RACE HAS LONG CREATED a divide between what should be and what is. In Boston, that has translated into a struggle to achieve racial parity in exam schools. It has leaked into the travel of black and brown MBTA riders, who experience commutes that are 64 hours longer a year than their white counterparts. Now, […]
Municipal Government
Posted inUncategorized
At Boston.gov, you don’t always get an answer
Boston.gov, the city of Boston’s official website, has the potential to make it quick and easy for citizens to get answers to questions, file complaints, and make requests for help to officials. But a test of the system found that it’s not unusual for simple emailed questions to fall on deaf ears at Boston City […]
Posted inEnvironment, Health
‘Nip’ ban having an impact in Chelsea
CHELSEA’S BAN on “nip” liquor bottles – the only one of its kind in the state — appears to be having the desired effect. In the year since the city banned sale of the tiny 50-ml bottles of hard liquor, public drunkenness has diminished, alcohol-related ambulance responses are way down, and there has been a reduction […]
Posted inPolitics
Columbus on hot seat in Framingham
THE LIST OF EARLY-ADOPTER Massachusetts communities that have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day is about what you’d expect: Amherst, Northampton, Cambridge, Brookline, and Somerville. School committees in Mashpee and Pittsfield have also jumped on board. But now the school committee in Framingham is considering making the switch, and it will be interesting to […]
Posted inOpinion
New Bedford charter expansion ‘mind-boggling’
CHARTER SCHOOLS STARTED as a hopeful experiment in public education. But as is possible with any experiment, this one has failed. It’s time to move beyond the charter school debate and focus on the issues that will create opportunities for every public school student in Massachusetts. Voters across Massachusetts resoundingly said “No!” to lifting the […]
Posted inOpinion
Pot legalization exposes generation gap in local government
MORE THAN TWO YEARS after voters passed Question 4 to legalize adult-use cannabis, retail sales are about to finally begin. It promises to be a remarkable moment but also a chaotic debut. There will be only two recreational cannabis stores open in the entire Commonwealth, and, in fact, the only two east of the Mississippi. […]
Posted inEconomy
Airbnb sues Boston to halt regs
AIRBNB FILED SUIT against the city of Boston Tuesday seeking to block officials from implementing new regulations on short-term rentals set to take effect January 1, claiming the rules illegally require the company to turn over private host information and to bar investors from listing multiple units. In its lawsuit, Airbnb portrays itself as merely […]
Posted inOpinion
How do you license a fortune teller?
IT’S ONLY NATURAL this time of year that we turn our attention to ghouls and ghosts and things that go bump in the night. Jack-o-lanterns, trick or treaters, funny costumes, and pranks are a staple of life everywhere in the US and especially here in New England. What is the intersection of Halloween and the […]
Posted inPolitics
From boy wonder mayor to defendant
JASIEL CORREIA was in full performance mode earlier this year when he was interviewed by CommonWealth contributor Ted Seifer for this profile in the magazine’s spring issue. The mayor of Fall River, elected at age 23 with a vow to revitalize the struggling former mill city, was showcasing his vigor and commitment to being a hands-on […]
Posted inThe Download
From boy wonder mayor to defendant
Jasiel Correia was in full performance mode earlier this year when he was interviewed by CommonWealth contributor Ted Seifer for this profile in the magazine’s spring issue. The mayor of Fall River, elected at age 23 with a vow to revitalize the struggling former mill city, was showcasing his vigor and commitment to being a […]