A state law passed in 2012 bars the use of Community Preservation Act funds to purchase artificial turf for athletic fields, but municipalities are finding a way around the prohibition. The communities are using other funds to purchase the artificial turf itself and tapping their Community Preservation Act money for all the other work associated […]
Growth and Development
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Springfield bets on sibling rivalry
THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE came to rest on the big money for Massachusetts two years ago when Gov. Deval Patrick signed legislation ushering the Bay State into the casino era. After decades of attempts by gambling proponents, the plans are well underway for three resort casinos and one slot parlor. The gambling legislation divides the […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Convention center picks hotel operator
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STARWOOD HOTELS has beat out Hyatt in the bidding for a two-hotel development across the street from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, giving the BCEC access to hotel rooms for convention guests. The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority board voted unanimously Thursday morning to authorize Executive Director Jim Rooney to enter […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Don’t bottle up liquor licenses
There is a renaissance happening in Boston. Take a look at the activity in the Seaport District — restaurants, cultural events, start-ups and new visitors. Roslindale Square has become a bustling village with new restaurants and shops opening seemingly every day. In my own neighborhood of Dorchester, Tavolo Restaurant and Ashmont Grill have become community […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Patrick’s new spending needs ‘place’ component
FOR WELL OVER A DECADE now, squeezing growth out of the Massachusetts economy has felt a bit like getting that last ounce of toothpaste from the tube. Gov. Deval Patrick proposes to change this terribly frustrating challenge by calling for big new spending on education and infrastructure. To accelerate growth and expand opportunity, this investment […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Economy, Politics
Cause development
JOHN ROSENTHAL’S BLACKBERRY lit up. Media requests poured in from NECN, WCVB, and WBUR. MSNBC wanted to talk. Even the Arabic-language network Al Jazeera found its way to his door. The crush of attention was not a pleasant development. News outlets call Rosenthal when terrible things happen, and a very terrible thing indeed had happened. […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Casino deadline
The casino competition in Massachusetts gets real today. Would-be developers have until 5 pm Tuesday to apply for a casino license and submit a non-refundable $400,000 deposit. The deadline, which comes nearly a year after Massachusetts legalized casino gambling, marks the end of an extended period of quiet wrangling, maneuvering, lobbying and posturing, and the […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Film tax credit launching businesses
A.J. BOLES HAD AN IDEA big enough to drive a truck through. Through his work on a number of films in Massachusetts, including Shutter Island, filmed at the former Medfield State Hospital, he knew that productions often had to go out of state to rent trucks and particularly trailers for their stars. He saw a […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Morse changes mind on casinos — again
Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, who just over two weeks announced a stunning reversal of his strong anti-casino stand and said he would consider gambling proposals for his city, reversed course yet again, announcing that he is abandoning any consideration of a casino in Holyoke. The 22-year-old mayor authored this strong anti-casino commentary piece in the […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Alex Morse’s brazen casino reversal
It makes John Kerry look like a piker. Even the CEO of shameless shape-shifting, Mitt Romney, might have blushed while trying to pull this one off. Alex Morse, the boy wonder mayor of Holyoke who rode into office a year ago on a platform vowing steadfast opposition to a casino in his city, is now […]