Galvin’s slow motion public records office

By Colman M. Herman 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

the state office charged with ruling on the appeals of citizens whose requests for public records have been denied operates at a snail’s pace. About 250 appeals are filed each year with the state Division of Public Records, but it often takes months to get a decision even though four full-time lawyers plus a full-time(...)

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

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(...)

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(...)

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(...)

Education

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(...)

Politics

Risky business

When it comes to cleaning up a mess at the former Medfield State Hospital, can the state police itself?

By Gabrielle Gurley Municipal Government 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

Correction: The story says a second budget amendment proposed by Sen. James Timilty would require the Division of Capital Asset Management to clean up the former hospital site so it could be used without any restrictions. The amendment, which was subsequently signed into law, actually requires DCAM to review its cleanup plan and then report(...)

Criminal Justice

Sex offenders challenge Lynn’s residency ban as unconstitutional

By Christina Prignano 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

a court challenge to a Lynn ordinance that bans Level 2 and 3 sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school or park could impact 43 other cities and towns across the state that limit where sex offenders can live or go. A map of Lynn outlining areas from which Level 2(...)

Politics

Glove, glove me do

By Jack Sullivan 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

Odds are one of the four Republican state senators in Massachusetts has a better chance of getting one of his bills passed than he does of catching a foul ball at a Major League Baseball game. Unless that senator is Robert Hedlund. The 11-term incumbent from Weymouth is a magnet when it comes to foul(...)

Criminal Justice

Changes in laws keep teen drivers safer

By Sam Obar 0 Comments Jul 10, 2012

for most teens, obtaining a drivers’ license means newfound freedom and independence. For many decades, it also meant something more sobering: a higher risk than any other age group that they would die on the road. But new statistics indicate that risk is diminishing. Teen driver fatalities have fallen to a record low in Massachusetts(...)