OFFENDING SIGNS of the past have now been removed. Baseball fans are safe from reminders about the troubling history of our hometown team and the mixed legacy of one of the franchise’s dominant personalities. The brouhaha over the Boston Public Improvement Commission’s decision to return Yawkey Way to its original name of Jersey Street has died down. And […]
Jim Stergios
Posted inEducation
Charter ruling a step backwards
THESE WOULD BE the best of times for Boston public charter schools were education policy decisions driven by evidence. Boston’s charters are nationwide models and uniquely successful at closing pernicious achievement gaps. But in education politics, where “momentum” is too often the benchmark, charter skeptics are crowing about the loss of a ballot initiative to expand school […]
Posted inUncategorized
T privatization survives key union challenge
THE MBTA’S BUDGET SHORTFALL, once pegged at $335 million for the current fiscal year, is now down to $30 million. That’s good news for riders, taxpayers, employers, and legislators—really everyone except the T’s unions. Much of the savings is the result of a three-year exemption from the Commonwealth’s anti-privatization law that the authority was granted […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Getting to yes on MassHealth
MASSACHUSETTS HAS A unique culture when it comes to health care. Over the last quarter century, we have seen the business, provider, payer, consumer, and academic sectors come together to advance reforms aimed at expanding coverage and containing the cost of care. Whether it was repeal of hospital rate-setting and passing insurance reforms in the […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Baker doubling down on failed biotech strategy
This opinion piece has been corrected in several spots (headline and story) to reflect the fact that $1 billion has not been spent by the Massachusetts Life Science Center. Only $650 million has been spent so far, which would significantly reduce the estimated cost per job HERE WE GO again. Government giveaways to industries will benefit […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Congressional delegation should butt out
HERE’S ONE THAT COULD BE A JOKE, except it actually happened. Every member of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation recently thought it would be a good idea to sign a misguided letter to Gov. Charlie Baker and Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack urging them to avoid saving money and improving service quality at the MBTA. The letter […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Extend the T’s Pacheco Law exemption
“Competition is a good thing,” said MBTA Acting General Manager Brian Shortsleeve. “It drives innovation; it drives productivity.” That sums up the importance of extending the MBTA’s exemption from the Pacheco Law, the Commonwealth’s anti-privatization law. A three-year exemption from the Pacheco Law was granted as part of the 2015 emergency legislation aimed at fixing the troubled MBTA. In an announcement that raises […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Charter question defeat presents new challenge
IT’S A NEW YEAR and the people of Massachusetts have spoken. On Question 2, a ballot initiative which would have given urban students more charter public school options, the electorate said no. Emphatically. But now that the teachers unions won the debate, they need to show the public that they can adopt the policies and practices that […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Has the Lawrence school receivership run out of steam?
TEN YEARS AGO, engulfed by Katrina, New Orleans was the site of almost unimaginable loss of life, with entire neighborhoods, including the city’s entire network of neighborhood schools, laid low. To stand up new schools and ensure improvement in educational quality in a district long characterized by high dropout rates and low student performance, […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
South Coast Rail not the way to go
Residents of Massachusetts’ South Coast believe their region hasn’t received the state investment it deserves. They’re right. The Big Dig vacuumed money away from transportation projects across Massachusetts. More recently, the South Coast has not been a major focus of recent bridge repair projects. And, today, efforts are underway to plan new mega-projects like expanding […]