Can Bay State schools afford online standardized testing?

Tech deficit is $75M

By Gabrielle Gurley Elementary and Secondary Education 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

this spring, there’s a twist to the annual ritual of standardized testing. Many students will trade in pencil and paper and move into the 21st century, taking the state’s new standardized test on computers. But there are plenty of school district officials who know they are not as ready for the digital world of the(...)

Education

Back to school on the American Dream

Congress needs lessons in bipartisan cooperation to get US higher education policy back on track

By John Schneider 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

Degrees of Inequality: How the Politics of Higher Education Sabotaged the American Dream By Suzanne Mettler New York: Basic Books 261 pages the american dream is in trouble. As our economy has become more globalized and competitive, it has become harder to achieve what was once available to most Americans—a good job with a good(...)

Politics

Boston’s challenge for the GOP

GOP has trouble connecting with non-white voters

By Steve Koczela Demographics, Elections 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

The partisan divide between cities and less urbanized areas is growing into one of the defining characteristics of Massachusetts politics. The suburbs are often held up as the place where elections are won or lost, but a steady long-term shift in urban voting is rendering suburban voters less able to change the outcome. Cities’ relatively(...)

Politics

The guiding hand

Though largely unknown outside the world of politics, Mindy Myers has helped three current New England senators win office.

By Shawn Zeller National Politics 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

mindy myers has never called New England home, but she’s nevertheless left her political mark on the region. The 37-year-old Washington insider has run the successful election campaigns of three sitting New England senators—Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island (2006), Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut (2010), and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts (2012). Myers is just as comfortable(...)

Transportation

A can-do attitude

A recounting of the race to build the nation’s first subway is as much about American bravado as it is about a transformative transportation project.

By James Aloisi 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

The Race Underground: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry that Built America’s First Subway By Doug Most New York: St. Martin’s Press 404 pages once upon a time, before the invention of the internal combustion engine and before Henry Ford perfected the mass production of affordable automobiles, transit was king. It was a brief(...)

Politics

Harsh history lessons

Constitutional office looks like a great springboard to becoming governor, but no statewide officeholder has been elected to the state’s top job in almost 60 years. Voters may be telling us something.

By Michael Jonas Elections, State Government 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

IT’S HARD TO HEAR as the chatter bounces off the bare tile floor of the crowded VFW hall in Ipswich. The Democratic town committee is holding its annual breakfast on a sunny Saturday in early February. Local party activists have turned out in droves, and not for the chafing trays of scrambled eggs and bacon(...)

Politics

Threading the needle

For Massachusetts Republicans, it’s an increasingly narrow path to victory. The party’s two best hopes for major office this fall are plotting very different paths to try to get there.

By Paul McMorrow Elections, State Government 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

In his second run for governor, Charlie Baker is focusing heavily on crossover issues that appeal to independents and Democrats. Charlie Baker bounds into the Charlestown Knights of Columbus, where the once and future savior of the Massachusetts Republican Party finds a hall stuffed full of shamrock balloons and voters clad in green sweaters. Baker(...)

Health Care

Free agency

As the industry consolidates, health care networks scramble for control of primary care doctors and their patients

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

Dr. Richard Dupee chats with a patient after an examination. Dr. Richard Dupee is old school. Instead of rushing from one examining room to the next as fast as he can, the 68-year-old Dupee is the type of primary care doctor who does a checkup and then lets the patient get dressed and come into(...)

Politics

Cashing in

The state paid more than $100 million in settlements and judgments since 2005, but officials are tight-lipped about why.

By Jack Sullivan State Government 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

CommonWealth has obtained all settlement and judgment payouts by the State Comptroller from Fiscal Year 2005 though the second quarter of Fiscal 2014. Click here for the data, which includes the name of the agency against which the claim was made, the amount paid, and the recipient. Every year, the Massachusetts Legislature sets aside about(...)

Politics

Paving the way for votes

Former Lawrence mayor William Lantigua made street repaving a centerpiece of his reelection campaign last year

By Jack Sullivan Elections, Municipal Government 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

CORRECTION: The original map that accompanied this story was based on a 2010 draft redistricting plan provided by the Lawrence city clerk’s office in error. The map and legend have been revised to reflect the final redistricting map approved in 2011. former lawrence mayor William Lantigua made street repaving a centerpiece of his reelection campaign(...)

Spring 2014

Tech deficit is $75M

Congress needs lessons in bipartisan cooperation to get US higher education policy back on track

GOP has trouble connecting with non-white voters

Though largely unknown outside the world of politics, Mindy Myers has helped three current New England senators win office.

A recounting of the race to build the nation’s first subway is as much about American bravado as it is about a transformative transportation project.

Constitutional office looks like a great springboard to becoming governor, but no statewide officeholder has been elected to the state’s top job in almost 60 years. Voters may be telling us something.

For Massachusetts Republicans, it’s an increasingly narrow path to victory. The party’s two best hopes for major office this fall are plotting very different paths to try to get there.

As the industry consolidates, health care networks scramble for control of primary care doctors and their patients

The state paid more than $100 million in settlements and judgments since 2005, but officials are tight-lipped about why.

Former Lawrence mayor William Lantigua made street repaving a centerpiece of his reelection campaign last year