Letters

By CommonWealth Staff 0 Comments Feb 1, 2006

Loved Mark Murphy’s article (“Rooting for the Home Team,” CW, Fall ’05) about minor-league and indy-league ballclubs in Massachusetts. I’m a fan of the North Shore Spirit, who play at Fraser Field in Lynn. I look forward to opening day every year. I pay $5 for a bleacher seat along the first base line and(...)

Economy

Growth spurts

By Robert David Sullivan Demographics, Growth and Development 0 Comments Feb 1, 2006

The 21st century has brought more choices to people looking for apartments and condos just outside Boston or spacious homes in the Berkshires, but the construction spurt hasn’t been so great in most of the bedroom communities near I-495. Overall, the number of permits for new homes in Massachusetts jumped by 25 percent between 2000(...)

Economy

“Strapped” author Tamara Draut explains why young adults arent getting ahead

By Robert Keough Cost of Living and Consumer Affairs 0 Comments Feb 1, 2006

In her new book, Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead, Tamara Draut crunches numbers and interviews young adults across the country to show how, for the generations following the Baby Boomers, the transition to full-fledged adulthood—living on your own, launching a career, starting a family—has become difficult to accomplish without going broke.(...)

Politics

Turning 10

By Ian Bowles 0 Comments Feb 1, 2006

In 1996, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at about 4,000 and just beginning its dizzying five-year runup to more than 11,000. The United States was in the midst of the longest period of sustained economic growth on record. Wealth was being created on a scale not seen in our history. In politics, Bill Weld(...)

Economy

As jobs go off the books immigrants edge out some nativeborn workers

By Paul E. Harrington and Andrew Sum Employment 0 Comments Feb 1, 2006

The economic recovery from the recession of 2001, both nationally and in Massachusetts, has been not only mixed, but also puzzling in a number of key respects. Nationally, growth has been fairly robust in Gross Domestic Product and corporate profits, and housing prices have risen rapidly in both the state and the nation through the(...)

Economy

Federal tax reform could be a mixed bag for Massachusetts

By Shawn Zeller Taxes and Budget Issues 0 Comments Feb 1, 2006

Winter 2006 When President Bush’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform issued its report in November after 10 months of study and debate, US Sen. John Kerry wasn’t impressed. A fairer, simpler tax code will never come about, Kerry said, “so long as this process is driven by politics and special interests.” That’s hard to(...)

Economy/ Politics

Counterpoint

By Noah Berger Municipal Government, Taxes and Budget Issues 0 Comments Feb 1, 2006

Michael Widmer and Cameron Huff accurately document the damaging cuts that have been inflicted on cities and towns over the past five years. When we reduce spending on education, public safety, and other basic government services, we not only reduce the quality of life in our communities today, we also threaten the economic future of(...)

Politics

Local officials warned against chatting about town business online

By Ray Hainer Ethics and Open Government, Municipal Government 0 Comments Feb 1, 2006

Winter 2006 ROWLEY—The Internet has made shopping, paying bills, reading the newspaper, and, it turns out, breaking the state’s Open Meeting Law more convenient than ever. Fifteen years ago, if town officials wanted to circumvent the law, which prohibits a majority of a municipal governing body from discussing public business in private, they would have(...)

Economy/ Politics

Argument

By E. Cameron Huff and Michael Widmer Municipal Government, Taxes and Budget Issues 0 Comments Feb 1, 2006

For the vast majority of citizens, municipal government is the most visible, and arguably most important, level of government, the one closest to home and the primary provider of the basic services on which our quality of life depends. However, the state fiscal crisis in 2002 painfully revealed the vulnerability of local services to the(...)

Economy

The Good News Garage gives a lift to people who need cars in order to get jobs

By Phil Primack Cost of Living and Consumer Affairs 0 Comments Feb 1, 2006

INTRO TEXT After many years and many miles of steady service, the trusty old station wagon still starts up every morning, but the body is dinged up, repair bills loom and, worst of all, the cup holder is broken. Time for a new car—but what to do with the old one? It’s worth little if(...)


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Winter 2006

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