The next Kendall Square?

Harvard tries its hand at innovation on Boston side of the Charles

By Bruce Mohl Growth and Development, Higher Education and Adult Learning 1 Comment Jul 11, 2016

AFTER YEARS OF DELAYS and then years of planning, something big is starting to happen on the Boston side of the Harvard University campus. Out behind the stately Harvard Business School, across Western Avenue, is a big, sprawling space filled with gravel, dirt, and crumbling pavement. It’s not much to look at right now, but(...)

Education

Musical chairs

Constant turnover among school superintendents roils state districts

By Jack Sullivan Elementary and Secondary Education, Gateway Cities, Municipal Government 0 Comments Jul 11, 2016

Photographs by Michael Manning STATE EDUCATION OFFICIALS placed the Southbridge schools into receivership earlier this year, citing continual underperformance in all testing areas, high suspensions and disciplinary problems, and unacceptable graduation rates. A key reason why state officials decided enough was enough was the void at the top of the school system. Since 2011, Southbridge(...)

Criminal Justice/ Politics

Leaks, leaks, and more leaks

Ortiz says she's not responsible; watchdog is toothless tiger

By Bruce Mohl Massachusetts politics 2 Comments Jul 11, 2016

Illustrations by Anthony Freda THE HEADLINES KEEP COMING. “Mayor Walsh is drawn into federal labor probe”…“Prosecutors investigate fees collected by Joyce on Randolph projects”…“Joyce’s role in solar project probed”…”Everett mayor focus of inquiry”…“O’Brien pressed by US anew”…“Everett casino plan under new scrutiny”…“Lawmakers targeted in inquiry.” All these stories have three things in common. They all(...)

Politics

A nation divided

Alan Wolfe, who told us two decades ago we were "One Nation, After All," isn’t so sure anymore

By Michael Jonas National Politics 0 Comments Jul 11, 2016

ALAN WOLFE HAS had a long interest in American democracy and in Americans’ attitudes toward it and toward issues related to religion and morality. But the longtime sociology professor at Boston College is a restless inquirer, having also authored books on topics as diverse as gambling, school choice, political evil, and, most recently, the Jewish(...)

Politics

To serve and elect

Emily Cherniack wants to get more people with military or civilian service backgrounds into public office

By Michael Jonas National Politics 1 Comment Jul 11, 2016

Photograph by Frank Curran The organization you founded, New Politics, is committed to finding and helping elect candidates for office who have backgrounds in the military or civilian service organizations such as AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps. Why is it important to have people with those backgrounds in public office? We’re about people who(...)

Rolling the Dice/ Gambling/ Politics/ Opinion

Building a government agency from scratch

An inside look at the launch of the Mass Gaming Commission

By James McHugh Casinos, State Government 0 Comments Jul 11, 2016

Photographs by Mark Morelli I’VE ALWAYS HAD MIXED FEELINGS about gambling. I had no moral concerns about it; indeed, for years my wife and I had enjoyed a day or two at the Saratoga racetrack each summer. Moreover, I had occasionally visited casinos throughout my life, actually becoming pretty good at blackjack when I was(...)

Gun ownership/ Guns

Mass. chiefs approve most gun permits

Only 1.8% of applicants denied, suggesting discretion not abused

By Jack Sullivan Civil and Constitutional Rights, Firearms, Gun ownership, Municipal Government, NRA, State Government 11 Comments Jul 11, 2016

ONLY A TINY fraction of Massachusetts residents who apply for firearms licenses or identification cards are turned down, suggesting the state’s reputation for restricting gun use may be overstated. Just 1.8 percent of those who applied for Firearms Identification Cards (FID) and licenses to carry concealed weapons between 2010 and 2015 were rejected, according to(...)

Criminal Justice/ Politics

Gateway Cities preoccupied with panhandling

Towns say beggars are bad for business, public safety

By Ted Siefer Civil and Constitutional Rights, Municipal Government 0 Comments Jul 11, 2016

IN NEW BEDFORD, the City Council considered requiring panhandlers to get licenses to ask for money in the city. Manchester, New Hampshire, banned the exchange of items of value between motorists and pedestrians. And Worcester and Lowell enacted ordinances aimed at cracking down on “aggressive panhandling,” which, among other things, banned soliciting in close proximity(...)

Health Care/ Opinion

The art of the non-deal deal

Health care ballot showdown averted, but pricing issue remains

By John E. McDonough 0 Comments Jul 11, 2016

ON MAY 31, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a new law to avert a proposed 2016 state ballot initiative that would have redistributed as much as $450 million annually from Partners HealthCare hospitals to most of the state’s other hospitals by establishing stringent limits on hospital price variation. The new law, “Chapter 115, An act relative to(...)

Energy

Fusion: The next big thing

A Q&A with a remarkably optimistic Dennis Whyte from MIT

By Edward M Murphy 7 Comments Jul 11, 2016

GREATER BOSTON IS on a roll, propelled by innovation. The US Chamber of Commerce recently named the region number one in the nation for “fostering entrepreneurial growth and innovation.” Our universities, medical institutions, research labs, and venture capitalists have combined to develop enterprises on the spearhead of biotech and high technology, producing whole industries that(...)