed possessed by anger and incompetence. Every day brought new reports of financial scandals, mismanagement, racial tensions, sour labor […]
Posted inPolitics
Tax returns
critics have blamed much of Deval Patrick’s early troubles on Beacon Hill on a lack of political experience. But if experience counts, Patrick may do better on Capitol Hill, where […]
Posted inPolitics
Statistically Significant
Illustrations by Travis Foster The Web site LegiStorm reports that Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank of Newton has logged more trips paid for by private sponsors (84) than any other member […]
Posted inEconomy
Pension pinching
massachusetts is not quite the public pension paradise that it’s often made out to be. In fiscal 2005, we ranked 15th in the total amount of paid benefits divided by […]
Posted inPolitics
Plugged in, tuned out
it’s morning in Boston. Take a look around. Whether you’re on the subway, walking through downtown, or standing in line at Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts, you’re surrounded by young people—twentysomethings, […]
Posted inEconomy
Protection money
nothing is certain in life but death and taxes, and the one thing almost everyone thinks taxes should be used for is saving us from early deaths. Police and fire […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
“Giuliani’s dead zone advantage,” or “Son of Jimmy Carter”
Jimmy Carter won the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976 with great help from early victories in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, but what clinched things for him was […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The view on the 5th from Washington
The Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne weighs in on the 5th District race narrowly won by Niki Tsongas: Her victory on Tuesday speaks to the continuing unpopularity of President Bush and […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Hastert brings a special touch to congressional elections
The Associated Press is reporting yesterday that former US House Speaker Dennis Hastert will resign from his congressional seat in Illinois this year, setting up a special election for his […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The permanent campaign
The Washington Post’s Dan Balz takes a look at the efforts by Iowa and New Hampshire to preserve their spots at the head of the line in the presidential nomination […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Fun with presidential campaign contributions
The Federal Election Commission has released data on contributions to presidential campaigns as of the last day of September, so it’s time for some geographic data-crunching. (But if you go […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The lowdown on the 5th
The results from the 5th District congressional race are in, and as our map above shows, Democrat Niki Tsongas won by holding the Democratic cities of Lawrence and Lowell, plus […]