THE STATE AUDITOR’S office regularly publishes its audits of state agencies, providing Beacon Hill officials with a review of their performance and giving the general public insight into how Massachusetts government is being run. Most audits are public documents, but over the last six months four audits have been released with major redactions. All four […]
Public Records
Posted inPublic Records
DAs ignore many requests for public records
A correction has been added to this story. THE STATE’S DISTRICT attorneys are sworn to uphold the law, but when it comes to one particular law – the Massachusetts Public Records Law– they often fall short. Under the records law, citizens can file requests for records with state and municipal government entities and are entitled […]
Posted inPublic Records
Healey unveils new public records policy
GOV. MAURA HEALEY unveiled a new public records policy on her office’s website on Monday, but the wording leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Previous governors going all the way back to Paul Cellucci have cited a 1997 Supreme Judicial Court case to say the governor’s office is not covered by the public records law, […]
Posted inEducation
Boston Public Schools withholds 2d part of Mission Hill School investigation
TWO INDEPENDENT reports commissioned by Boston Public Schools figured prominently in the decision to shut down the Mission Hill K-8 Pilot School in Jamaica Plain this summer, but officials are refusing to release a large amount of the information they gathered as part of those investigations. The first report, produced by an attorney named Joseph […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Wellesley gadfly convicted of extortion
A WELLESLEY RESIDENT with a history of hostility with the town was found guilty of extortion last week for threatening to file criminal charges against two Select Board members if they failed to seek the removal of several town officials from their positions. The unusual case centered around Ronald Alexander, a Wellesley resident who has […]
Posted inGovernment, Public Records
Wu not always living up to transparency promises
BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu took office promising greater transparency in her administration, but one barometer of her performance indicates she still has some work to do. Aides say the city has received 3,500 public records requests since Wu took office in November. Of that total, 98 were appealed to the secretary of state’s office because […]
Posted inPolitics
Pioneer Institute launching center to push issues in court
PIONEER INSTITUTE, which has spent more than three decades trying to inform and shape policy in the public arena, is going to take its case for limited government and free-market solutions to court. The Boston-based think tank is launching a legal arm that plans to tackle issues ranging from school choice to business regulation and […]
Posted inPolitics
Galvin looks to grab the reformer label
A DINOSAUR THROWBACK from an earlier era, or reformer willing to challenge the status quo? Bill Galvin has always defied simple pigeonholing, and that trait is on full display as he ramps up his effort to win an eighth term as secretary of state. Galvin has long shown a willingness to go after powerful entities, […]
Posted inPolitics
Sullivan frames secretary of state run as ‘unique moment for our democracy’
THE SECRETARY OF STATE position across the 50 states is not normally one that inflames deep passions or draws lots of attention when it comes to electing the person holding the office. But these are not normal times, and the usually rote business of running elections and certifying vote totals – the chief responsibility that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
State slow to improve criminal justice data collection
A WELL-KNOWN management maxim warns, if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. By that reckoning, those trying to better the state’s criminal justice system are often flying blind. How long, for example, does the average probationer in Massachusetts stay on probation? Or how many people last year had their probation revoked? State Probation Commissioner Edward Dolan has no idea. While each probationer has their […]