THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY race for the normally staid office of the Secretary of State is turning into one of the most bruising battles of season. About the only thing missing in the one and only televised debate between incumbent William Galvin and challenger Josh Zakim was headgear and eight-ounce gloves. The debate on Greater Boston, […]
Jack Sullivan
Jack Sullivan is now retired. A veteran of the Boston newspaper scene for nearly three decades. Prior to joining CommonWealth, he was editorial page editor of The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, a part of the GateHouse Media chain. Prior to that he was news editor at another GateHouse paper, The Enterprise of Brockton, and also was city edition editor at the Ledger. Jack was an investigative and enterprise reporter and executive city editor at the Boston Herald and a reporter at The Boston Globe.
He has reported stories such as the federal investigation into the Teamsters, the workings of the Yawkey Trust and sale of the Red Sox, organized crime, the church sex abuse scandal and the September 11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the State House, state and local politics, K-16 education, courts, crime, and general assignment.
Jack received the New England Press Association award for investigative reporting for a series on unused properties owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and shared the association's award for business for his reporting on the sale of the Boston Red Sox. As the Ledger editorial page editor, he won second place in 2007 for editorial writing from the Inland Press Association, the nation's oldest national journalism association of nearly 900 newspapers as members.
At CommonWealth, Jack and editor Bruce Mohl won first place for In-Depth Reporting from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors for a look at special education funding in Massachusetts. The same organization also awarded first place to a unique collaboration between WFXT-TV (FOX25) and CommonWealth for a series of stories on the Boston Redevelopment Authority and city employees getting affordable housing units, written by Jack and Bruce.
Posted inUncategorized
Pot notes: Everything but the labs
THE STATE CANNABIS Control Commission approved seven more provisional licenses for recreational marijuana, bringing the total to 19 retail stores, cultivation facilities, and manufacturers. But the commission still has not approved any license for a testing laboratory and, by law, nothing can be sold without the approval of a licensed lab. Shawn Collins, executive director […]
Posted inPolitics
Another twist for legal pot
THE STATE’S MARIJUANA oversight board wants to put a halt to communities demanding payments from legal pot businesses in excess of what’s allowed by law but the panel’s decision could move the opening of retail stores even further back. The Cannabis Control Commission on Thursday put off for two weeks a proposal by Commissioner Shaleen […]
Posted inUncategorized
Silencing speech or rejecting hate?
WHEN THEN-GOVERNOR Deval Patrick stepped to the microphone for the first press conference the evening of the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, the first question stopped him and nearly everyone in attendance in their tracks. “Why were the loud speakers telling people in the audience to be calm moments before the bombs went off?” the questioner […]
Posted inPolitics
Words matter in immigration debate
To say there’s a chasm as wide as the Rio Grande between both sides of the immigration debate would be an understatement. The conversation about compromise is a non-starter because neither side can even agree on what terms to use. US Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling, in a recent sit-down with CommonWealth, acknowledged his office […]
Posted inThe Back Story
US Attorney carries Trump’s message on immigrants
WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP took office 19 months ago, the US Attorney’s office in Massachusetts started issuing more and more press releases about cases where the defendants were identified by their nationality, a move designed to draw attention to the administration’s claim that illegal immigrants pose a danger to society. “One of the things we wanted […]
Posted inEducation
Maybe busing isn’t the (only) problem
SCHOOL BUSING IN BOSTON is a four-letter word, a phrase often spewed as a profanity whenever the subject of the city’s schools comes up in conversations, which is to say all the time. Going back to the 1970s, when the city exploded into a race and class war over the yellow beasts rumbling through the […]
Posted inEconomy
Health care watchdog: BI-Lahey merger will hike costs
A REPORT ON by the state’s health care industry watchdog analyzing the proposed merger of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health says the marriage won’t produce the kinds of savings the hospitals project nor tamp down Partners HealthCare’s stranglehold on the market. But members of the Health Policy Commission aren’t convinced that the models […]
Posted inEconomy
Is a Boston soccer stadium Kraft’s gooooaaaaalllll?
THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS have long been viewed as the NFL’s equivalent of the CIA with secrets held close to the vest and little useful information disseminated to the masses. But while head coach Bill Belichick is often targeted as the key player in the information hoarding, he may be challenged by his boss, owner […]
Posted inUncategorized
Globe clears McGrory of sexual harassment
AN OUTSIDE INVESTIGATOR hired by the Boston Globe cleared top editor Brian McGrory of violating the company’s sexual harassment policy but admitted he exchanged “personal” messages with former Boston.com editor and reporter Hilary Sargent. “As we informed our employees earlier (Thursday,) the investigation by outside counsel into the matter regarding Brian McGrory that was raised […]