Civil service hiring rules promote mediocrity among public safety workers

By John OLeary Employment, State Government 1 Comment Apr 1, 2004

There is a public safety crisis in Massachusetts, a crisis of our own making. The quality of our workforce is not what it should be, and it’s our own fault. At a time when public safety depends more than ever on a professional, educated workforce, the Commonwealth operates under a set of archaic rules that(...)

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New inductees for the state’s endangered species list, carefree men and worried women, a treasure trove of data from the Pioneer Valley, New York Citys complaint hotline, Bostons enthusiasm for the arts, Amazon’s nailing of local reading habits

By Robert David Sullivan Demographics 0 Comments Apr 1, 2004

Swan song for the twilight moth? State wildlife officials are singing the blues over the Twilight Moth, believed to be near extinction in Massachusetts. They’re proposing to add the moth, last seen near the former Devens army base, to the list of endangered species in the state, along with the Precious Underwing Moth and the(...)

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Letters

By CommonWealth Staff 0 Comments Apr 1, 2004

We may be tucked away in West Cambridge, but Sky & Telescope is the oldest, most successful consumer astronomy magazine on the planet! But surprisingly, there was no mention of S&T in your wonderful article about the state of magazine publishing in Boston (“Short shelf life,” CW, Winter ’04). Since 1940, S&T has been a(...)

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The Bay States march up the State of Caring Index

By Robert David Sullivan Demographics 0 Comments Apr 1, 2004

Massachusetts became a kinder and gentler state during the 1990s, at least according to the United Way of America’s State of Caring Index, which was updated last December and includes 35 indicators–from the percentage of citizens living below the poverty level to voter turnout for presidential elections. The Bay State jumped from 18th to fifth(...)

Economy/ Politics

Sociologist Thomas Shapiro says that a lack of assets, not income, is holding African-Americans back

By Robert Keough Civil and Constitutional Rights, Cost of Living and Consumer Affairs 0 Comments Apr 1, 2004

On the issue of economic inequality, Americans are of two minds. On the one hand, we value opportunity over security, balancing a meager safety net (compared with other developed countries) with the promise of upward mobility for those with ability, gumption, and tolerance for hard work. The idea of opportunity itself suggests variability of outcomes,(...)

Politics

State of the State speeches accentuate the positive

By Robert David Sullivan State Government 0 Comments Apr 1, 2004

A State of the State address is no time for bad news, unless it’s your first year as governor and you have predecessors to blame. “This is a government with problems at its very core, and these problems have festered for decades,” said Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher in January, and it goes without saying that(...)

Economy/ Politics

The state budget should focus on outcomes not allocations

By David Osborne and Peter Hutchinston State Government, Taxes and Budget Issues 0 Comments Apr 1, 2004

Since 2001, Gov. Mitt Romney and the Legislature have cut spending by almost $3 billion. While also raising taxes and fees, the state has reduced Medicaid services, eliminated health insurance for some of the poor, decimated public health programs such as the anti-smoking campaign and drug prevention, virtually eliminated funding for outpatient mental health care(...)

Economy

Downtown Bostons Greenway is still up in the air

By Phil Primack Growth and Development 0 Comments Apr 1, 2004

INTRO TEXT By the time this article appears, an agreement may finally be in place about how to govern and maintain the 27 acres of downtown land now opening up in Boston as the steel cloud of the Central Artery disappears. Then again, maybe not. The complicated mix of public and private parties that for(...)

Politics

Charles Euchner leaves big shoes to fill at the Rappaport Institute

By Michael Jonas Urban Affairs 0 Comments Apr 1, 2004

It may have been a native son of Cambridge who proclaimed all politics is local, but that has not always seemed the guiding principle at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. The renowned graduate school of policy and politics regularly plays host to leaders from the national and world stage, but rarely from across the river(...)

Economy

Cape Cod’s tourism industry shudders at a cap on worker visas

By Jennifer C. Berkshire Employment, Immigration 0 Comments Apr 1, 2004

INTRO TEXT Every summer, Chuck Rigg, owner of The Commons, in Provincetown, counts on an influx of Jamaican workers to staff the 19th-century hotel and bistro he operates with partner Carl Draper. But a surprise decision by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services to limit the number of foreign workers admitted to the US(...)


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