Worcester’s downtown is full of wide open spaces where homes and offices and restaurants are supposed to go. Most haven’t appeared yet. Today’s Globe digs into the sizable disconnect between […]
Growth and Development
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
No new fees, taxes for convention buildout
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEWithout increases in fees or taxes or additional state funding, operators of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, already the largest building in New England, plan to […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
To be or not to BRA: Is that the question?
During the mayoral primary, the future of the Boston Redevelopment Authority emerged as a hot topic, and rightly so, as the BRA touches on our lives in so many ways. […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Motor City breakdown
“I’d blow up the place and start all over.” That was the quip from Boston Mayor Tom Menino about Detroit that has caused such a stir. Menino’s comment, which appeared […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
BRA may be expanding Sox street deal
The Boston Redevelopment Authority has hired an outside law firm to help negotiate a new deal with the Red Sox for the use of Yawkey Way and the Green Monster […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Managing innovation
You’re the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s Innovation District manager. What does that mean? The Innovation District lives in between planning and economic development. It’s really meant to be an urban lab […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Booting up
MICHAEL FELD IS moving his small tech company from Northampton to Holyoke. That’s not a big deal on its own for Holyoke, but it will be a very big deal […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Bills push tax credits for angel investors
TWO STATE LAWMAKERS are pushing legislation that would create a new tax credit benefitting investors in Massachusetts startup companies, particularly firms located in struggling areas of the state. Rep. Claire […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Reform zoning now
Massachusetts has always been a source of innovative ideas that change the world, from the revolutionary principles that gave birth to democracy to the technological concepts that founded Facebook. But […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, State House News Service, The Download
Good, better, best, and “wow” on casinos
If casino developers don’t “wow” the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, they might as well pack up and go home. The commission released its mammoth 236-page Phase 2 application Tuesday. Developers will […]
Posted inEconomy
Senate budget plan adds 9 Gateway Cities
THE NUMBER OF GATEWAY CITIES in Massachusetts would expand by more than a third under a Senate budget proposal scheduled for debate this week. The budget plan, crafted by the […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, Politics, The Back Story
Artificial Preservation
A state law passed in 2012 bars the use of Community Preservation Act funds to purchase artificial turf for athletic fields, but municipalities are finding a way around the prohibition. […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Springfield bets on sibling rivalry
THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE came to rest on the big money for Massachusetts two years ago when Gov. Deval Patrick signed legislation ushering the Bay State into the casino era. […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Convention center picks hotel operator
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICESTARWOOD HOTELS has beat out Hyatt in the bidding for a two-hotel development across the street from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, giving the BCEC access […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Don’t bottle up liquor licenses
There is a renaissance happening in Boston. Take a look at the activity in the Seaport District — restaurants, cultural events, start-ups and new visitors. Roslindale Square has become a […]
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 inEconomy, State House News Service
Film tax credit launching businesses
A.J. BOLES HAD AN IDEA big enough to drive a truck through. Through his work on a number of films in Massachusetts, including Shutter Island, filmed at the former Medfield […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Economy, Politics
Cause development
JOHN ROSENTHAL’S BLACKBERRY lit up. Media requests poured in from NECN, WCVB, and WBUR. MSNBC wanted to talk. Even the Arabic-language network Al Jazeera found its way to his door. […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Casino deadline
The casino competition in Massachusetts gets real today. Would-be developers have until 5 pm Tuesday to apply for a casino license and submit a non-refundable $400,000 deposit. The deadline, which […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Morse changes mind on casinos — again
Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, who just over two weeks announced a stunning reversal of his strong anti-casino stand and said he would consider gambling proposals for his city, reversed course […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Alex Morse’s brazen casino reversal
It makes John Kerry look like a piker. Even the CEO of shameless shape-shifting, Mitt Romney, might have blushed while trying to pull this one off. Alex Morse, the boy […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Advantage Amazon
Correction: An earlier version of this story mispelled “Ronald Mann.” WITH BLACK FRIDAY not far off, business leaders and municipal officials have been clamoring for the Patrick administration to act […]
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 inEconomy, Politics
A bank for infrastructure
Illustration by Peter and Maria Hoey.the pivot was abrupt, but it hardly sounded unfamiliar. For two straight hours, Joe Curtatone, the mayor of Somerville, had led an auditorium packed […]
