Spring 2013 correspondence and updates

By CommonWealth Staff 0 Comments Apr 15, 2013

DPH chief criticized It is unfortunate that Interim Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Lauren Smith made statements regarding patients with chronic Lyme disease that do not reflect evolving understanding about the persistent symptoms that many patients experience because of delayed or inadequate treatment. [After the Winter ’13 issue went to press with the article(...)

Uncategorized

Tips, questions, and unexpected surprises

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Apr 15, 2013

PEOPLE ASK ME all the time where we get our story ideas. There’s no easy answer. Sometimes they come from a tip, sometimes they spring from a question that needs answering, and sometimes the story starts out trying to answer one question and ends up somewhere entirely different. In this issue, we have a little(...)

Transportation

The MBTA’s got a ticket to write

By Jack Sullivan 0 Comments Apr 15, 2013

THE STATE AND MOST MUNICIPALITIES impose a surcharge for parking violations and give the vehicle owner 21 days to appeal before assessing a penalty. The MBTA, by contrast, assesses a penalty after just three days, appeal or no appeal. Someone caught parking in a T lot without putting the proper payment in the honor box(...)

Politics

Holyoke mayor trying to get back on track

By Michael Jonas Gateway Cities, Municipal Government 0 Comments Apr 15, 2013

ALEX MORSE took Holyoke by storm two years ago. The 22-year-old freshly minted Brown University graduate shocked the city’s political establishment by defeating Holyoke’s incumbent mayor in a campaign that drew heavily on his youth and energy. Morse argued that the beleaguered former mill city needs to embrace the innovation and arts economy in order(...)

Environment

Natural gas dependence creates close calls

Grid operator sees escalating strategic risk

By Bruce Mohl Energy 0 Comments Apr 15, 2013

THE REGION’S POWER GRID had a close call during the February blizzard. Six power plants running on natural gas ran out of fuel and couldn’t obtain any more. Several oil-fired plants said their fuel stocks were depleted so they couldn’t supply any more electricity. Along with other plants shut down because of storm-related outages, more(...)

Politics

A souper campaign

Fall River mayor mixes soup and politics

By Jack Sullivan Ethics and Open Government 0 Comments Apr 15, 2013

FALLR RIVER MAYOR WILL FLANAGAN is up for reelection this year. He’s also launching a new soup that will be sold in area supermarkets, with the proceeds going to provide scholarships for the city’s students. In the mayor’s mind, his candidacy and his soup are unrelated. But there is obviously some synergy between the campaign(...)

Politics

Gateway insights

Jack Yunits, the former mayor of Brockton, offers his recipes for success, but it would be nice to have more that could be duplicated elsewhere.

By Mark S. Sternman Gateway Cities 0 Comments Apr 9, 2013

Urban Mayor–Making a City WorkBy Jack Yunits with contributions from Lees YunitsBoston, Acanthus Publishing396 pages THE COMMONWEALTH’S GATEWAY CITIES have enormous potential, which explains why state officials, after years of neglect, are making educational and economic development investments in these municipalities to increase job growth beyond Boston. Former MassDevelopment president and CEO Bob Culver liked(...)

Politics

Is two years too short?

Some communities lengthen mayoral terms from two to four years

By Jack Sullivan Demographics 0 Comments Apr 9, 2013

THIRTEEN TIMES between 1983 and 2010, John Barrett III ran for mayor of North Adams and won. But Barrett said the constant drumbeat of running for election in the second year of each two-year term took its toll on his energy and his ability to focus on the job at hand. “You usually spend(...)

Politics

Where the votes are in Boston

By Lawrence S. DiCara and James Sutherland Demographics 0 Comments Apr 9, 2013

THE 2000 CENSUS CATEGORIZED BOSTON as a majority-minority city for the first time in its history, but this new classification has not been the primary cause of a changing political climate in the city over the last decade. Black, Hispanic, and Asian voters, while increasing in number, do not yet represent a significant percentage of(...)

Politics

Capitol turnover

When it comes to congressional clout, seniority isn’t what it used to be

By Shawn Zeller 0 Comments Apr 9, 2013

MASSACHUSETTS REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS have for decades enjoyed key committee and leadership posts in Congress because of their seniority, and the state has reaped the benefits, both in funding from Washington and in policy advantageous to the state. Before his death in 2009, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy delivered funding for state projects ranging from the(...)