Winter 2007

Winter 2007

Meeting transportation needs may require more tolls and a higher gas tax

Environment/ Transportation/ Opinion

Meeting transportation needs may require more tolls and a higher gas tax

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gov. patrick faces a transportation challenge that could make the Big Dig look like a piece of cake. Massachusetts could have a shortfall in highway and transit funding of $13 billion to $17 billion over the next 20 years—potentially exceeding the $15 billion price tag of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project. Closing the gap will require(...)

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Risky business

Economy

Risky business

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few books have generated as much anticipation here in the CommonWealth office as Jacob Hacker’s The Great Risk Shift. In terms of addressing themes we keep coming back to in this magazine, the only equivalent that comes to mind is Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone (see “Picking up the Spare,” CW, Summer ’00), the book-length expansion(...)

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The new math

Education

The new math

Rejiggering grade configurations to eliminate middle schools is catching on

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EDITOR’S NOTE: After CommonWealth went to press, it was reported that Manuel Rivera would not be taking the job of superintendent of Boston’s public schools. Manuel Rivera, who arrives in Boston in July, launched a wholesale reconfiguration of the Rochester school system. AS THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS struggle to raise achievement and keep students and(...)

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Recipe for success

Politics

Recipe for success

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shortly after the polls closed on election night, November 7, it was clear that voters from all around Massachusetts had turned out in droves to elect Democrat Deval Patrick as governor. At one point that evening, CBS4 political analyst Jon Keller went on the air with some wry advice for the governor-elect. Noting that there(...)

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Politics

Republicans have a positive role to play

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For the past 16 years, the Massachusetts Republican Party, including its legislators and candidates, has been dominated by the agendas and personalities of single individuals: governors who mobilized the Republican base and appealed to voters wanting balance in state government. For all that time, the party focused its efforts on keeping hold of the governor’s(...)

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Cold case

Politics

Cold case

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a century ago, it was a little easier to gain access to the Commonwealth’s chief executive than it is today. Most appointments were scheduled in advance, but sometimes people just showed up in the lobby of the governor’s office, hoping he would see them. That’s how it was on December 5, 1907, when three men(...)

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Higher authority

Economy/ Education/ Politics

Higher authority

A retirement village on a college campus is too much for opponents in Weston

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weston To Regis College, it seemed like a win-win proposition. The 362-unit retirement community the college wished to build on its campus would reverse the school’s financial fortunes and bolster its educational mission, while also providing a valuable resource to the town. But when plans for the development were unveiled in 2005, many residents of(...)

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Statistically Significant

Politics

Statistically Significant

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Illustrations by Travis Foster big employers still hold sway in bay state Politicians in Massachusetts often refer to the economic importance of smaller employers (for instance, in her speech on the night of the September primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kerry Healey worried about burdens on “the small businesses that create half the jobs” here), but(...)

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