Summer 2000

Summer 2000

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Where were their neighborsand elected officialswhen the Foxborough trailerpark residents needed them

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The special town meeting in Foxborough on December 6 was a civic gathering unlike any other in the town’s history. A tent and heaters were set up outside Foxborough High School to accommodate the overflow as a record crowd of 2,334 residents–out of a possible 10,000 voters–turned out to decide whether the New England Patriots(...)

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The daddy track

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A little time off at birth doesn’t solve the working-parent dilemma So Tony Blair is back at the office, his parental leave fading into memory. The arrival of little Leo gave rise all too briefly to earnest adult rumination about work, gender roles, and child care. But it’s not too late to parse the chatter.(...)

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Civic Engagement

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In his new book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam attempts to quantify what he views as the crumbling character of American civic life by taking a closer look at public attitudes and community participation. Among the 48 continental states, Massachusetts fares better than most. In Putnam’s composite(...)

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Counterpoint

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There are two separate components to our current housing problem–the need for “affordable housing” and the equally important need for housing that can be made affordable. The distinction might be subtle, but it is significant nonetheless. What is generally thought of as “affordable” rental housing cannot be built today without deep government support. As illustrated(...)

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Argument

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During a two-week period this spring, 27,000 low-income households in Massachusetts applied for federal housing vouchers to help pay their rent. They joined at least 60,000 families already waiting for other government-assisted housing programs. Only a small percentage of these families will receive help. And about half of those who reach the top of the(...)

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The debt cap that isnt

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When state leaders approved a $2.4 billion Big Dig bailout this spring, they said their plan was responsible. And they said it was fair to taxpayers. What they didn’t say was that it would force the state to borrow money in excess of its self-imposed debt cap. Again. In the interest of holding down the(...)

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State seal

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Native American wearing moccasins, a disembodied arm holding a sword, and some words in Latin that hardly anyone can understand. How did Massachusetts end up with this conglomeration of images as its state seal? For that matter, why does the state have a seal at all? We turned to the stewards of the seal, the(...)

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