Liberal business group aims for impact on public policy

By Michael Jonas 0 Comments Jul 22, 2008

CAN A SEMI-ANNUAL gathering of liberal-leaning business bigwigs provide a fresh jolt of private-sector energy into civic doings and public policy in Massachusetts? That’s the thinking behind a year-old organization that is looking to connect CEOs and other top corporate officials with initiatives that will let them play a role in shaping policy on such matters(...)

Tax Credits/ Economy

Hidden tax credit

By Bruce Mohl Taxes and Budget Issues 0 Comments Jul 22, 2008

Tax credits are exploding in popularity in Massachusetts. Over the last several years, state lawmakers have approved tax credits to lure movies and movie stars to the state, to redevelop historic buildings, and most recently to give a boost to life science companies. The tax credits are having an impact. At least 88 movie productions(...)

Arts and Culture/ Politics

Play money

By Robert David Sullivan Municipal Government 0 Comments Jul 22, 2008

During tough fiscal times, arts and sports programs are often the first to get cut from municipal budgets. So it’s not a big surprise that the “culture and recreation” category, which accounted for 2.68 percent of all spending in the average Bay State community in fiscal 2000, had dwindled down to 2.08 percent in fiscal(...)

Politics

Point of entry

By Dan Kennedy Media and Journalism 0 Comments Jul 22, 2008

we live in a time of demographic upheaval. We are becoming foreign-born, non-English-speaking, black, brown, yellow, and white. That’s as true in Massachusetts as it is nationally. In 2005, a MassINC study found that one in every seven state residents was from another country. Earlier this year, according to The Boston Globe, the state Department(...)

Criminal Justice

The price of prisons

By Robert David Sullivan 0 Comments Jul 22, 2008

What part of state government is growing faster than education or Medicaid? Nationwide, spending on correctional facilities jumped by 9.2 percent in fiscal 2006, second only to transportation, according to One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008. The report from the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Public Safety Performance Project warns that “prison costs are blowing(...)

Economy

Statistically Significant

By Robert David Sullivan Housing, Taxes and Budget Issues 0 Comments Jul 22, 2008

Illustrations by Travis Foster FORECLOSURE CRISIS FLOODS DOUBLE-DECKERS The current foreclosure wave in Massachusetts has knocked down a disproportionate number of multifamily homes, at least compared with the housing market crash of the early 1990s. That’s one finding in Subprime Facts: What (We Think) We Know About the Subprime Crisis and What We Don’t, a(...)

Politics

Money Man

By Shawn Zeller 0 Comments Jul 22, 2008

Asked what role US Rep. John Olver plays in the 10-member Massachusetts congressional delegation, Rep. Michael Capuano of Somerville puts it very simply: “Money.” Ask Olver about his role and the answer is a little less succinct. OK, make that a lot less succinct. In fact, prepare for a long lecture about how the congressional(...)

Economy

Moving the goal posts

By Bruce Mohl Growth and Development 0 Comments Jul 22, 2008

Sudbury officials say this small stretch of sidewalk along Dakin Street qualified under the Community Preservation Act for partial state funding because the pathway is a recreational facility for walkers, joggers, bikers, skateboarders, and rollerbladers. THE COMMUNITY PRESERVATION Act arose from the noble desire to give municipalities more tools to fight urban sprawl and to(...)

Tax Credits/ Economy/ Politics

Preserving power

By Bruce Mohl Ethics and Open Government, Taxes and Budget Issues 0 Comments Jul 22, 2008

Secretary of State William Galvin is running a $50 million-a-year state tax credit program like a personal fiefdom. He decides which developers receive historic rehabilitation tax credits from the state and how much they get, using a selection process that creates uncertainty for developers and maximizes his political clout. What’s most startling is that Galvin,(...)

Economy/ Transportation

Pump it up

By Gabrielle Gurley Taxes and Budget Issues 0 Comments Jul 22, 2008

For a picture-perfect view of the Boston skyline on a bright, cloudless day, looking from the Longfellow Bridge to the other side of the Charles River is as good as it gets. For scenery of a different sort, amble down the stairway near Storrow Drive and walk underneath the span that links Beacon Hill to(...)

Summer 2008