DOES THE NUMBER combination 23, 31, 42, 50, 57 mean anything to you? That was the million-dollar winner in the Powerball game from Sept 26, 2015, purchased at the American Legion post in East Springfield. Unfortunately for whoever had it, the deadline to cash it was Monday and it went unclaimed, meaning Massachusetts’ share of the […]
Jack Sullivan
Jack Sullivan is now retired. A veteran of the Boston newspaper scene for nearly three decades. Prior to joining CommonWealth, he was editorial page editor of The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, a part of the GateHouse Media chain. Prior to that he was news editor at another GateHouse paper, The Enterprise of Brockton, and also was city edition editor at the Ledger. Jack was an investigative and enterprise reporter and executive city editor at the Boston Herald and a reporter at The Boston Globe.
He has reported stories such as the federal investigation into the Teamsters, the workings of the Yawkey Trust and sale of the Red Sox, organized crime, the church sex abuse scandal and the September 11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the State House, state and local politics, K-16 education, courts, crime, and general assignment.
Jack received the New England Press Association award for investigative reporting for a series on unused properties owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and shared the association's award for business for his reporting on the sale of the Boston Red Sox. As the Ledger editorial page editor, he won second place in 2007 for editorial writing from the Inland Press Association, the nation's oldest national journalism association of nearly 900 newspapers as members.
At CommonWealth, Jack and editor Bruce Mohl won first place for In-Depth Reporting from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors for a look at special education funding in Massachusetts. The same organization also awarded first place to a unique collaboration between WFXT-TV (FOX25) and CommonWealth for a series of stories on the Boston Redevelopment Authority and city employees getting affordable housing units, written by Jack and Bruce.
Posted inTransportation
T janitors say private vendors cut health benefits
JANITORS FOR THE private vendors contracting with the MBTA, who could go on strike on Friday if no agreement is reached, told alarmed members of the Fiscal and Management Control Board that the companies are cutting corners by reducing workers schedule by one hour so they don’t qualify for health and other benefits. “I get […]
Posted inTransportation
Advocates push T to restore late-night service
MBTA OFFICIALS CONTINUED to take a slow approach to rebooting late-night bus service over concerns about cost despite a detailed plan from advocates and pleas from state and local officials that such a service is a matter of equity for low-income earners rather than a convenience for millennial barhoppers. State Rep. Adrian Madaro of East […]
Posted inPolitics
Pot opponents mislead on costs, local aid threat
LT. GOV. KARYN POLITO suggested earlier this week that passage of the ballot question legalizing recreational marijuana could lead to a reduction in local aid to pay for regulating the new industry and public safety costs, but there is little evidence to support her claim. At a meeting of the Local Government Advisory Commission on Tuesday, […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA to double capital spending
MBTA OFFICIALS SAY they want to overhaul the process and change the culture at the agency to ramp up spending on capital projects after once again finishing the year without using all the funds available to address the aging equipment and infrastructure that breaks down and causes delays regardless of the season. “We believe we […]
Posted inTransportation
Union protests T privatizing
HUNDREDS OF ORANGE-CLAD MBTA union workers and supporters crammed the Fiscal and Management Control Board meeting Monday to loudly — and, in some cases, profanely – protest the administration’s efforts to privatize agency services. “We think it is time we make our voice heard,” said Carmen’s Union President James O’Brien. “For months, we have attempted […]
Posted inPolitics
Joyce absolved of wrongdoing
SEN. BRIAN JOYCE obtained all the required permits to renovate his home, according to a report by the Milton Town Administrator that rebuts questions raised in a newspaper article over whether the lawmaker clandestinely renovated his house without town officials’ knowledge. “Based upon my review of these files and my consultation with the Building Commissioner, I conclude that the […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker says DCR suspensions send right message
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday applauded one of his cabinet secretaries for handing out one-week suspensions without pay to the top two officials at the Department of Conservation and Recreation for using state resources to host a private party. “This is exactly the right kind of message,” Baker said at an event in Plymouth. “It’s […]
Posted inPolitics
Milton board backs Joyce
THE THREE MEMBERS of the Milton Board of Assessors said on Tuesday that they will review and probably reassess state Sen. Brian Joyce’s home, but they indicated the lawmaker had done nothing wrong. The hearing was held in the wake of a Boston Globe story last week that charged that Joyce’s home was vastly undervalued […]
Posted inPolitics
Questions raised over Globe’s Joyce story
MILTON TOWN RECORDS and interviews with local officials are calling into question the accuracy of a Boston Globe story suggesting embattled state Sen. Brian Joyce shortchanged the municipality on property taxes. Last week, the Boston Globe ran a page one story under the all-caps headline “SENATOR’S RENOVATIONS A SURPRISE TO ASSESSORS.” The story, accompanied by […]