we’re still in a state of invention, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Massachusetts ranked fourth in the total number of patents granted last year, outranked only by […]
Brainstorms
Posted inPolitics
Full disclosure
less than a year after its launch, the New England News Forum is a work in progress. At a time when the mainstream media are under assault from bloggers, political […]
Posted inPolitics
Frozen in time
first-time visitors to the Massachusetts House of Representatives are struck by its beauty and grandeur. The royal blue carpeting, the walls of rich, Honduran mahogany, and the massive electronic roll-call […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Plymouth’s Cordage park showed how to make Chapter 40R and smart growth work for both towns and developers
despite recent downward pressure on home prices, the cost of housing remains a major concern for nearly two-thirds of Massachusetts residents, according to a poll released in February by the […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Hidden no more
five years ago, I wrote an article for The Boston Globe about home-based, high-tech businesses in my Amherst neighborhood. I had no idea that what seemed to be a minor […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
MIDDLE SCHOOLERS ARE CAUGHT IN A CHASM
Thank you for shining a much-needed light on the middle school crisis in your article “The New Math” (CW, Winter 2007). To the extent that children are falling through the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Tough medicine
Photo by Frank Curran As of April 12, 2006, Jonathan Gruber became the most influential economist in Massachusetts government. That was the day Gov. Mitt Romney signed a sweeping health […]
Posted inEducation
Turnaround time
massachusetts is engaged in a fierce, long-term competition for talent, investment, and jobs with other states, regions, and countries. Success is essential to the future well-being of our citizens and […]
Posted inEducation
In tight times, universal preschool gets held back
INTRO TEXT while massachusetts has invested heavily in public K-12 education in recent years, grand plans to extend that reach to the preschool years are bumping up against harsh fiscal […]
Posted inPolitics
As ticket scalping thrives, lawmakers ponder their next play
the goal used to be so much simpler. During those 86 long years in the wilderness leading up to the magical 2004 season, Red Sox fans were fixated on an […]
Posted inEconomy
Deeds that keep houses affordable may keep neighborhoods poor
INTRO TEXT in a state short on affordable housing, it might seem odd that housing advocates are calling for policy changes that could eventually bring more market-rate units to poor […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
A study in tax-study avoidance?
INTRO TEXT Of the seven business tax proposals put forward by Gov. Deval Patrick, “combined reporting” would deliver the biggest boost to state coffers, an estimated $136 million in fiscal […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Following the Money
Gregory Sullivan’s first termas IG ends in August, and he’smaking it known that he isavailable for another.phil johnston thought all hell was going to break loose at the State House. […]
Posted inEducation
College try
IN DECEMBER, MAYOR Tom Menino made headlines when he announced in a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce that he wanted to sell Boston’s City Hall and its […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
The public payroll
though state finances are back at a point where almost everyone agrees that spending must be brought “under control,” Massachusetts already has fewer government employees, when taking into account our […]
Posted inPolitics
Disappearing ink
one of matt Storin’s last assignments before he retired as editor of The Boston Globe was to carry out a painful round of downsizing. It was the spring of 2001, […]
Posted inEconomy
Money from home
UPDATE: To get FY 2010 data on the percentage of each community’s revenue that comes from property tax, download an Excel file or PDF. You can also go to the […]
Posted inEducation
Credit report
at the core of MassINC’s mission is the belief that all citizens of Massachusetts should have the opportunity to pursue the American dream. And as we’ve written in this space […]
Posted inUncategorized
With all due respect
THIS SPRING, Al Gore testified before Congress on global warming, which he considers an imminent threat to the survival of the planet. When Sen. James Inhofe began his questioning, he […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
Review session
edward kennedy has been getting an earful of late. And since the subject of the senator’s listening sessions is the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, which he played a […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Seeing red
holbrook When first-term Holbrook Selectman Katherine Connolly and her husband started their car on Valentine’s Day, they knew something was wrong. They got out to discover their two front tires […]
Posted inPolitics
Going dutch
Illustrations by Travis Foster State officials and legislators looking for a justifiable trade junket might want to get some plane tickets to Amsterdam. A new report from the International Trade […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion, Transportation
Meeting transportation needs may require more tolls and a higher gas tax
gov. patrick faces a transportation challenge that could make the Big Dig look like a piece of cake. Massachusetts could have a shortfall in highway and transit funding of $13 […]
Posted inEconomy
Risky business
few books have generated as much anticipation here in the CommonWealth office as Jacob Hacker’s The Great Risk Shift. In terms of addressing themes we keep coming back to in […]