Is hosting big events like the IndyCar race or Olympics the mark of a world-class city, or more of a distraction from the things that give Boston a global edge […]
Boston 2024
Coverage of the bid to bring the 2024 Summer Olympics to Boston
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
The gay marriage-Boston 2024 connection
I CLOSELY FOLLOWED the debate around the Boston 2024 Olympics bid, and it seemed odd to me at first, but I just kept connecting it to the gay marriage fight, […]
Posted inOlympics
What does Boston’s withdrawal say about the city?
Statement of No Boston Olympics Boston is a world-class city. We are a city with an important past and a bright future. We got that way by thinking big, but […]
Posted inOlympics
Boston drops out of running for Olympics
THE PRIVATE GROUP seeking to host a Boston Olympics in 2024 dropped its bid on Monday, shortly after Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Gov. Charlie Baker told the US Olympic […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Five takeaways from the Olympics debate
THIS BOSTON OLYMPICS DEBATE was a train wreck. There were occasional flashes of insight, but overall the two reporters asking the questions and the four debaters answering them did little […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
4 things to watch in Olympics debate
THURSDAY NIGHT, Boston 2024 and No Boston Olympics will meet in a debate hosted by Fox25 and the Boston Globe. Boston 2024’s representatives will be chairman Steve Pagliuca and Daniel […]
Posted inEconomy, Olympics, Opinion
Olympics jobs shouldn’t be union only
BOSTON 2024’s second plan to host the Summer Olympics in Massachusetts attempts to convince taxpayers it’s financially feasible and responsible. However, the inclusion of a discriminatory and costly hiring policy […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Americans really want to host Olympics
AMERICANS REALLY WANT to host the 2024 Olympics. They want it more than they have in the past. They want it more than other countries do. They want it more […]
Posted inOlympics
State leaders react cautiously to Bid 2.0
THIS WAS NOT a slam dunk drawing wild cheers. Or a back two-and-a-half somersault with a splashless pool entry. In Summer Olympics sport terms, Boston 2024’s presentation to state leaders […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion, Transportation
Pride alone won’t fix things
PRIDE IS A tricky emotion. Even in ancient times, thought leaders cautioned people about the dangers of pride. “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before the fall,” is […]
Posted inOlympics, State House News Service
Boston 2024 backs state referendum
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE CHIEF BACKER of a Boston bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics is now supporting the idea of a 2016 referendum on the bid. Suffolk Construction […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Olympics bad news for W. Mass
THE OLYMPICS IN Boston in 2024 sounds like a grand plan. It certainly would put Boston and the Commonwealth on the international map; but, leave western Mass off the same […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Boston Olympics? Yes!
IT’S TIME TO get serious about a possible Boston Olympics – and to ensure that the benefits of such a global event are shared fairly with all. While there is […]
Posted inOlympics, State House News Service
Patrick’s Olympic pay: $7,500 per day
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FORMER GOV. DEVAL PATRICK will be compensated $7,500 per day when he travels on behalf of the backers of a bid to bring the 2024 Summer […]
Posted inOlympics
Olympics once-in-a-century opportunity
Remarks prepared for delivery to the Boston Municipal Research Bureau. As I said last month, this isn’t Loon Mountain, it’s the city of Boston. But with 100 inches of snow […]
Posted inOlympics, The Download
An elephant in the Olympics financing room
There has been all sorts of talk about the costs of a Boston Olympics, with elected officials left and right stamping their feet, drawing lines in the sand, and otherwise […]
Posted inOlympics, The Download, Transportation
Blizzard burying Olympics bid?
It’s easy to forget in the mind- and finger-numbing midst of Snowmaggedon about Boston’s 2024 Olympic bid – easy to forget, that is, if you don’t pay attention to everyone decrying […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
The real Olympics debate
EVALUATING THE COSTS as well as the benefits of hosting the Olympic Games needs to extend beyond considerations of economic or infrastructure changes. We should talk also about an even larger […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Remember the Big Dig
AS THE SON of a history teacher, my father taught me early on that a strong appreciation of history is essential for understanding the issues and challenges of the present. […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Why I went from no to yes
IN THE BEGINNING of 2014, I was one of the co-founders of No Boston Olympics, a group of volunteers formed to oppose Boston’s Olympic bid. By December I had left […]
Posted inHealth Care, Olympics, The Download
Vaccines become campaign issue
The editorial pages of the Boston Globe and Wall Street Journal rarely agree on anything, but on Tuesday both newspapers criticized parents and politicians who think vaccines are potentially dangerous […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
How about a Gateway Cities Olympics?
EVEN NAYSAYERS BELIEVE the 2024 Olympic bid is a rare opportunity to generate fresh ideas about the future of the Commonwealth. For a productive conversation, a shared understanding of priorities […]
Posted inOlympics, State House News Service
Falchuk spearheads statewide Olympics referendum
EVAN FALCHUK, WHO waged a spirited run last year as an independent candidate for governor, is back in campaign mode, hoping to drive a statewide ballot question that would forbid […]
Posted inOlympics
Olympics numbers don’t add up
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH and representatives of Boston 2024 have made claims about levels of public support for the idea of a Boston Olympics that are not supported by the […]