If a debate falls on a Thursday night in a semi-forested office park but no one from the Boston Herald is there to hear it, did it really happen? Last night’s Boston Olympics showdown was the story of the day, but its sponsorship by Fox 25 and the Boston Globe seems to have gotten in the […]
Olympics
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Five takeaways from the Olympics debate
THIS BOSTON OLYMPICS DEBATE was a train wreck. There were occasional flashes of insight, but overall the two reporters asking the questions and the four debaters answering them did little to illuminate the subject matter. They tossed numbers around indiscriminately, they got sidetracked on seemingly inconsequential issues, and they ended up all too often talking […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
4 things to watch in Olympics debate
THURSDAY NIGHT, Boston 2024 and No Boston Olympics will meet in a debate hosted by Fox25 and the Boston Globe. Boston 2024’s representatives will be chairman Steve Pagliuca and Daniel Doctoroff, a board member of both Boston 2024 and the US Olympic Committee. Their opponents will be Chris Dempsey, the cochair of No Boston Olympics, […]
Posted inEconomy, Olympics, Opinion
Olympics jobs shouldn’t be union only
BOSTON 2024’s second plan to host the Summer Olympics in Massachusetts attempts to convince taxpayers it’s financially feasible and responsible. However, the inclusion of a discriminatory and costly hiring policy contradicts that point. In unveiling Bid 2.0 last week, Steve Pagliuca, chairman of Boston 2024, promised the Olympics would generate “billions of dollars of spending […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Americans really want to host Olympics
AMERICANS REALLY WANT to host the 2024 Olympics. They want it more than they have in the past. They want it more than other countries do. They want it more than almost any country ever has. US cities were in the running for the Olympics twice in recent years, with 54 percent and 61 percent national […]
Posted inOlympics, The Download
When it comes to the Olympics, vote early, vote often
The ancient Greeks liked their games. And they liked their democracy, opening up the rule of law to the people in the way of votes. Here in the Athens of America, we’re looking to emulate them in all ways, apparently. There are potentially so many scenarios for voting on whether Boston should host the Olympics […]
Posted inOlympics
State leaders react cautiously to Bid 2.0
THIS WAS NOT a slam dunk drawing wild cheers. Or a back two-and-a-half somersault with a splashless pool entry. In Summer Olympics sport terms, Boston 2024’s presentation to state leaders today seemed to go over more like a middling shot down the fairway, one that is met with polite, but restrained, applause from a viewing […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Olympics
Unlikely alliance on Olympic ballot question
The leader of the newly minted United Independent Party, who ran for governor on a fairly progressive platform on education, energy, and health care, has teamed up with the Republican-led group that repealed the gas tax index last year to gather signatures for a ballot question prohibiting the use of public funds for the Olympics. […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Support for Boston 2024 is not too low to win Olympic bid
IT’S NO SECRET THAT BOSTON 2024 has a perception problem. The public is skeptical and the polling on Boston’s Olympic bid has been consistently ugly for the last several months. But it has been unclear how much of a drag Boston’s polling woes will be in the international race to host the Olympic Games. A […]
Posted inEconomy, Olympics, Politics
New Bedford proposed as site of Olympic sailing
THE GROUP ATTEMPTING to bring the 2024 Summer Olympics to Boston said Thursday that New Bedford will serve as the venue for Olympic and Paralympic sailing if their bid is successful. The announcement is the first in a series of venue recommendations that reflect input from community organizations and elected officials, according to the group, […]