Instead of tinkering around the edges of admissions policies, elite colleges need to completely rethink what it means to be prepared for success.
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Time to prioritize out-of-school learning
Every young person deserves to have access to after-school and summer programs because school alone is no longer sufficient for closing opportunity and achievement gaps.
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Unitarians turn empty office space into shelter
With all the public and private resources invested in office space and commercial development in the past generation, yet high vacancy rates forecasted for the foreseeable future, surely there can be more creative uses for spaces like ours to meet this moment.
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Taking a break from health care
Despite its many challenges, Massachusetts health care remains the best in the world. It has the best institutions, the best thinkers, and the best government leaders.
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City Year is now on the Common App
What do City Year AmeriCorps members learn? Among the most important and lasting lessons is leadership. It’s the confidence that they possess what it takes to lead others and the perseverance to solve problems. It’s often an invaluable self-realization of their potential.
Posted inOpinion
Historic structures ‘sitting ducks’ for climate change
Many historic structures and sites, particularly on the East Coast, are located in low-lying areas near the ocean or along rivers and likely built on fill – that’s just the way our early settlements were established.
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We’re closing the digital divide, but more needs doing
Massachusetts has more than 160,000 units of income-restricted housing. According to a study published last fall by MassINC and the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, these properties disproportionately house residents who lack high-speed internet.
Posted inOpinion
Moving on from COVID, last mitigation measure is gone
Every policy has both upsides and downsides, and isolation policy is no exception. At this stage, the scales are tilted far more to the harms of the policy than the benefits.
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Cruel practice of declawing cats should be illegal
Onychectomy, the declawing procedure, is the surgical amputation of all or part of a cat’s third phalanges (toe bones) and the attached claws. Owners typically declaw their cats to prevent the scratching of both furniture and people.
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Mass. is facing a literacy crisis — but there is real potential for improvement
The majority of Massachusetts elementary and middle school students are not reading at grade level, but we can change that by embracing evidence-based instruction that we know will make a difference.
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Senate needs to get in line with House, Healey on transit funding
In brief, the House takes Gov. Maura Healey’s budget and, in several ways, improves it.
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Transmission study reaches some hopeful conclusions
ISO New England’s 2050 Transmission Study, finalized last month, is the first the regional grid operator has undertaken examining the region’s transmission system in detail beyond the traditional 10-year planning horizon.
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Ringling Bros. back, this time with no wild animals
The circus has changed, now passage of legislation is needed
Posted inOpinion
About those beverages with THC from hemp
Hemp and marijuana are both the same cannabis plant, but with the key distinction that hemp is federally legal and marijuana is not.
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Housing legislation could save Cape Cod
The housing crisis ln the Cape is a threat not only to our families, but to our workforce, our seasonal economy, and our way of life.
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Where did education reform go wrong in Massachusetts?
While the courts confirmed that the state was responsible for adequately educating all students, the Education Reform Act made no substantive change to the longstanding tradition of using local school districts to manage and direct the delivery of educational services.
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Here’s how HPC should be reviewing the Steward-Optum deal
Some of the issues arise because of who the seller is and some are tied to worries about this particular buyer.
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Does rent control help or hurt the quest for affordable housing?
Enacting a state law allowing rent control and imposing a “transfer fee” on high-end real estate sales are appealing proposals but opponents say they could have unintended negative effects.
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Starter homes begin with starter lots
Starter homes have become virtually impossible to build in Massachusetts, but we can change that by changing zoning rules governing lots sizes.
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Surprise — not enough skilled workers to fill AI jobs
According to the IBM Global AI Adoption Index 2023, conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of IBM, the top barrier hindering successful AI adoption at enterprises exploring or deploying the technology is “limited AI skills and expertise.”
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State needs to get tougher with hospitals, pharma
With over 30 state reports that identify consistently that provider prices and drug costs drive health care spending, the Center for Health Information and Analysis findings make it clear that hospitals and pharmaceutical companies must do their part to rein in their costs and must have accountability like the regulations on health plans.
Posted inOpinion
Unions key in ramp up to the next industrial revolution
As the presidents of the labor union federations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, we have communicated the importance of a worker-centered approach to building out offshore wind in discussions with state officials and offshore wind developers.
Posted inOpinion
Preserve choice, retain competitive electricity suppliers
Despite the persistent claims from some regulators and consumer advocates that consumers are filing an excessive number of complaints against competitive retail suppliers, the data released by these same groups do not add up.
Posted inOpinion
Mass. wheelchair repair system is a disgrace
AS WHEELCHAIR USERS, we understand that our chairs are much more than just vehicles to get us from point A to point B. They are a lifeline and a connection […]