Reining in regulation?

By Shawn Zeller 0 Comments Nov 15, 2009

the obama administration has dedicated 2009 to the most ambitious legislative agenda of any president in recent memory, from the economic stimulus package of the winter to this fall’s landmark bills overhauling the health care system and attacking global warming. But 2010 may well turn out to be quite the opposite — one marked by(...)

Economy/ Education/ Opinion

Ed reform erosion

By Edward Moscovitch Elementary and Secondary Education, Taxes and Budget Issues 0 Comments Oct 24, 2009

in 1993, the state passed an education reform law with a funding formula that closely followed proposals I developed with the late Jack Rennie and the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education. The formula’s foundation budget established spending goals for each district; based on those spending goals and local property wealth and personal income, the formula(...)

Politics/ Opinion

Public spaces, private rules

By Ned Flaherty Ethics and Open Government, State Government 0 Comments Oct 24, 2009

many government agencies are quietly redefining themselves as private, nonprofit businesses. Citizens are learning that, at some agencies, public accountability laws no longer apply, or never existed. Our proven tools for ensuring good government include the rights to observe and record government meetings, purchase copies of government records, monitor conflicts of interest, and demand fiscal(...)

Politics

Time warp

By Alison Lobron Demographics 0 Comments Oct 23, 2009

Education

Teacher test

Identifying effective teachers is a vital component in improving our public schools and closing the achievement gap. So why do we act as if all teachers are interchangeable?

By Michael Jonas Elementary and Secondary Education 0 Comments Oct 22, 2009

Illustration by Marc Rosenthal

Uncategorized

Census trends

By Robert David Sullivan Demographics 0 Comments Oct 22, 2009

next year’s us Census promises more drama than usual, thanks to some recent demographic twists resulting from the economic crash of 2008. For example, the latest estimates have the state of Florida, long dependent on the real estate and construction industries, losing population for the first time since World War II. The trend toward bigger(...)

Education

Graduate gap

By Robert David Sullivan Higher Education and Adult Learning 0 Comments Oct 22, 2009

by one measure, Massachusetts is easily the most educated state in the United States. Among our residents over 25 years old, 37.9 percent had at least a bachelor’s degree in 2007, according to US Census data — putting us in front of second-place Maryland (35.2 percent) and far ahead of the nation as a whole(...)

Politics

Municipal workforces

By Robert David Sullivan Demographics, Municipal Government 0 Comments Oct 22, 2009

just about every community in the Bay State is trying to make do with less, but there are huge differences in the sizes of their municipal payrolls in relation to their population sizes. Statewide, there were 393 municipal employees for every 10,000 residents in FY 2008, according to the state Department of Revenue. But the(...)

Uncategorized

Second chances

By Alison Lobron Demographics 0 Comments Oct 22, 2009

INTRO TEXT three years ago, Dan Ladd of Lincoln closed up a real estate law practice and went back to school. Faced with a slow business climate and a desire for a skill he could take overseas, the former lawyer is now in training to be a veterinary technician. Dan Ladd left realestate law to(...)

Uncategorized

Expanding our horizons

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Oct 22, 2009

like everyone else in the news business, we here at CommonWealth are trying to figure out a way to cover the news and cover our costs. Thanks to generous grants from the Boston Foundation and the Knight Foundation, we’ve come a long way over the last year. We’ve expanded our staff and dramatically expanded our(...)