Where the economic action is

By Robert David Sullivan Growth and Development 0 Comments Jan 25, 2007

after ranking 13th in growth of gross domestic product (GDP) over the period from 1997 through 2004, Massachusetts came in a lowly 42nd the following year, behind every northeastern state except Maine. We now account for 2.62 percent of the aggregate for all state GDPs. That’s down from our peak during the past four decades—2.98(...)

Politics

Statistically Significant

By Robert David Sullivan State Government 0 Comments Jan 25, 2007

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(...)

Economy/ Education/ Politics

Higher authority

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

By Ray Hainer City and Town Profiles, Growth and Development, Municipal Government 0 Comments Jan 25, 2007

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(...)

Arts and Culture/ Uncategorized

Path breaker, but no trendsetter

By Francis J. Connolly 0 Comments Jan 25, 2007

the election of a charismatic African-American to statewide office continues to raise eyebrows in many places, most especially here in Massachusetts. Deval Patrick’s march to the Corner Office drew national attention last year, and rightly so, as he won the governorship of a state where just 30 years ago, state troopers in riot gear were(...)

Environment

Climate change

By Robert Keough 0 Comments Jan 25, 2007

By now, it is old news that MassINC president and CEO Ian Bowles has left to become Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs in the administration of Gov. Deval Patrick. But it is by no means too late to give the publisher of this magazine a proper send-off. Ian Bowles’s arrival on the MassINC scene(...)

Economy

Taking Off

By Gabrielle Gurley Growth and Development 0 Comments Jan 25, 2007

andreas gottzmann racks up quite a few frequent-flyer miles, traveling to Germany on business, but getting to the gate is a hassle. With no flights to Europe from Hartford’s Bradley International Airport, the president and CEO of Süddekor, a German-owned company with offices in Agawam, treks to Logan International Airport six to eight times a(...)

Education

Accreditation agency raises questions about school finance

By Gabrielle Gurley Elementary and Secondary Education 0 Comments Jan 25, 2007

INTRO TEXT at first, the news looked good for Georgetown Middle High School, the sole secondary school in a northern Essex County town of 7,377 residents, with students in grades six through 12. The New England Association of Schools and Colleges’ Commission on Public Secondary Schools reviews the accreditation of its roughly 630 dues-paying members(...)

Economy

Not all contractors are so independent

By Michael Jonas Employment 0 Comments Jan 25, 2007

INTRO TEXT Employers may be keen to offload workers from their payrolls and contract for services instead (“Lone Rangers,” CW, Summer ’05). But recent cases suggest that companies can go only so far in treating workers as if they’re not employees. In December, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld rulings by a lower court and the(...)

Politics

Romney’s scorecard

By CommonWealth Staff 0 Comments Jan 25, 2007

INTRO TEXT When Mitt Romney announced in December 2005 that he would not seek a second term as Massachusetts governor, his reason was simple: “We got a lot more done than I expected we would…I’ve got the job done I set out to do.” As he takes the first steps toward running for president, CommonWealth(...)

Education

Another day of reckoning approaches for Renaissance

By Michael Jonas Elementary and Secondary Education 0 Comments Jan 25, 2007

Renaissance is the largest charter school in the state. Has its size protected it from scrutiny? Photograph by Frank Curran. HAS THE BOSTON Renaissance Charter School gotten its act together, or will the curtain come down? That’s the question facing the state Board of Education, which renewed the school’s charter in 2005 for another five-year(...)

Winter 2007

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