A check on bad student loan debt

The feds are writing off millions of dollars in bogus student loans every year

By Jack Sullivan Higher Education and Adult Learning 0 Comments Nov 15, 2013

Last year, federal education officials did something they almost never do: They wrote off more than $3 million in student loan debt belonging to nearly 500 students. Short of dying or paying them off, students almost never shed their college debt, even through bankruptcy. Yet the 500 students managed to convince the federal government that(...)

Politics

Meet the press — somewhere else

Gov. Patrick, unlike his predecessors, doesn't use his press room to talk to the press

By Jack Sullivan Media and Journalism, State Government 0 Comments Nov 15, 2013

For decades, whoever occupied the third-floor corner office at the State House would hop into the elevator outside his (or, in the case of Gov. Jane Swift, her) suite to go down to Room 157, the first-floor room designed for press conferences. That, however, has changed dramatically under Gov. Deval Patrick, who seems to prefer(...)

Politics

Buddy, can you spare a quarter — million?

The state's own 1 percent

By Jack Sullivan State Government 0 Comments Nov 15, 2013

The 1 percent lost a little footing last year in the state’s workforce. According to records, the number of state employees earning more than $250,000 a year dropped from 72 in 2012 to 62 this year. Employees at the University of Massachusetts dominate the big-ticket earners, with all but four of the 62 members of(...)

Uncategorized

What should a city charge for renting a sidewalk?

Boston's fees for restaurants using city sidewalks for dining is in need of updating

By Colman M. Herman Urban Affairs 0 Comments Nov 15, 2013

The city of Boston rents its sidewalks for outside dining to more than 50 restaurants using a fee structure that is getting poor reviews from budget watchdogs and economists. The base fees the city charges restaurants for using sidewalk space haven’t changed since the program’s inception 13 years ago, even though a lot has changed(...)

Politics

Asians do better than their numbers would suggest

One minority group that seems to be moving assertively into Greater Boston’s power structure is Asians

By Bruce Mohl and Colman M. Herman Demographics, Municipal Government 0 Comments Nov 15, 2013

One minority group that seems to be moving assertively into Greater Boston’s power structure is Asians. They are making stronger inroads in the workplace than blacks and Hispanics, who outnumber them significantly. Census data indicate Asians represent 9 percent of Boston’s population, compared to 18 percent for Hispanics and 22 percent for blacks. Despite their(...)

Politics

The numbers for the state, Boston show improvement

The minority hiring records of the state of Massachusetts and the city of Boston are both relatively good

By Bruce Mohl and Colman M. Herman Demographics, Municipal Government, State Government 0 Comments Nov 15, 2013

The minority hiring records of the state of Massachusetts and the city of Boston are both relatively good, a sharp contrast to most companies in the private sector. State records for fiscal 2012 indicate that nearly a quarter of the 44,445 executive branch employees are minorities, three times the percentage in 1983 when the Globe(...)

Uncategorized

Diversity lacking at Boston law firms

'Honestly, we're not where we want to be'

By Colman M. Herman Demographics 0 Comments Nov 15, 2013

Nutter McClennen & Fish, one of the largest law firms in Boston, is proud to point to the fact it was founded way back in 1879 by renowned Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis. In an interview, managing partner Deborah Manus is quick to quote Brandeis: “In differentiation, not in uniformity, lies the path of progress.”(...)

Environment

The zombie coal plant

Environmentalists want to kill off Brayton Point. The Patrick administration says let the market do the dirty work.

By Paul McMorrow Energy 0 Comments Nov 15, 2013

Jay O’Hara didn’t have to see the gun to get spooked. The sound of the bullet hitting the chamber of a police officer’s rifle was enough. “I heard the bolt action of the rifle over my shoulder,” O’Hara recalls. “It wasn’t pointed, but it’s locked and loaded. It’s an unmistakable, chilling sound.” O’Hara, a 31-year-old(...)

Uncategorized

No seat at the table

Despite talk of ‘valuing diversity,’ as well as the encouraging ways that Boston has opened up, the region’s power structure still largely excludes blacks and Hispanics

By Bruce Mohl and Colman M. Herman Demographics 0 Comments Nov 15, 2013

Boston has come a long way since the days of school busing in the 1970s. The city is far more racially diverse, with blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and other minority groups now accounting for more than half of the city’s population, up from less than a third in 1980. Signs of that diversity are growing. We(...)