CHINESE AND OTHER international students are flocking to US colleges, including two campuses of the University of Massachusetts. UMass Boston, viewed locally as primarily a commuter school, saw its number of international students rise 38 percent during the last school year to 929, or about 6 percent of the campus population and more than a […]
Christina Prignano
Posted inPolitics
Boston.com launches online radio station
RadioBDC’s reach may be worldwide but its focus is parochial. The online radio station and newest member of the Boston.com family made its debut on Monday with “I Want My City Back” by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, a ska band from Boston. Front man Dicky Barrett called into the station as it went live to […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment
Solarize Massachusetts spreads to 17 towns
Massachusetts is rolling out a bulk-purchasing solar program to more than a dozen communities this summer that will allow homeowners to save as much as 30 percent on installations. Patterned after a pilot program last year in four communities, the Solarize Massachusetts program run by the state’s Clean Energy Center attempts to cut marketing costs by […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Sex offenders challenge Lynn’s residency ban as unconstitutional
a court challenge to a Lynn ordinance that bans Level 2 and 3 sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school or park could impact 43 other cities and towns across the state that limit where sex offenders can live or go. Â A map of Lynn outlining areas from which Level 2 […]
Posted inEconomy
Build it, they will come
James Rooney is telling lawmakers that if they build an addition on to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, convention groups will come. Now he’s got proof. Four groups have signed contracts to hold six future events at the Boston convention center, but only if the facility is expanded. A fifth group says it will […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Society’s lepers
on a chilly night in early February, the MassaÂchusetts website that informs the public where the state’s most dangerous sex offenders are living indicates 41 of them are staying at Boston’s Pine Street Inn. The homeless shelter’s guests, according to their website profiles, include men who have raped and abused children, committed indecent assault and […]
Posted inEnvironment
State pushing bulk solar sales
state officials are trying to drive down the cost of solar power for homeowners and small businesses by bringing potential buyers together with sellers in a more cost-efficient manner. Right now, solar installers have to make their pitch house by house. The state’s new program, called Solarize MassaÂchuÂsetts, aims to round up a bunch of […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
The middle-class squeeze
The much-heralded demographic change seen in the latest Massachusetts census numbers is at least partly the reflection of a decade of economic change that was particularly challenging for the state’s middle class. The 2010 Census data reveal a significant shift in the state’s racial and ethnic composition. Over the decade, Massachusetts added large numbers of […]
Posted inPolitics
Beacon Hill pols share their bounty
Massachusetts legislators are big givers with other people’s money. Campaign finance reports for 2008 indicate lawmakers took about $1 million of the $9.8 million they raised from supporters and donated it to charities, other politicians, or a political party. The records show 179 lawmakers gave just over $650,000 to charitable causes. Senate President Therese Murray […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawmaker targets lobbyists largesse
Would a ban on political contributions by lobbyists clean up Beacon Hill? State Rep. Jennifer Callahan, a Democrat from Sutton, doesn’t think a ban would end corruption, but she feels it would help reduce the appearance of impropriety. In the wake of a rash of indictments of Beacon Hill political figures, she is pushing ethics […]