While government transparency is a year-round pursuit, Sunshine Week marks a unique opportunity to reflect on our past work and plan for our future work to weave this most necessary fabric of a free and healthy democracy.
Last year, Pioneer Institute proposed that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) revise its Scoping Report on the I-90 Allston Multimodal Project and recommend an additional option – a modified at-grade option for the throat area – to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The Institute believed then and continues to believe that an all at-grade design will shorten construction time, lower costs, create fewer negative economic and congestion impacts, and improve neighborhood access to parkland along the Charles River.
Public Testimony to the Joint Meeting of the MassDOT Board of Directors and Fiscal Management Control Board regarding the Allston Multimodal Project, on Oct. 19th, 2020 by Mary Z. Connaughton, Pioneer Institute.
As part of the state’s $1 billion reconfiguration of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Allston, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack recently announced that a narrow strip of land known as “the throat,” will be considered for an at-grade option in addition to a proposal to rebuild the highway viaduct by Boston University.
Recently, Governor Baker signed legislation, H. 4672, that would create a Covid-19 task force, appointed by the legislature, to study and make recommendations to the general court that address health disparities among certain populations based on certain characteristics, including age, and which also asks the future task force to recommend other impacted populations for further study. Pioneer has prepared a public letter to that future task force that contains a list of specific recommendations regarding Covid-19 and the state’s nursing homes.
Read Pioneer’s Open Letter to MassDOT on the I-90 Allston Multimodal Project, Boston, MA National Environmental Policy Act Review Scoping Report: All At-Grade Option and 8-lane Turnpike – Throat Area
The MBTA should conduct a survey of mTicket app users regarding their future plans. Some may never work in offices again. Some will certainly do some workdays in the office and some at home. Others will be in offices and back to business as usual at some point.
Using their responses, the T can calculate ridership and determine projected revenue.
This op-ed originally appeared in WGBH News. In much of the country, a substantial number of Covid-19 deaths have occurred in nursing homes. Too many states were caught unaware that crowding, poor infection control, insufficient isolation facilities, and lack of proper training and equipment for nursing home workers would create petri dishes for Covid’s destruction. As of now, this lack of preparation accounts for 24,000, or over one-third, of Covid-related deaths nationally. We saw what was happening in Italy, where frontline doctors were forced to make age-based life and death decisions because so many elderly people were sick and ventilators were in short supply. We saw the first signs of the virus on our own shores in Washington state nursing […]
The anxiety of having a parent in a nursing home under the constant threat of Covid-19 has to be debilitating. Residents, many with dementia, who had grown accustomed to their children’s regular visits must be in a state of increased confusion and despair in their isolation. The decision to move a parent into a home is beyond difficult. In the end, though, the decision comes down to basic safety. Are they safer at their own home, living with you when you cannot be there around the clock – or in a facility? Ultimately, it comes down to limiting risks, which often means assisted living, skilled nursing or rest homes. The decision is made to protect with professional care. But the […]
News sources report that certain senators sold stocks just before the market crashed when the economic impact of Coronavirus came to light. Now more than ever, financial disclosures must be accessible to the media and to the public.
There is no single solution to solve our traffic congestion crisis, but offering employees commuter benefits programs, which bring economic and environmental benefits, among others, can help.
Pioneer Institute’s Public Comment calls on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to revise its Scoping Report on the I-90 Allston Multimodal Project and recommend an additional option to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The Institute believes that closer analysis of an at-grade option may reveal that an at-grade design will shorten construction time, lower costs, create fewer negative economic and congestion impacts, and improve neighborhood access to parkland along the Charles River.
This op-ed appeared in The Boston Business Journal on October 29, 2019. By Robert Dawson and Mary Connaughton MassDOT’s recent report, Congestion in the Commonwealth 2019, found what millions of commuters already know: Massachusetts has reached a tipping point. Congestion is no longer just a transportation issue; it has become a quality-of-life and economic problem as well. There are a number of ways to address the problem, but one approach that has proven successful is to prioritize encouraging employers located close to a mass transit station to provide their employees with an incentive to leave their cars at home. Since 2013, peak-period travel times have grown. By 6 a.m., a quarter of roadway miles inside the I-95/Route 128 beltway are congested […]
The Boston Globe By Mary Connaughton and Jim Aloisi May 31, 2019 Beginning this summer, commuters are in for longer rides as the Massachusetts Department of Transportation prepares to extend the Prudential tunnel under parts of Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street to make way for an air-rights real estate development. Extending the tunnel involves upgrading and expanding ventilation systems — fans, controls and other electrical components — as well as installing piles and set beams to support a deck. These activities require Massachusetts Turnpike lane closures, both temporary and long-term, to create work areas. And with work areas come speed reductions to ensure worker safety over the estimated 16-month project. The project will, inescapably, worsen traffic conditions on a stretch […]
This op-ed originally appeared in The Worcester Telegram & Gazette May 3, 2019 The sleeping giant of MetroWest and Worcester commuters is about to be stirred, thanks to an ill-conceived plan by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation that would severely impact their daily rides to and from Boston. As part of the plan to straighten the Mass Pike in Allston, the elevated portion of road known as the Boston University viaduct will be demolished and the roadway rebuilt at-grade. The abutting Soldiers Field Road and the nearby Paul Dudley White Bike Path will also be affected. The project is estimated to begin sometime after the summer of 2021 and completed in 8-10 years, but we know what can happen to […]
Despite some recent progress, there is more to do if the Commonwealth is to make the Statements of Financial Interest (SFIs) that public officials file annually truly accessible to Massachusetts citizens.
Pioneer has long called for the Statements of Financial Interests (SFIs) that elected officials and political candidates are required to file to be available online. The State Ethics Commission must have been listening to us and other transparency enthusiasts that called on the Commonwealth to catch up to the times. While the forms can now be accessed online, there is still much to do to improve public access to these most important documents. Transparency is the most fundamental tool a democracy has to ensure that its stewards have the public interest at heart, rather than their own self-interest. We have seen far too many breaches of ethics in recent years on Beacon Hill and one way to prevent them is […]
It seems MBTA officials were listening to this March segment of Bloomberg Radio’s Bay State Business. During the program, I was discussing simple ways to increase MBTA revenue without imposing an across-the-board fare hike. Raising fares may make sense in some scenarios, but where there is excess capacity, increasing ridership is a far more effective solution to reduce operating deficits. You don’t jack up the prices of a product that isn’t selling. The example I presented was weekend commuter rail fares. My family of four, which includes two teenage boys, would pay a total of $78 for the round trip between Boston and Framingham on a Saturday. That’s $9.50 each way for all four of us plus $4 for parking. […]
Mary Z. Connaughton provides public testimony to a special legislative commission regarding public records.
We hear the word transparency a lot these days. Whether it’s the public demanding it or public figures claiming to embody it, transparency is rightly viewed as an admirable pursuit. When it comes to government, transparency fosters civic engagement and promotes public trust. Openness in government is the cornerstone of a healthy, vibrant democracy. In 2016, Beacon Hill took some steps to promote transparency with public records law reform, but fell short of what Pioneer had hoped for. The Commonwealth continues to advance in terms of spending transparency and, as Pioneer reported, Massachusetts municipalities were more transparent than their national peers when it came to disclosing the details of their bids for Amazon’s second headquarters – kudos to them! There was […]
No one said it better than Justice Louis Brandeis. “Sunshine is said to be the best of disinfectants, electric light the most efficient policeman.” If today’s story on former State Senator Brian Joyce, indicted today for allegedly collecting about $1 million in bribes and kickbacks, isn’t a wake-up call for the legislators to fix the sad state of government transparency in Massachusetts, they will forever remain in a state of blissful slumber. Pioneer Institute has been a leading voice for open and accountable government in Massachusetts. Statements of Financial Interest, or SFIs for short, are a cornerstone of political ethics: All state and county officials, as well as political candidates, are required to annually disclose their private business associations and […]
S&P Global Ratings (S&P) recently downgraded Commonwealth and certain other Massachusetts agency bond ratings one notch from AA+ to AA. The AA rating is still considered a high mark in terms of the investment grade of the bonds, meaning S&P believes the state will meet its debt obligations. While it is fair to say that the downgrade is not a calamity, it is certainly a warning signal as to what could happen should the state continue practices that do not lead to long-term fiscal health. It’s a reality check to which we should pay close attention. As shown in Figure 1, the state’s S&P rating on Massachusetts bonds is still well above 2001 levels and is now at the same […]
The Archdiocese of Boston recently announced that after operating for 93 years, the Saint Clement School in Medford will be closing its doors at the end of this school year due to a persistent decline in enrollment. That means a multitude of students who believed they would be following the thousands before them as Saint Clement’s graduates will instead be tearfully giving up the maroon for colors unknown. Saint Clement High School is part of the Central Catholic League and I’ve enjoyed watching the players compete against my son’s school, Marian High School, in Framingham. The school’s closing hits close to home. Saint Clement’s closing does not represent an isolated example. Enrollment in Boston Archdiocese schools has dropped 21 percent […]
A version of this op-ed appeared in The Berkshire Eagle, The Salem News, The Gloucester Times, the Patriot Ledger, The Brockton Enterprise, and The New Bedford Standard-Times. BOSTON — Moody’s Investors Service estimates that total U.S. state and local government pension unfunded liability will reach $1.75 trillion this year and the commonwealth is hardly immune from this alarming trend. The Massachusetts Teachers Pension Fund pays out over $2.6 billion in annual benefits and has barely half the money it needs to meet its long-term obligations. Many of the commonwealth’s more than 100 local pension systems are in a similar condition. This isn’t just a nightmare for the commonwealth, local governments and state taxpayers; more than 10 percent of all adults […]
It’s Sunshine Week once again! While it may fall close to spring break, it means something even better than Coppertone and Daytona Beach. Each year during Sunshine Week, Pioneer reviews the government transparency work it has completed through the year to highlight efforts to bring greater public accountability to Massachusetts. Our objective is to have the Commonwealth rank among the nation’s most transparent states; while there has been progress when it comes to bringing sunshine to Beacon Hill, we still have an uphill climb. So put your sandals away, get a cup of hot coffee, and take a look at some of Pioneer’s highlights: So you leave the doctor’s office, prescription in hand, and you want to take it to […]
The clock is ticking towards December 30, 2017. As part of the 2016 public records reform legislation, An Act to Improve Public Records, a special legislative committee was established to “examine the accessibility of information concerning the legislative process of the general court and the expansion of the definition of public records.” The establishment of the committee is a win for government transparency advocates. The committee, made of members of the legislature, can solicit input from journalists, public policy research groups and other individuals interested in the process. One of the specific missions of the committee is to determine the constitutionality of subjecting the Governor’s Office, the legislature and the judiciary to public records laws. The law, as presently written, […]
When doing the people’s will is secondary to legislators’ self-interest, how strong is our democracy? The state Legislature is on the verge of overriding the Governor’s veto of legislation that includes sizable pay raises for state and legislative leaders. Their actions on this front will answer the democracy question. Since legislators can’t raise their base pay, the hikes are limited to leadership positions in the form of increased legislative stipends. Base pay increases are formulaic and tied to the state’s median household income. The Boston Globe reported on several questionable aspects of the bill. It contains an “emergency preamble,” which means the raises would take effect immediately. The legislation also includes pay hikes for the judiciary, which, due to a clause in the state Constitution, makes it challenging at best to reverse via initiative petition. And because committee chairs and other leadership positions have not yet been officially selected, legislators don’t need to worry about violating conflict of interest laws for voting on their own financial interests. […]
Although transparency was the expression of choice on Beacon Hill in 2016, the year fell short of what could have been a transformative period of government openness. Long overdue public records law reform was the most dramatic action taken by the Legislature in this vein, but compromise ultimately weakened what otherwise could have been very toothy legislation to advance the public’s interest. Nevertheless, progress was made. Pioneer Institute has long supported many elements of the enacted legislation, including subjecting the MBTA Retirement Board to public records law, making its operations transparent, establishing a public records officer for every agency, promoting electronic records in response to requests, imposing stronger penalties on delinquent agencies, promoting electronic disclosure, and reducing costs to obtain public records. Historically, Massachusetts has ranked at or near […]
The public records bill that was signed into law by Governor Baker last week and takes effect January 1, 2017 contains significant improvements to existing law and will no doubt improve the Commonwealth’s poor national rankings for government transparency. The legislators who crafted it have done the state a service. But there is more work to do – Massachusetts should hold the highest ranking. Transparency, after all, measures the health and vibrancy of our democracy. Pioneer Institute has long supported many elements of the bill, including subjecting the MBTA Retirement Board to public records law and making its operations transparent, establishing a public records officer for every agency, promoting electronic records in response to requests, imposing stronger penalties on delinquent […]
By Mary Z. Connaughton and Charles Chieppo Guest Columnists Originally published in The Berkshire Eagle, the Milford Daily News, New Bedford Standard-Times, and The Lowell Sun. It would be easy just to shake your head and turn the page upon learning that the MBTA Retirement Fund (MBTARF) is underfunded by nearly $868 million. Unfortunately, you cannot. Every year, the pension plan receives tens of millions of state dollars that flow through the MBTA. The T, in turn, has a contractual obligation to bankroll three quarters of any shortfall. Read this entire article in The Berkshire Eagle, the Milford Daily News and the New Bedford Standard-Times.