ALMOST NOTHING in Boston is built without a zoning variance. Yet few of the thousands of individual variances granted annually satisfy the relevant legal standard. There is perhaps no area of law where practice departs from legal doctrine more than zoning variances. Casebooks and court decisions frequently note that they are intended to be granted […]
Municipal Government
Posted inEconomy
Massport official picked to head New Bedford Port Authority
GORDON CARR, the deputy director of real estate strategy and policy at the Massachusetts Port Authority, is going to work next month as the executive director of the New Bedford Port Authority. New Bedford is already one of the nation’s top fishing ports and it is emerging as a hub for offshore wind development. Vineyard […]
Posted inGovernment, Opinion
State laws to blame for lack of minority contracting
IN THE EARLY DAYS of the pandemic, the Paycheck Protection Program offered a crucial lifeline for millions of suddenly desperate businesses. Yet as banks doled out nearly $1 trillion in PPP money, minority-owned businesses were at the back of the line. It was a glaring example of how even the most well-intentioned public policies can […]
Posted inOpinion
Getting on board with life sciences development
IN THE LAST few months, we’ve seen a new biomanufacturing facility open at the New Bedford Office Park; one of the largest life sciences campuses in the state take shape in Woburn; a biotech company move closer to construction just miles from the Boston Marathon Start Line in Hopkinton, and Worcester continue to grow its […]
Posted inHealth, State Government
Baker returns public health bill unsigned
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Monday refused to sign a bill overhauling the state’s public health system, instead returning it to the Legislature with an amendment.  The intention of the bill had been to introduce state funding and state standards into a system that has until now been controlled entirely by local governments. Baker, worried about […]
Posted inOpinion
Bike stats contradict safety claims of Cambridge officials
AMID AN OUTCRY over how the implementation of Quick Build bike lanes will all but eliminate street parking in front of local businesses, the Cambridge City Council has smacked down residents’ concerns with false and outdated information. No matter which side of this debate you stand on, everybody should be able to deliberate based on […]
Posted inThe Download
Brain drain goes on in municipal government
Ed Augustus left his job as city manager in Worcester on Tuesday and on Wednesday started a new job as the first-ever chancellor of Dean College in Franklin. Augustus’s decision to leave the job he has held for the last eight years is a high-profile example of an ongoing trend in Massachusetts municipal government – […]
Posted inGovernment
Brain drain goes on in municipal government
ED AUGUSTUS left his job as city manager in Worcester on Tuesday and on Wednesday started a new job as the first-ever chancellor of Dean College in Franklin. Augustus’s decision to leave the job he has held for the last eight years is a high-profile example of an ongoing trend in Massachusetts municipal government – […]
Posted inOpinion
Landlord resents ‘bullying’ by Somerville officials
HIGH RENTAL HOUSING costs have long been a source of concern among Greater Boston housing advocates. Rapidly rising inflation and a continued shortage of new housing construction have amplified activists’ fears in recent years, with strong emotions directed at landlords. As a small residential property owner, I should know. Last fall, my investment group purchased […]
Posted inThe Download
Andover division on display at special town meeting
Mike Meyers, a 69-year-old resident of Andover, found a way to use town meeting to voice his displeasure with the way his community is being run. Meyers gathered enough signatures to call a special town meeting Tuesday night where he put forward six articles to rein in the power of town officials, particularly Town Manager […]