June 15, 1993: an important day for education in Massachusetts. On that day, the Supreme Judicial Court issued its decision in McDuffy v. Secretary of Education and defined the Commonwealth’s […]
The state still doesnt provide equal education
Posted inEducation
The Hancock Case: Remedy lies in new goals new strategies
We are really just beginning to understand that schools are indeed our most important social institutions. And only recently have we faced up to the reality that, rather than being […]
Posted inUncategorized
Letters
After reading the article “Being Ron Preston” (Health Care Extra 2004), I was appalled to realize how little the cabinet secretary charged with protecting the health of the Commonwealth understands […]
Posted inPolitics
Gallup’s top pollster says that our leaders dont pay enough attention to the wisdom of the people
In the home stretch of a hotly contested presidential campaign, it seems hard to imagine that public opinion is not getting sufficient attention. After all, hardly a day goes by […]
Posted inEconomy
Romney downplays job turnover and jousts with legislators over economic development
INTRO TEXT Mitt Romney swept into office with a vow to put his business know-how to work for the Massachusetts economy. Nearly two years after his arrival, however, employment growth […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Politics
Municipal governments use college internships to snag future employees
INTRO TEXT In 2002, Michael Young was still a Midwesterner, earning his master’s degree in public administration at the University of Kansas. But in order to graduate, he needed to […]
Posted inPolitics
Democrats and Republicans try to set the bar for this fall’s legislative elections
INTRO TEXT It has been billed as the biggest challenge to Democratic dominance on Beacon Hill in more than a decade. But after rolling out a field of 131 Republican […]
Posted inPolitics
Whither Worcester
If and when Worcester converts its municipal government from city manager to “strong mayor” rule—a change some hope will take place as early as next year—it will be easy to […]
Posted inPolitics
The connectors
WHEN 250 CHILDREN joined together to sing at the dedication of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge two years ago, it marked the first performance of what would go […]
Posted inPolitics
Half the battle
Some 50 percent of all Massachusetts voters will get to choose between Democratic and Republican candidates for state representative this fall, thanks to the “Team Reform” slate of GOP contenders […]
Posted inPolitics
Fox25 stakes a lonely claim on Beacon Hill
An ink-stained wretch no more, Joe Battenfeld wears a white T-shirt and dress pants as he walks through the Boston Common and up Beacon Street, carrying a camera-friendly suit jacket […]
Posted inPolitics
Field of battle
For the first time in more than a decade, voters in most Massachusetts communities will see a Republican candidate for state representative on their ballots this fall. (Also see State […]
Posted inEconomy
Split-level personality
In 1980, Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan, running against Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter, asked voters, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Note that he said “you,” […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Uncategorized
A new book of essays celebrates Boston without glossing over the citys weaknesses
The Good City: Writers Explore 21st-Century Boston Edited by Emily Hiestand and Ande Zellman Boston, Beacon Press, 175 pages. July’s Democratic National Convention did not, as it turned out, produce […]
Posted inPolitics
Republican congressional candidates try to get noticed by Bay State voters-and by their own party
Ken Chase is running for Congress, he says, to give voters a choice.”Fundamentally, there is a corruption of the process at the congressional level,” says the Medford native, who graduated […]
Posted inPolitics
Leverett still measures its campaign seasons in minutes not months
LEVERETT—It’s the only municipality in the US named Leverett, and residents of this small Massachusetts town like to think it’s unique. Leverett was one of the first places in the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Statistically Significant
Illustrations by Travis Foster Getting our Irish upHere’s another way in which Massachusetts is different from the rest of the nation. The US Census Bureau reported this summer that German […]
Posted inPolitics
All about the “other” other JFK
Multiple JFKs and other name games in Massachusetts politics When the Democrats convene in Boston’s FleetCenter to nominate US Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts for the presidency, the name […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
A court decision on school financing is a chance to revisitand improveeducation reform
The coverage in the press gave a misleading picture of the school finance decision handed down by Judge Margot Botsford in April. The judge did not say that the state […]
Posted inUncategorized
Letters
I want to congratulate David Ropeik for his insightful story about the state of health care media coverage in America (“Fear factor,” CW, Health Care Extra 2004). As a freelance […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
The Big Dig gave birth to a business association that redefined civic leadership
By the beginning of summer, the last remnants of the elevated Central Artery were being taken down, the green steel superstructure that walled off the financial district from the waterfront […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Counterpoint
Eric Kriss’s description of public employee unions as monopolies that are sucking resources from cities and towns is more than an unfair attack on the hard-working men and women of […]
Posted inHealth Care
The state gets a drug benefit
INTRO TEXT While many senior citizens are still trying to figure out whether they’ll come out ahead under the complicated Medicare prescription drug benefit passed by Congress, the new law […]