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JOIN US! Big Business & Big Labor – Teaching U.S. Economic History
SAVE THE DATE: JANUARY 25, 2016. In this our second Gilded Age marked by international corporations and powerful labor unions, K-12 students need to understand the fundamentals of the economic history…
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Horsing Around at the Gaming Commission
It’s time to quit horsing around at the Gaming Commission.
Even…
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West Virginia, Massachusetts and why the End Common Core ballot is going forward
When it comes to the "confidence game" that has been played around…
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Helping Children Impacted by Mental Illness
Mental illness, the theme of our 2016 Better Government Competition,…
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Document Request Reveals Which Commuter Rail Trains Are Frequently Delayed
There is a unique relationship between the MBTA and its riders…
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Massachusetts Needs Its Own CBO
State Senator Jamie Eldridge is on to something. The State…
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What is the Lawn on D Costing Us?
Jon Chesto’s report in the Globe on Monday noted that the…
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Massachusetts Public Records Reform Shouldn’t Make Delay the Law of the Land
By Michael Morisy
Over the past few years, something unusual…
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State Contractor Confirms: GLX Cost Overruns Due to Bid Process
As Pioneer first pointed out in a September blog post and again…
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Why Mental Health, Why Now?
When the topic of “Improving Mental Health” was chosen, the importance resonated immediately. It may be more relevant than at any other point in our nation’s history. Every area of core government function is affected by the status of mental health. Our failure to find answers and reduce inefficiencies costs the Commonwealth innocent lives and millions of dollars each year.
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Enter Pioneer Institute’s 2016 Better Government Competition – Winning Prize: $10,000!
Enter the 2016 Better Government Competition
Each year,…
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Pioneer Statement on Next-Generation MCAS Announcement
We applaud the Baker administration for proposing that Massachusetts…
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Fordham report predictable, conflicted
Guest Post by Richard P. Phelps
On November 17, the Massachusetts…
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A Step Forward on Meaningful Public Records Reform?
Yesterday’s Boston Globe editorial has it right - the time…
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What True Education Reform Leaders Think About MCAS & Charters
An op-ed in Tuesday's Boston Globe urges Massachusetts policymakers…
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How UMass can cut the $11 million
Yesterday, the Statehouse News Service reported that UMass President…
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5 Reasons Students will Love the New Higher Ed Bill
Expanding scholarships, savings incentives, refinancing loans,…
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MBTA Scorecards: A Work in (Backwards) Progress?
Three weeks ago the MBTA announced the long-awaited return of…
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Pathways to Equal Opportunity: Vocational-Technical Education & the Liberal Arts
A century ago, two prominent African-American educators, W.E.B.…
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September’s Come and Gone – and Where’s Public Records Reform?
How fitting is it that a bill meant to strengthen our anemic…
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How To Tell If The Price Is Right: Fostering Transparency in Healthcare Prices for Massachusetts Consumers
Notwithstanding a Massachusetts law requiring the clear, prompt…
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New MBTA Performance Reports: Work In Progress
This week, the MBTA began publishing new weekly performance reports…
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T Has Failed to Hold Keolis to Commuter Rail Operating Contract
Over two-dozen rail operators initially expressed interest in…
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Statement on 2015 MCAS Results and Preliminary, Incomplete 2015 PARCC Results
The release of 2015 MCAS results together with a patchwork of…
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How to Save the MBTA Over $100 Million a Year
The first step in reforming the MBTA has been taken by the Legislature…
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There’s No Excuse for a ‘No-Excuses’ Contract With Excuses
Despite a “no-excuses” contract with Keolis Commuter Services…
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The Impact of UMass Tuition and Fee Hikes on Student Debt
Student debt has reached astounding levels. At nearly $1.2…
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MBTA Experiment Gone Wrong! The Green Line Extension Contract
Background
The Green Line Extension (GLX) is a long-awaited…
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On or Off Campus Housing for Boston’s Students?
With the new academic year upon us, students attending schools…