Perhaps the revelation last week that relatives of House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi had their loans paid off by an indicted associate of the longtime North End pol was the straw that broke the […]
Ethics and Open Government
Posted inPolitics
Rep Cabral to push public records bill
A key state lawmaker says he plans to push legislation this session addressing weaknesses in the state’s Public Records Law — and there appear to be plenty of them. Rep. […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawmaker targets lobbyists largesse
Would a ban on political contributions by lobbyists clean up Beacon Hill? State Rep. Jennifer Callahan, a Democrat from Sutton, doesn’t think a ban would end corruption, but she feels […]
Posted inPolitics
Four months to get utility bill
Getting to the bottom of a story isn’t always easy. Several sources told CommonWealth that electricity usage at the state-owned Ulin Rink in Milton spiked dramatically for several years before […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Finneran’s pardon plea
Tom Finneran may have been the original captain of the Straight Talk Express, the guy who told it like it was and didn't hesitate to deliver unpopular news, especially to the special […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Patrick’s narrow ethics focus
Gov. Deval Patrick's task force on public integrity today unveiled legislation to toughen the state's ethics and lobbying laws, but it shied away from broader, more radical measures to address why corruption always […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Ethics task force hears nuts-and-bolts ideas
Some interesting nuts-and-bolts ideas surfaced at today's public hearing of the governor's task force on public integrity, but no radical measures were proposed to change the way business is done on Beacon Hill. […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Wilkerson informant not so informative
In today's interview with the Globe's Adrian Walker, businessman Ron Wilburn publicly admits for the first time that he is the FBI informant seen handing cash to former state senator […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Working in the dark
states and cities in the US spend more than $50 billion a year in the name of economic development. But these subsidies to create and retain jobs, called everything from […]
Posted inPolitics
Three thoughts
I first met Colman Herman, the author of this issue’s cover story on the Massachusetts Public Records Law, years ago when I was a Boston Globe reporter. He had asked […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Emails reveal no love for AG
INTRO TEXT The attorney general’s office and the governor’s insurance commissioner often disagree, but a public records request earlier this year showed that the squabbling gets nasty at times. Glenn […]
Posted inPolitics
Paper tiger
INTRO TEXT A law designed to shine a bright light on the inner workings of state and local government in Massachusetts is instead leaving much of the bureaucracy in shadows, […]
Posted inPolitics
Mr. Cellophane
Whether we’re checking the test scores of local schools or looking for the fat content of a brand of yogurt, we are all players in a new way of life. […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Preserving power
Secretary of State William Galvin is running a $50 million-a-year state tax credit program like a personal fiefdom. He decides which developers receive historic rehabilitation tax credits from the state […]
Posted inPolitics
Murray uses IG as ombudsman for Phoenix story
INTRO TEXT When the Boston Phoenix reported last year that state Sen. Therese Murray steered $11 million in state money to a crony who failed to deliver on his assignment […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Legislators’ per diems may get a DC boost
INTRO TEXT Per diem payments for mileage, meals, and lodging for Bay State legislators have long been fodder for critics who see no justification for politicians dining out on the […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Closed meetings carry a cost
INTRO TEXT Municipal officials could be in for a rude—and costly—awakening if they don’t follow the letter of the law. The Open Meeting Law, that is. Under bills now pending […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Following the Money
Gregory Sullivan’s first termas IG ends in August, and he’smaking it known that he isavailable for another.phil johnston thought all hell was going to break loose at the State House. […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Statistically Significant
Illustrations By Travis Foster hedging on pork futures Notwithstanding our fame as the site of the “Big Pig” tunnel project, the Bay State gets only scraps of pork from the […]
Posted inPolitics
Local officials warned against chatting about town business online
Winter 2006ROWLEY—The Internet has made shopping, paying bills, reading the newspaper, and, it turns out, breaking the state’s Open Meeting Law more convenient than ever. Fifteen years ago, if town […]
Posted inPolitics
A campaign to take redistricting away from lawmakers
A SYSTEM THAT has “turned democracy on its head”—that’s what Pam Wilmot, leader of the Massachusetts chapter of Common Cause, calls the redistricting process: politicians huddling behind closed doors, drawing district […]
Posted inPolitics
David Bartley takes some parting shots
INTRO TEXT David Bartley is rarely at a loss for words, and this cool autumn afternoon is no exception, as he spins tales from a lifetime of public service and […]