Pledging themselves to the cause of reform, Gov. Mitt Romney and his team have taken on a number of shibboleths in state government during their first year in office. From […]
Its time for Romney to reform the correctional system
Posted inPolitics
Robert Putnams stories of hope for civic life in America
Better Together: Restoring the American CommunityBy Robert D. Putnam and Lewis M. Feldstein, with Don CohenSimon & Schuster, New York, 318 pages. In 2000, Robert Putnam’s book Bowling Alone documented […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Uncategorized
An unsentimental look at teen parents in Pittsfield
Growing Up FastBy Joanna LipperPicador, New York, 432 pages. The Berkshires, or “America’s premier cultural resort,” as the region is referred to by the local Chamber of Commerce, is also […]
Posted inEconomy
Massachusetts comes around to supporting an Internet sales tax
A pair of boots from L.L. Bean. The latest bestseller from Amazon.com. A diamond engagement ring from Blue Nile. Every day, more and more consumers are buying items like these […]
Posted inPolitics
North Andover says the state is nothing but a tax deadbeat
NORTH ANDOVER–With the help of some thoughtful planning, the town of North Andover has been able to enjoy economic development without losing its historic character. About 27,000 residents coexist with […]
Posted inUncategorized
Where the odds favor single men, the Bay States mysterious budget a looming shortage of dentists, homeowners who stay put, a business-climate report card, whos buckling up
Temptation island? Single women who like the odds to be in their favor might consider moving to Nantucket. According to the Web site ePodunk.com, the island is the only county […]
Posted inEconomy
Moving in — or moving on?
TENY GROSS has never felt better about his work with urban youth. As executive director of the two-year-old Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, Gross is building on […]
Posted inUncategorized
Poetic views of good ideas
Play on Words In a good play on words Ideas seem to just emerge, Fully formed long lyrical lines From the chamber of a brilliant mind. Hah! Don’t believe it […]
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized
What Boston needs to do to capitalize on the Democratic National Convention
Political and civic leaders of smart, effective cities use big public events to achieve long-lasting development and social benefits. That’s what I’ve learned from six years of visits to world-class […]
Posted inUncategorized
Letters
I would like to correct some erroneous information about AARP that appeared in your conversation with Theda Skocpol (“Civic Dissociation,” Summer 2003). Skocpol uses AARP as an example of an […]
Posted inEducation
Doubling down
WHETHER USED AS an income bracket, a collection of values and attitudes, or a state of mind, “middle class” is a pretty broad category. But at its core, middle class […]
Posted inEconomy
The Hub has averted economic disaster before and can do so again
What a difference two decades make. In 1980, Boston was a city in decline, the Hub not of the universe but of a middle-income metropolitan area in a cold-weather state. […]
Posted inUncategorized
Counterpoints
The automobile insurance market in Massachusetts is severely stressed. The signs of this stress are readily apparent: an ever-decreasing number of insurance companies writing policies; auto-insurance writers that are successful […]
Posted inUncategorized
Argument
The automobile insurance system in Massachusetts is a mess. Let us count the ways: Massachusetts has the fourth highest average auto insurance rates in the country and the insurance companies […]
Posted inPolitics
Women try to find some traction in Bay State politics
INTRO TEXT At one point, 2002 was shaping up as a banner year for women in Massachusetts politics. With Acting Gov. Jane Swift poised to run for the office she […]
Posted inUncategorized
Whistleblowers get cover from an environmental group
INTRO TEXT When a federal subpoena seeking thousands of documents on the state’s automobile emissions testing program landed in the offices of the Department of Environmental Protection over the summer, […]
Posted inUncategorized
The state Senate goes under the budget knife
INTRO TEXT Staking their ground as defenders of an already frayed social safety net, Beacon Hill lawmakers voted over the summer to override hundreds of Gov. Mitt Romney’s budget vetoes, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Teacher training methods undergo scrutiny
INTRO TEXT At a time when the federal No Child Left Behind law is requiring a “highly qualified teacher” at the front of every public school classroom, there is more […]
Posted inUncategorized
Job disqualifications
“My thing was shoplifting for drug money,” Angela Flonory says. “I would just go into stores with a duffel bag, take some sheet sets, lingerie. One time I took a […]
Posted inPolitics
Black power
THE BALLROOM on the top floor of the Parker House hotel in downtown Boston was overflowing, and it seemed that the world of Boston politics was being turned […]
Posted inUncategorized
Lodges and lattes
In our last issue, sociologist Theda Skocpol lamented the decline of fraternal organizations in America (“Civic Dissociation,” CW, Summer 2003), saying that such groups appeal to “people from a wide […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Education
A timely look at the racial gap in American schools
No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in LearningBy Abigail Thernstrom and Stephan ThernstromSimon & Schuster, New York, 334 pages. This is a useful and timely, though ultimately somewhat disappointing, book […]
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
After salvaging the Big Dig Andrew Natsios has a tougher task rebuilding Iraq
President George W. Bush’s hopes for re-election are now riding on turning Iraq, a country riven by ethnic and religious factions with no memory of anything but dictatorship, into a […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
A 5 raise buys a lot of trouble for Stonehams town moderator
STONEHAM–Five bucks can’t even get you into a movie in most places, but it can still buy a lot of trouble in Stoneham. Moderator Michael Rotondi won an annual pay […]