It’s bloodsport in these parts to complain about the MBTA. But the latest MBTA scorecard makes one thing clear — their operations staff is doing a close to miraculous job keeping the system running in the face of massive deferred maintenance and dwindling equipment options. The Green Line is a prime example — in June 2011, their vehicles traveled an average of 3,663 miles between breakdowns, 33% below their goal. That’s just under 146 round-trips on the Riverside Line between failures. And the failures are having an impact, there was only a single extra vehicle above the required 150 available in June. The commuter rail has a similar issue, with just enough locomotives to provide service. Part of that is […]

A unwelcome phenomena in Boston is the use of public space for parking of vehicles on seemingly ‘official’ business. In a city where I’ve seen homeowners struggle for years to get approval for modest curb cuts, I marvel at the ability of these parkers to convert sidewalks and plazas into personal spots. Exhibit 1 is the John Adams Courthouse. Recently refurbished at an expense of $150 million, the redone courthouse has injected some liveliness into the previous moribund plaza between it and Government Center Plaza. New restaurants and outdoor seating have also helped. So what was the next logical step? Turn the brick plaza in front of the courthouse into a parking lot. Now diners get to sit next to […]

Barring a successful (or incredibly lengthy) appeal, Sal DiMasi will spend the next 8 years in jail. It’s a jarring sentence that will consume almost half of his expected remaining years. For many of his former colleagues, this should be sobering news. There have been a string of scandals facing politicians in state government. For the most part, these have resulted in relatively short jail terms, if any. DiMasi’s sentence will likely be viewed differently — its longer and he was no ordinary legislator. DiMasi was, at least on a dissenting vote basis, the most powerful speaker in recent memory. He managed to get resoundingly reelected as Speaker despite ethics questions hanging over his head. Even after the trial, sitting […]

In Boston, school starts tomorrow (except for K1 and K2, which starts on Monday). For those newcomers to the Boston Public Schools, congratulations, you’ve survived the much-feared school lottery (see previous comments here, here, here, and here.) Many lottery survivors are again tested by the Advanced Work Class “AWC”) program. 3rd grade students are tested and those scoring highly enough are invited to participate in Advanced Work Class, described as “an accelerated academic curriculum for highly motivated and academically capable students” by the district. These classes are viewed as the gateway to the prestigious exam schools and there’s clearly a link. About half the exam school students come from the public school (a surprisingly low number, in my view), and […]

Opposing Wal-Mart seems to be in vogue these days. Mayor Curtatone of Somerville is doing it, so is Mayor Menino. Menino, along with many community leaders, is opposing the expansion of Wal-Mart into Dudley Square. Their opposition is built on two objections – that Wal-Mart will damage the existing retail infrastructure in Dudley Square and that Wal-Mart is bad corporate citizen. But it’s a short-sighted attempt by government actors to tilt the playing field in favor of certain businesses. For one, the mega-marts are already here. The city has one – the Target in the South Bay Shopping Center (and Target’s masterful branding as the ‘good citizen’ compared to Wal-Mart is a whole separate story). But if you look at […]