House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s plan to bring casinos and racinos to the state looks on its face to be facing long odds — if the only casino vote on record is a harbinger of the measure’s fate. But, much like his predecessor, DeLeo is the house dealer, so to speak, and as is the case […]
Growth and Development
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
DeLeo’s gambling proposal
I’ve now been Speaker for more than a year. It has certainly been a year of challenge, not only for those of us in government but for our citizens, as well as you in the business community. I am particularly glad to be here to speak with the Chamber today. That is because we share […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
HEFA backs Murray bill
There has been much written and said about HEFA in the last year, and unfortunately far too little of it has been accurate. In fact, none of the publicity captured the mission of HEFA, nor did it examine our successes in delivering on the mandate granted to us by the Legislature. For more than 40 […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Merge MassDevelopment with HEFA
Each and every MassDevelopment employee puts the highest priority on increasing employment in Massachusetts. Improving the coordination and the efficiency of economic development efforts are goals worthy of the highest praise and the strongest support. Precisely because of the importance of these goals, I will respectfully share some suggestions today regarding changes to these helpful […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Stop Bay State subsidies for Hollywood moguls
It’s time to pull our heads out of the popcorn buckets. With 310,000 jobless residents, Massachusetts can’t afford to waste any more public resources on subsidies for Hollywood moguls. The state covers a quarter of the expenses for movies made in Massachusetts through a film tax credit. Last year the credit cost taxpayers $125 million. […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Money machine
UPDATE: CommonWealth magazine and Fox 25 Undercover worked together on our special reports on the Boston Redevelopment Authority. For links to the Fox 25 broadcasts, go to Fox Undercover. The BRA also sent out a preemptive-strike press release before CommonWealth was released and Fox Undercover went on the air. Every time one of the condominiums […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
City workers tap BRA housing program
UPDATE: One of the benefits of our new website, as well as our new media partnerships, is the ability to have timely updates on stories that appear in CommonWealth magazine. Case in point is our joint effort with the FOX Undercover investigative unit at WFXT-TV (Channel 25) on the behemoth that is the Boston Redevelopment […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, The Download
Judge rules against Catholic college’s plans for retirement community
A state judge has ruled that Regis College can't skirt local zoning laws in building a 362-unit retirement village in Weston. The Catholic school had argued that the development was covered by a state law giving religious and nonprofit institutions the right to build. Jonathan Saltzman reported in Saturday's Boston Globe: After more than four […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Maryland’s “carrot” approach to smart growth gets failing grade
Right before Gov. Deval Patrick took office, Harvard University's David Luberoff gave him some advice about "smart growth" policies in the pages of CommonWealth. Luberoff posed a simple question: …should Massachusetts follow Oregon’s “big stick” approach of forcing localities to follow state guidelines when deciding where growth should and should not occur? Or should the […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, The Download
Gateways Cities leaders introduce economic development plan
Massachusetts needs to rework its tax incentive programs to create jobs, stimulate commercial development, and build market-rate housing in the state’s most economically distressed cities. That was the message from the city officials and economic development policy advocates who testified Wednesday before the Joint Committee on Revenue to back a revitalization plan designed to transform […]