ON THE WALL behind her desk, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito keeps the official portrait of former Republican Gov. Paul Cellucci, one of her political mentors, the man who first encouraged her to run for office — and someone whose career path she seems interested in emulating. Cellucci emerged from the Legislature and was the first […]
CW in Depth
Posted inOpinion
Meet the new public records law – same as the old one
OVER THREE YEARS have gone by since the Commonwealth’s much-heralded overhaul of the Public Records Law went into effect in 2017. Regrettably, the old vexing problems nonetheless still persist. That’s the conclusion based on a review of the 2019 rulings issued by the supervisor of public records in Secretary of State William Galvin’s office, as […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Protesting the George Floyd killing: A moment or a movement?
THE BURST OF protests across the country following the death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer are demanding dramatic reform of policing practices. But are we on the verge of seismic change from a movement unleashed by his killing, or witnessing a brush fire of dissent that will soon only […]
Posted inEconomy
Coronavirus campus unrestÂ
APRIL, TRADITIONALLY A time of excitement and possibility in higher education, is instead proving to be the cruelest month for US colleges and universities. High school seniors normally would be weighing their options after receiving college admission decisions, while campuses buzz with visits from excited would-be students. Instead, prospective freshmen are wondering whether their first […]
Posted inEconomy
The coronavirus is expanding the safety net
LIKE MILLIONS OF other US workers, Charlie Burke and Mutwaly Hamid were used to getting up in the morning and putting in long days on the job. But when the coronavirus pandemic shut down huge parts of the economy, they weren’t just left out of work, they were left on their own. As two of […]
Posted inEducation
Is Massachusetts failing its brightest kids?Â
FOR MORE THAN two decades, efforts to improve US public schools have set forth an ambitious goal. Leave No Child Behind. The Every Student Succeeds Act. The Student Opportunity Act. Whether it’s the string of federal laws that have been enacted or state legislation like the funding reform bill passed by the Massachusetts Legislature last […]
Posted inEducation
UMass football thrown for big losses
WHEN THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS opted to enter major college football in 2012, officials pitched the idea that the program would pay for itself over time, even bolstering non-revenue sports at the school through national television appearances, bowl invitations, and sold-out games at home with brand-name teams visiting on glorious fall weekends in New England. […]
Posted inEnvironment
Cracking the climate code
AN ARCANE STATE BOARD, known to few outside the world of design and construction, is the setting of a furious clash the outcome of which could influence the amount of climate-curdling emissions that pour out of chimneys, as well as the future supply of housing in Massachusetts, where affordable homes are already scarce. The Board […]
Posted inBook Review
A blue wave in 2020?
DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS encouraged (or alarmed) by Democratic gains in Virginia and Kentucky in November will want to read the new book by Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg to see if those results, and the previous outcome of the 2018 midterm election, are a harbinger of what’s to come next year. After reading RIP GOP: How […]
Posted inPolitics
From insurgent to incumbent
TO SECURE A victory in last September’s Democratic primary against one of the most powerful members of the Legislature, Nika Elugardo ran a blistering campaign excoriating the entire House establishment, which she later analogized to a slave plantation. The Jamaica Plain Democrat hasn’t recanted her incendiary statements, but her tone has softened, and she has […]