Republicans nationally have been licking their chops over the prospects of midterm election gains, with doubts about the Affordable Care Act the lead card the GOP will play in many […]
Demographics
Posted inPolitics
Boston’s challenge for the GOP
The partisan divide between cities and less urbanized areas is growing into one of the defining characteristics of Massachusetts politics. The suburbs are often held up as the place where […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Mass. GOP’s urban challenge
The road to the Massachusetts governor’s office used to run through the belt of suburbs between Boston and Worcester. Now, it runs through cities. And that shift makes the state […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Breakfast special
“Do not adjust your television set.” With that, Linda Dorcena Forry dispensed to great laughter with the issue that has made her the lead character of late in Boston’s ongoing […]
Posted inPolitics
The blue-red color divide in Massachusetts
On a national political map, Massachusetts is reliably blue, a Democratic stronghold. The congressional delegation is all Democrat, the State House is overwhelmingly Democrat, and every constitutional officer is a […]
Posted inEconomy, Education
DOR deals with ‘silver tsunami’
The Massachusetts Revenue Department, facing a “silver tsunami” of retiring workers, is creating its own employee pipeline. Instead of posting a job and hoping for the best, the Revenue Department […]
Posted inPolitics
Asians do better than their numbers would suggest
One minority group that seems to be moving assertively into Greater Boston’s power structure is Asians. They are making stronger inroads in the workplace than blacks and Hispanics, who outnumber […]
Posted inPolitics
The numbers for the state, Boston show improvement
The minority hiring records of the state of Massachusetts and the city of Boston are both relatively good, a sharp contrast to most companies in the private sector. State records […]
Posted inUncategorized
The GOP’s corner office strategy
While Massachusetts ranks as one of the bluest states in the nation, giving the average Democratic presidential nominee a 20-point advantage over his GOP rival in the last 14 elections, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Diversity lacking at Boston law firms
Nutter McClennen & Fish, one of the largest law firms in Boston, is proud to point to the fact it was founded way back in 1879 by renowned Supreme Court […]
Posted inUncategorized
No seat at the table
Boston has come a long way since the days of school busing in the 1970s. The city is far more racially diverse, with blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and other minority groups […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
What makes a community livable?
CNNMoney this week issued its annual list of America’s best places to live, and Sharon came in first. Two other Massachusetts towns were also on the list: Westford at No. […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Elections highlight shifts in Boston voting
In the spring issue of CommonWealth, we wrote about the shifts occurring in the distribution of votes in Boston, highlighting the big increase in votes coming from downtown and other […]
Posted inEconomy
Poverty sprawl
INNER CITY SLUMS along with isolated rural outposts, have long defined our concept of poverty in America. Whether it is endless blocks of urban deprivation or a dilapidated house with […]
Posted inPolitics
Where the votes are in Boston
THE 2000 CENSUS CATEGORIZED BOSTON as a majority-minority city for the first time in its history, but this new classification has not been the primary cause of a changing political […]
Posted inPolitics
Is two years too short?
THIRTEEN TIMES between 1983 and 2010, John Barrett III ran for mayor of North Adams and won. But Barrett said the constant drumbeat of running for election in the […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Big disparity on teen births
The state’s teen birth rate hit its lowest recorded level ever and analysts are crediting the use of contraception rather than a change in behavior for the decline. In 2010, […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Patrick’s new spending needs ‘place’ component
FOR WELL OVER A DECADE now, squeezing growth out of the Massachusetts economy has felt a bit like getting that last ounce of toothpaste from the tube. Gov. Deval Patrick […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
A poor showing
The Census Bureau has caught up with reality and the numbers are grim. After a half-century of accounting only for inflation when measuring the poverty line, the federal head counters […]
Posted inEconomy
Half full or half empty?
from the sound bites blanketing the airwaves, it’s clear that politicians everywhere are concerned about the impact of the recession and slow recovery on the middle class. Elected leaders intuitively […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Economy
The great divide
Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960 – 2010By Charles MurrayNew York, Crown Forum, 407 pages Reviewed by Ralph Whitehead, Jr in the america of 1960, writes Charles Murray […]
Posted inPolitics
Campaign not much of a contest
two years ago, we had stories showing the Bay State was dead last in the country for the number of contested races for the Legislature, with less than 17 percent […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Study takes measure of Boston poverty
A study released last month by The Boston Foundation delivered grim news about the state of racial inequality in the Hub, depicting alarmingly high levels of poverty within black and […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Politics
A way out of gridlock
with unemployment too high, economic growth too low, and the gap between the rich and poor widening, the American Dream is hurting. Adding to the gloom is the polarization in […]