It was 10 years ago that MassINC launched its Gateway Cities initiative with a report documenting the challenges — and huge opportunities — in the state’s once vibrant industrial cities. […]
Gateway Cities
Posted inThe Download
Courting the PawSox
Two suitors are still wooing the Pawtucket Red Sox, and the style of courtship couldn’t be any different. Rhode Island’s approach is loud and raucous. The state’s Senate Finance Committee […]
Posted inThe Download
Grateful for the generals
A hallmark of American democracy has always been that a civilian, the president, is the ultimate commander in chief of the armed forces. It is perhaps the strongest signal we […]
Posted inThe Download
Trump’s disruptive power
Donald Trump signed 42 executive orders in his first 200 days as president. By comparison, Barack Obama, who Trump criticized for signing too many, averaged 35 executive orders a year […]
Posted inThe Download
Here’s the Diehl
Geoff Diehl made it official last night by formally announcing his Republican run against US Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Somebody pass Charlie Baker the antacids. The Whitman state rep mixed his […]
Posted inThe Download
On to the next ballot questions
Now that last year’s final ballot-approved law is in place (Gov. Charlie Baker signed the legislatively amended marijuana bill into law on Friday), Beacon Hill is gearing up for the […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawrence’s Rivera facing tough reelection fight
Photographs by Meghan Moore THE MARCHERS PLOD ALONG, wearing matching maroon shirts and holding campaign signs, fronted by the candidate himself, Mayor Daniel Rivera, who waves to onlookers, his gut […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
Why Lowell is torn over new high school
MEETINGS OF THE LOWELL CITY COUNCIL are typically sparsely attended affairs, characterized by amicable discussions among councilors and unanimous votes. This has all changed in recent weeks, as the city […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, Transportation
Where the food deserts are
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CHELSEA, SPRINGFIELD, AND TAUNTON top a new list of cities with the highest percentage of low-income residents lacking access to grocery stores, a problem with nutrition […]
Posted inEconomy
Holyoke’s mayor isn’t afraid of pot
Photographs by Mark Morelli OUTSIDE HOLYOKE CITY HALL is a stone fountain that once gurgled with water, offering a more wholesome substitute for alcohol to “a thirsty humanity,” as the […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
A better way to address regional inequality
IN THEIR RECENT PIECE “Bridging the urban-rural divide in Mass.,” Lawrence S. DiCara and Matt Waskiewicz address the issue of regional inequality. They explain how the erosion of manufacturing jobs has caused […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Bridging the urban-rural divide in Mass.
EVAN HOROWITZ AND JAMES PINDELL of the Boston Globe remarked in a November 14 article that “the Trump effect” occurred in Massachusetts as well: while Greater Boston voted more Democratic […]
Posted inPolitics
In Lowell, higher salaries for a higher purpose
THE LOWELL CITY COUNCIL is giving itself and the city school board raises on the order of 67 to 100 percent, purportedly as a way to attract a more diverse […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Turning around New Bedford
Photographs by Frank Curran JON MITCHELL WALKS a fine line as the mayor of New Bedford. On the one hand, he is the self-professed squeaky wheel, constantly pressing state and […]
Posted inEconomy
A Springfield revival?
Photographs by Mark Morelli SPRINGFIELD MAYOR DOMENIC SARNO remembers the day after Thanksgiving in 2012. The sky was clear and the temperature unseasonably warm. The mayor was at the city’s […]
Posted inEducation
Musical chairs
Photographs by Michael Manning STATE EDUCATION OFFICIALS placed the Southbridge schools into receivership earlier this year, citing continual underperformance in all testing areas, high suspensions and disciplinary problems, and unacceptable […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Opinion
The income-growth challenge in Gateway Cities
IT’S POSSIBLE FOR an economy to grow in ways that expand opportunity and promote broadly shared prosperity. We know that’s possible because it’s exactly what happened in the United States […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Rivera: Lawrence is strong, people are talking about city
The following is a slightly edited version of the State of the City speech of Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera, which was delivered on Tuesday. I STAND BEFORE YOU TONIGHT to […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
Gaming Commission faces its toughest decision
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, facing perhaps its toughest decision ever, is being urged by two newspapers to give deference to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe as the agency decides whether to […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Rivera: Pushing for change creates enemies
A group in Lawrence is mounting a campaign to recall Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera from office. What follows is the mayor’s response to that effort. His mention of landlords “looking […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Going green can help Gateway City homeowners
THE JUNE HOME SALE NUMBERS for Massachusetts once again showed that Greater Boston sale prices rose, and the market clearly benefited sellers. Unfortunately, that is not the case in many […]
Posted inPolitics
Rivera’s old-school push for change
AT DANIEL RIVERA’S INAUGURATION as mayor of Lawrence in January 2014, he was hailed as the guy who would take the city in a new direction. Even though he squeaked […]
Posted inEconomy, Gambling
Moving beyond Boston
SPRINGFIELD WAS ONCE synonymous with innovation. Today the city that produced the first tire, the first car, the first motorcycle, and the first commercial radio station is counting on a casino […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Holyoke’s school challenge
THIS PAST TUESDAY, after a careful review of the Holyoke Public Schools, Commissioner Mitchell Chester recommended that the state Board of Education take a vote on whether to place our […]