Obstacles to Reform – Lowell Edition
The Lowell School Superintendent tried to put out an RFP to determine…
Ralph White, Fiscal Conservative
[CORRECTION ADDED BELOW]
I attended another meeting of the Special…
A Few Nuggets from the Conference Budget
The Conference Budget came out late last night and its being…
Our New State Piggy Bank
The Mass Convention Center Authority appears to be the new piggy…
Consider a business with two customers
The first customer pays in about two months after getting bill,…
Unfunded Pension Liabilities Might Be Bigger Than You Think
I'm not done with the latest 2008 Investment Report on pension…
2008 Was A Bad Year In The Markets
PERAC has released the 2008 results for the state and local pension…
EOT and MBTA Do Good with BRT
Enough acronyms for you? BRT stands for Bus Rapid Transit.
The…
A Few Wrinkles in the DiMasi Indictment
Former House Speaker Sal DiMasi was indicted today. You can read…
13 is not the right number
Reading about the investigation into misconduct at the MBTA Police…
Raising the Symbolism Bar
Sure, our local politicians have their symbolism -- who can forget…
Interesting Wrinkles in New GIC Study
A new study, published by the Rappaport Institute and Collins…
13 Questions for the Special Commission on Pension Reform
1) How many members of the commission really think pensions and…
The Laws of Economics Still Apply
Senator Bruce Tarr of Gloucester has filed an amendment to the…
The Buddy-Boy World of Massachusetts Public Pensions
Remember Tim Bassett? He's the guy who retired, took a pension,…
The Return of Governor Deval Patrick
The House of Representatives is, as we go to press, engaged in…
Treasurer Cahill's Spring Cleaning
Allegations were made regarding the connections between the Treasurer…
Almost a million dollars an hour
One of my pet issues has been moving payroll and other short-lived…
Reform for Thee, Not for Me
The House passed a limited version (more to come, they promise)…
How Not to Advocate for Transit
Yesterday's Globe covered the expansion of the Green Line into…