US Rep. Paul Ryan ran two races last fall. He went one-for-two. The House budget chief won reelection as a sort of consolation prize, but he lost the race that really counted — a bid to trade his House seat for the vice presidency. The loss stemmed, in large part, from Ryan and his deficit-slashing […]
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Posted inEducation, Politics, The Download
Keane’s wobbly shot across Connolly’s bow
Call it an early shot across the bow. Whether it was intended helpfully to steer a course correction or to serve as the first big blast in the sinking of a mayoral hopeful’s dreams is unclear. In either case, Globe columnist Tom Keane undoubtedly got City Councilor John Connolly’s attention Sunday with his column titled […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Touching moment at Fujita trial
One of the most touching moments in a courtroom occurred on Thursday when Malcolm Astley walked over and embraced the parents of the Wayland High football star who had just been convicted of brutally murdering his daughter. The families had been close during the three years their children were dating in high school. Both children […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Lawyers, guns, and money
Four gun measures are slated to be voted on today by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the votes will give some clues as to the fate of tougher gun control laws in Congress as both sides claim growing support for their views. The horror of the Sandy Hook massacre of 20 6- and 7-year-olds in […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download, Transportation
March madness at the MBTA
No sooner than the MBTA averts catastrophe one year, authority officials begin telegraphing the next year’s bad news. The caterwauling over the budget deficit reaches a crescendo in the month before the T is mandated to deliver a balanced spending plan. That forces fit-to-be-tied MBTA officials to drone on with a script that they can […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Lesson from Cahill case clear as mud
The criminal saga surrounding former state treasurer Tim Cahill came to a close this week. The state Lottery’s former chief of staff, Alfred Grazioso, has agreed to a $10,000 fine and 18 months probation to settle charges of witness intimidation. Cahill settled for a $100,000 fine and 18 months probation last Friday. The settlements mean […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
End of the line for troubled Mass. virtual school
The state’s first and only virtual school is shutting down at the end of the school year, but few tears should be shed for the Greenfield-based online learning academy. The Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield was launched in 2010 by the Greenfield School Committee, and it represented the state’s first foray into the world of […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Galvin calls out Chief Justice
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. touched a nerve in Massachusetts on Thursday when he asserted that the Bay State has the worst record in the country on voting and registration by African-Americans. His remarks came as the high court was hearing arguments on a case involving the Voting Rights Act, which is designed […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Sequester, what sequester?
The sequester is finally upon us. A sense of doom may be gripping Washington, but by the time one gets to Boston, the reaction is mostly “meh.” Even though Massachusetts will take a big hit, average Joes and Janes are either indifferent or unaware of the automatic $85 billion in federal budget cuts that are […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Scream all you want but don’t Yahoo! at home
There’s something ironic, perhaps disconcerting, about a tech company built on people’s ability to access it from anywhere forcing its employees to work in the office rather than at home. And there’s something equally head-scratching that a new mother, hired in her third trimester to take over a Fortune 500 company, who was viewed as […]