The debt cap that isnt

When state leaders approved a $2.4 billion Big Dig bailout this spring, they said their plan was responsible. And they said it was fair to taxpayers. What they didn’t say […]

Native American wearing moccasins, a disembodied arm holding a sword, and some words in Latin that hardly anyone can understand. How did Massachusetts end up with this conglomeration of images […]

Gov. Paul Cellucci and other state officials have caught flak over the years for their frequent trips and trade missions to foreign countries. But some state workers who promote Massachusetts […]

The crowd assembled inside the State House to lobby for more legal aid for the needy didn’t exactly fit the stereotype of poor people’s advocates. These were no law students […]

There’s nothing like providing a job benefit one worker at a time. But that’s the way it is when it comes to supporting some government employees during an extended illness. […]

It’s the kind of steaming-hot day that can make even the most good-natured person cranky, but Rosie Mavrogeorge graciously invites a stranger inside her drab, wood-frame apartment building when asked […]

When it comes to drug cases, Judge Sydney Hanlon knows what she’s looking at. As presiding justice of Dorchester District Court, she runs Boston’s busiest community court, with 8,636 criminal […]

Evan Dobelle knew that Trinity College had an image problem when he took over as president in 1995—that’s why he was hired. But the perspective of a hotel doorman helped […]

Here he is at the State House, it’s that time of year, and he just can’t help himself. After quoting the Roman statesman Seneca-“Loyalty is the holiest good in the […]

Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American DreamBy Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff SpeckNorth Point Press, New York, 2000, 256 pagesPicture Windows: How the […]

The special town meeting in Foxborough on December 6 was a civic gathering unlike any other in the town’s history. A tent and heaters were set up outside Foxborough High […]

In his new book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam attempts to quantify what he views as the crumbling character of American civic […]

It’s a quarter to five on a Friday afternoon and Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan is talking on the telephone about the problems facing young people in his city. There’s a […]

What gets lost in the shift from books to screen and merchandise? The magic. My mother would have loved Harry Potter. This might not seem like much to J.K. Rowling, […]

“Don’t Borrow Trouble.” That’s the slogan of the City of Boston’s new program to educate consumers about loan scams and unethical lending practices that could cost them their homes. Given […]

Most taxpayers would agree that it is desirable to reduce the Massachusetts income tax rate to 5 percent, especially given a state income tax burden that is one of the […]

The current economic outlook and spending controls could enable the Commonwealth to accommodate further multi-year tax cuts, if approved by the voters in November 2000, within a balanced budget.” I […]

Last year’s endless budget impasse demonstrated that it can be just as tough to decide how to spend an abundance of state revenue as it is to parcel out budget […]

When Armando Baptiste walked into Dorchester District Court last summer, he was hoping to settle accounts with the law and get on with his life. Indeed, not eager to draw […]

It takes more than a crystal ball, a set of tarot cards, and some New Age music to make it as a psychic in Massachusetts. State law requires all fortune […]