Summer 2014 Editor’s note

Going deep on Probation

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Aug 15, 2014

there’s nothing in this issue about the federal trial of former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and two of his top aides, but that’s only because we’ve been reporting on the case extensively online at commonwealthmagazine.org. For those of you accustomed to reading just our quarterly print publication, the online coverage is worth checking out because(...)

Education

Comeback kids

At Phoenix Charter Academy in Chelsea, former dropouts aim high

By Michael Jonas 0 Comments Jul 15, 2014

JAZZMIN HERNANDEZ DOESN’T fit anybody’s profile of a likely high school graduate, never mind a soon-to-be college student. When she was 10, she and her older brother spent two years in foster care as their mother battled drug addiction. By the time she was in high school, Hernandez was back home with her mom, but(...)

Education

The hiring man

Sidestepping seniority and tenure rules, Boston principals such as William Thomas are hiring who they want.

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Jul 15, 2014

WILLIAM THOMAS, THE headmaster at Charlestown High School, got to do something new this spring: He posted his job openings for next year and personally selected the teachers to fill them. The power to build his own team didn’t receive a lot of attention locally, but it was a revolutionary moment for the Boston Public(...)

Politics

Summer 2014 Editor’s note

Going deep on Probation

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Jul 15, 2014

Arts and Culture

Union officials raise Great Wolf concerns

By Jess Aloe 0 Comments Jul 15, 2014

great wolf lodge, a newly refurbished resort and indoor water park in Fitchburg, opened to great fanfare in early June. Kim Schaefer, the company’s CEO and “Mama Wolf,” was on hand for the opening along with Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong. A few days later Cody Simpson, an Australian pop star and Dancing with the Stars(...)

Economy

State boosting rents for yacht, boat clubs

Harvard to pay $18,000

By Colman M. Herman 0 Comments Jul 15, 2014

state officials are trying to put their property management practices in order, preparing to charge 31 yacht and boat clubs more for the public lands they are leasing and possibly taking one deadbeat yacht club to court for failing to pay its long-overdue back rent. The new rental system, being phased in over the next(...)

Economy

Agency heads differ on expense reimbursements

By Colman M. Herman 0 Comments Jul 15, 2014

the people who run the state’s quasi-public agencies have very different philosophies about seeking reimbursement for the expenses they incur. Noting that “perceptions matter a lot,” Clark Ziegler, the executive director of the Mass Housing Partnership, says he is averse to conducting meetings with bankers, developers, and others over lunch or dinner. “When we schedule(...)

Transportation

She’s fighting for a T pass she can’t use

By Jess Aloe 0 Comments Jul 15, 2014

Caroline Casey was one of 21 people arrested at a sit-in at the State Transportation building in June while advocating for a $10-a-month youth T pass for people age 12 to 21. The activists were protesting the Transportation Department’s lack of action on a youth pass pilot program, which they say Transportation Secretary Richard Davey(...)

Education

Change agent

With her upset victory, incoming Massachusetts Teachers Association president Barbara Madeloni delivered a jolt to the education establishment

By Michael Jonas 0 Comments Jul 15, 2014

Had the leadership of the union sold out the members? That’s a baiting question. I think the union leadership has had a different understanding of the nature of what’s happening. The union leadership thought we could work with people around education reform as if we shared the same interests. The analysis that the membership responded(...)

Politics

Do Not Call

The list is leaking like a sieve, and Massachusetts residents are among those complaining the loudest

By Shawn Zeller 0 Comments Jul 15, 2014

the federal trade Commission’s Do Not Call Registry, once an effective deterrent to unwanted telemarketing calls, is now a toothless tiger. Telemarketing scam artists have found ways around the registry, as reflected in the rising number of complaints from angry consumers. Americans filed more than 3.7 million complaints about unwanted phone calls last year, more(...)