Why the Mass budget surplus is better spent on infrastructure needs Having just been handed an estimated $1 billion budget surplus for the 2018 fiscal year, Gov. Charlie Baker was quick to make a proposal last week to divide up the unexpected spoils. According to MassLive, “Around half of that will be […]
GRAND SCHEME
Mass legislature helps, harms workers in “deal” with labor and business lobbies No sooner did the Supreme Judicial Court shoot down the “millionaires’ tax” referendum question last week than the Mass legislature rammed a so-called grand bargain bill (H 4640) through both chambers. A move aimed at shoring up tax revenue threatened by […]
CAPITALIST VETO
Popular “millionaires’ tax” referendum question blocked by a pro-business SJC The Fair Share Amendment—better known as the “millionaires’ tax”—that would have gone before voters this November as a statewide referendum question was shot down this week by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). So the effort to increase taxes on people making $1 […]
THE RED SEA: TEACHERS WANT BETTER PAY, LAWMAKERS WANT CORPORATE TAX BREAKS
Since gaining control of the legislature in 2011, North Carolina Republicans have been on a singular mission to make life better for their wealthy and corporate allies.
HIGH SCHOOL: GET YOUR CANNABIS EDUCATION IN MASS
There are several other opportunities to learn about the medicine and industry—whether you are a physician or simply a curious consumer.
SPECIAL FEATURE: THE HURRICANE CONTINUES
Luisa Mercedes, 53, is from Aibonito, a mountain municipality in Puerto Rico haunted by a local myth involving a llorona (Spanish for “crier”). She paints an apocalyptic picture of a world ravaged by wind and water: “We saw the cars under water where we were staying. We saw a light post ripped out at the root.” She’s wearing jeans and a puffer jacket zipped up to her chin.
SPECIAL FEATURE: WAITING FOR RECIPROCITY
Springfield and Holyoke in particular have had an influx of displaced Puerto Ricans, coming to stay with their families, in hotels, homeless shelters, and with friends. Beyond the question of what to do for housing as winter settles in comes the concern over employment, and more specifically, what to do for people who have licensure and years of education in their professions.
MASS WIRE: TOUGHER TESTS DON’T IMPROVE TEACHING QUALITY
A new study, that includes two unidentified Massachusetts school districts, found when tougher tests were used in districts that already had higher quality teaching, the test-prep instruction was of a lower quality than regular classroom lessons.
SHAME TIME: IT’S TIME TO MAKE NONVOTERS FEEL EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE
They poison our Facebook and Twitter feeds, struggling to channel their emotions and be heard. But while they’re willing to piss into the bottomless rhetorical ocean that is social media, they’re not willing to pull the singular lever that has measurable impact. Imagine the nerve.
WE INTERVIEWED MORE THAN 25 BOSTON CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES ABOUT SCHOOLS
We really did sit down with 27 candidates for Boston City Council—from at-large contenders to those trying for district seats—to ask about Boston Public Schools.
