Not adding up

Two decades after ed reform promised a level playing field among poor and affluent communities, Massachusetts is again a state of haves and have-nots

By Linda Enerson Elementary and Secondary Education 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

After CommonWealth went to press, the state budget was finalized. The Senate proposal for a Foundation Budget Review Commission, described in the final paragraphs of the story, was not agreed to by the House. Illustration by Richard Mia. orange, a small town of 7,800 along the Millers River in Franklin County, is exactly the(...)

Health Care

Cerberus’s health care play

The owner of the for-profit Steward Health Care is taking on Boston's big teaching hospitals

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

Illustration by Yuta Onoda. Chris Hopey, the president of Merrimack College, brought an intriguing proposal late last year to his board of trustees: Steward Health Care, the upstart, for-profit hospital chain that is challenging some of the biggest players in the Massachusetts health care industry, wanted to transfer Carney Hospital in Dorchester to the(...)

Economy/ Environment

Tap vs. bottled

DC Water is trying to transform cheap, environmentally friendly tap water into a powerful brand

By Elizabeth Bennett Cost of Living and Consumer Affairs 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

in the battle between tap and bottled water, bottled water usually has all the zest. Perrier, Poland Spring, Fiji, Glacier—these companies reel consumers in with big-budget advertising campaigns promoting crystal clear waters from exotic locales all over the world. It’s not easy to counter those images if you’re running the local public water authority. But(...)

Economy/ Politics

Rumble in the park

The nonprofit group formed to operate and maintain Boston's Greenway is being threatened by a political fight over who should fund it

By Paul McMorrow Municipal Government, Taxes and Budget Issues, Urban Affairs 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

Richard Davey, the state secretary of transportation, wants to wean the Greenway off public funds. state transportation secretary Richard Davey darts across Atlantic Avenue, lays down his umbrella, and settles under the roof of the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion. It’s a raw, wet day that feels more like March than June, but even with the(...)

Economy/ Education

What would Jesus do?

The Catholic Church is using deeds associated with its land sales to spread its word - including blocking charter schools and other churches

By Jack Sullivan Elementary and Secondary Education, Growth and Development 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

The Holy Trinity School in Lawrence, which closed in 2004, was recently sold with the restriction that it not be used as a charter school for the next 90 years. Photo by J. Cappuccio. Boston cardinal Seán O’Malley condemns the Obama administration’s requirement that all employers, even religious ones, offer insurance covering the cost of(...)

Politics

What happens to unused campaign funds?

By Wilder Fleming and Jack Sullivan State Government 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

when elected officials leave office, they take a lot of things with them: memories, the appreciation of colleagues and constituents, and a pension if they served long enough. Some also leave with unused funds in their campaign accounts, money that can legally be spent however they wish as long as it satisfies the loose definition(...)

Education/ Politics

The university connection

By Wilder Fleming Higher Education and Adult Learning 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

scott brown and Elizabeth Warren have been running neck and neck in the polls for months, but when an October survey conducted by the University of Massachusetts Lowell became one of the first to indicate the competitiveness of the Senate race, it made big headlines. The poll was cited in news stories across the country,(...)

Health Care/ Politics

Shifting alliances

By Shawn Zeller National Politics 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

the american medical Association, the venerable lobby organization for doctors, was for years a reliable Republican-leaning voice on big health care issues. For much of the past decade, however, the organization seemed to be on a drift to the left. First, it endorsed the Patients’ Bill of Rights guaranteeing patient protections against insurance companies. Then(...)

Politics

Was it something we said?

By Bruce Mohl Media and Journalism 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

massinc is a small nonprofit that does research, hosts civic events, and publishes CommonWealth four times a year. Most people outside of our fairly wonky world have never heard of us. Yet you’d never know that from reading the Boston Herald in June. Over the course of three days, the tabloid ran a series of(...)

Politics

Summer 2012 Correspondence

By CommonWealth Staff Media and Journalism 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

Democracy is messy, but not a weakness Your Editor’s Note, “Closed-door democracy” (Spring ’12), was meaningful to me. It’s human nature not to appreciate what we have until we lose it. I’m sure reporters on Beacon Hill don’t have deadline problems now because without debate there aren’t many stories. Democracy’s very design makes it “slow,(...)