Letter of introduction

By Gloria Cordes Larson and Peter Meade Media and Journalism 0 Comments Aug 1, 2003

On behalf of the MassINC Board of Directors, it is our pleasure to introduce readers to Ian Bowles, the new executive director of MassINC and publisher of CommonWealth. As MassINC begins an important new chapter in its growth and development, we are fortunate to have found someone with Ian’s extraordinary blend of talents and experiences.(...)

Education

Public higher ed deserves attentionand some respect

By Robert Keough Higher Education and Adult Learning 0 Comments Aug 1, 2003

As viewed from the peanut gallery, the struggle over Gov. Mitt Romney’s government-reorganization plan has been a fascinating, if at times horrifying, spectacle. When the plan was outlined in the governor’s budget proposal, the Legislature’s first reaction–from a collection of House task forces that summarily rejected nearly every element, one after another–sparked references in my(...)

Politics

Getting the biggest return on human capital in state government

By Mary Greendale 0 Comments Aug 1, 2003

So it’s reform time again in state government. I sincerely wish Gov. Mitt Romney lots of luck. I was there in 1992, when we were trying to reinvent government under Bill Weld. I served in senior management posts at the Department of Housing and Community Development from 1992 to 1999, and then at the Department(...)

Arts and Culture/ Uncategorized

A devastating picture of the teacher crisis

By Abigail Thernstrom 0 Comments Aug 1, 2003

Who’s Teaching Your Children?Why the Teacher Crisis Is Worse Than You Think and What Can Be Done About ItBy Vivian Troen and Katherine C. BolesNew Haven, Yale University Press, 224 pages. Vivian Troen and Katherine C. Boles dedicate their engaging new book “to the hardest working, least appreciated, most undervalued worker in our society… the(...)

Uncategorized

Letters

By CommonWealth Staff 0 Comments Aug 1, 2003

Mark Jurkowitz did a fine job telling a rather complex story in “Gale force” (Spring 2003). However, I am compelled to add clarity to three points: 1) the Cape Cod Times‘ ability to separate news and opinion, 2) our motivation for opposing the Cape Wind proposal, and 3) why we voiced our opposition early in(...)

Arts and Culture/ Uncategorized

A celebration of doing nothing

By Robert David Sullivan 0 Comments Aug 1, 2003

The Importance of Being Lazy: In Praise of Play, Leisure, and VacationsBy Al GiniRoutledge, New York, 176 pages. Al Gini is a guy I’d like to have by my side when I ask my boss for more time off, but I’d hate to spend my vacation with him. A professor of philosophy at Loyola College,(...)

Uncategorized

Sociologist Theda Skocpol worries that the demise of the Odd Fellows and the rise of advocacy groups leave citizens with nothing to do

By Robert Keough 0 Comments Aug 1, 2003

Though the title was created for sardonic effect by Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam, whose use of it always drips with sarcasm, here’s one small reason Harvard might well be considered the World’s Greatest University: In almost any grave scholarly dispute, disputants on both (or all) sides can be found right there on the Cambridge(...)

Criminal Justice/ Politics

Romneys public safety chief calls for a targeted approach to fighting terrorism

By Shawn Zeller State Government 0 Comments Aug 1, 2003

It’s been a grueling half-year for Gov. Mitt Romney, who has taken his lumps from Beacon Hill Democrats over the state budget and his government reorganization plan, which was summarily rejected by the Legislature in June. But in Washington, Romney has cut an impressive figure as the National Governors Association’s point man on homeland security,(...)

Politics

Why Democrats lack the knack of electing a governor

By Elaine C. Kamarck 0 Comments Aug 1, 2003

Read responses to this article. Why can’t Massachusetts elect a Democratic governor? This stands as one of the bigger political puzzles of the last decade. In national politics, Massachusetts is a bulwark of Democratic strength, and has been in most elections since 1928, when the state went for Al Smith. After two Bay State victories(...)

Economy/ Politics

Marblehead hikes property taxes and avoids a sticky trash situation

By Melanie Nayer Cost of Living and Consumer Affairs, Municipal Government 0 Comments Aug 1, 2003

MARBLEHEAD–Mayors and managers in cash-strapped communities may eye Marblehead with a certain amount of envy this summer, and not just because of the North Shore town’s rocky beaches. Last month, Marblehead voters passed a Proposition 2 1/2 override by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, providing $1.4 million in new revenue for the town and scotching talk(...)

Summer 2003