MBTAAnalysis: A look inside the MBTA

0 Comments
/
The MBTA shuttles over a million passengers a day around Greater…

The Clock is Ticking…….

0 Comments
/
The clock is ticking towards December 30, 2017.  As part of…

Confronting COVID Constraints: How Certificate of Need laws stifle innovation, increase costs, and reduce quality in healthcare

0 Comments
/
Join Joe Selvaggi and co-host Josh Archambault, Pioneer Institute's Senior Fellow in Healthcare, as they talk with Institute for Justice’s Jaimie Cavanaugh about the effects of Certificate of Need laws on the healthcare system.

Executive branch overreach, blanket orders having harmful effects

0 Comments
/
At the outset of the pandemic, limited knowledge and the need to mitigate risk understandably led to political overreach. At this point in the disaster response, though, we are far better at distinguishing fact from fiction and policies that have worked from those that have not.

Study: Growing Drug Rebates Hurt Both Consumers and Healthcare System

Ever-larger rebates are distorting the market for branded drugs and producing outcomes that often benefit neither consumers nor the healthcare system, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

“Music is liquid architecture” – 15 Resources for K-12 Education

0 Comments
/
In Pioneer’s ongoing series of blogs on curricular resources for parents, families, and teachers during COVID-19, this entry focuses on introducing K-12 schoolchildren to timeless music.

Award-Winning Author Devery Anderson on the 65th Anniversary of the Murder of Emmett Till

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Devery Anderson, the author of Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement. Today, August 28th, marks the 65th anniversary of the brutal murder of 14-year old Emmett Till, a story which is central to understanding America's ongoing struggle for civil rights and racial justice.

MA’s Remote Learning Regs Should Specify Consistent District Grading Policies, Return of MCAS in 2020-21

The COVID-19 pandemic-related revisions to Massachusetts’ remote learning regulations should restore state and local accountability by specifying that any remote academic work shall, to the same extent as in-person education, prepare students to take MCAS tests, and that grading criteria should be the same across in-person, remote, and hybrid learning environments, according to a new policy brief published by Pioneer Institute.

The ABCs of the Newest Diagnostic Science for COVID-19 Testing

0 Comments
/
Join Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi as he talks with Hannah Mamuszka, expert in diagnostic science, about the state of COVID-19 testing technology and its implications for a safer return to school and work in the fall.

The 65th Anniversary of the Murder of Emmett Till: 6 Key Resources for K-12 Education

Continuing Pioneer’s ongoing series of blogs on curricular resources for parents, families, and teachers during COVID-19, this post focuses on the 65th anniversary of the murder of Emmett Till, which is August 28, 2020.

Christensen Institute’s Julia Freeland Fisher on K-12 Disruptive Innovation, Professional Networks, & Social Mobility

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Julia Freeland Fisher, director of education research at the Clayton Christensen Institute.

Effects of Covid-19 on the Accommodation and Food Services Industry

0 Comments
/
Since March, lockdowns and safety regulations from the Covid-19 pandemic have dramatically affected the Accommodation and Food Services industry. The sector is predicted to lose at least 2.1 billion dollars in Massachusetts before recovering. These losses affect individuals, businesses, and Massachusetts’ economy as a whole. 

Mapping K-12 School Reopening in Massachusetts

0 Comments
/
As the 2020-21 school year begins for the approximately 950,000 schoolchildren in Massachusetts, our state and country are working to adapt to the unprecedented moment presented by COVID-19. To aid in these efforts, Pioneer Institute is posting a database and map of districts’ reopening plans.

Doctors Beyond Borders: Firefly Health Shines a Light on Virtual Primary Care

0 Comments
/
Join Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi as he speaks with Firefly Health President Fay Rotenberg and Primary Care Doctor and Co-Founder Jeff Greenberg as they discuss the promise and potential of virtual primary care to deliver direct doctor access, price transparency, and more holistic healthcare that may revolutionize the healthcare system.

COVID-19 Roundup from Pioneer: COVID vaccine update; Back to School?; Who’s really getting PPP Loans?; Hubwonk: COVID & public spaces; What about school sports?; & more!

0 Comments
/
COVID-19 Roundup from Pioneer: COVID vaccine update; Back to School?; Who's really getting PPP Loans?; Hubwonk: COVID & public spaces; What about school sports?; & more!

Drawing on State Guidelines to Keep Youth Baseball Alive during COVID-19

0 Comments
/
Since Major League Baseball finalized its reopening plans in…

President of D.C.’s AppleTree Institute, Jack McCarthy on Charter Schools and Fall Reopening

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Jack McCarthy, president and CEO of AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation and board chair of AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School. Jack shares what animated him to establish this highly innovative early childhood charter public school network that serves the most vulnerable children in Washington, D.C.

Youth Basketball and COVID-19: Preparing an Indoor Winter Sport for a Global Pandemic

0 Comments
/
With a COVID-19 vaccine’s widespread availability still estimated…

Pioneer wants to know how many people with dementia have died in Massachusetts nursing homes. State government can’t even tell us how many people live in them. 

0 Comments
/
Last month, Pioneer Institute sent a public records request to…

Non-Profits Facing COVID-19: Charles River’s Esplanade Association on Why It’s No Walk in the Park

0 Comments
/
Join host Joe Selvaggi as he talks with Esplanade Association’s executive director Michael Nichols about how he and other non-profits adapt to a surge in demand for services while coping with a collapse in fundraising opportunities.

Study: Shift from Highest-Priced Healthcare Providers Would Generate Tremendous Savings

Consumers in just one Massachusetts county could have saved nearly $22 million in a single year and $116.6 million adjusted for inflation over four years if they switched from using the most expensive providers for 16 shoppable healthcare services to those whose prices were closer to average, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

“Call Me Ishmael” Melville Scholar Prof. Hershel Parker on Moby-Dick & Classic Literature

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Gerard and guest co-host Kerry McDonald, senior education fellow with the Foundation for Economic Education, are joined by Hershel Parker, the H. Fletcher Brown professor emeritus at the University of Delaware and the definitive biographer of the 19th-century American novelist, Herman Melville.

Let’s Be There For Students

As we head into the new academic year, unsure if remote learning will continue, we must equip our teachers to ensure that all students are offered the consistent, structured, rigorous, and supportive instructional programs that they need to succeed. This video highlights two schools that have successfully transitioned to remote learning.

Student Loan Collective Bargaining: Leveraging Loan Aggregation for Better Rates

0 Comments
/
Join Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi as he talks with Chris Abkarians and Nikhil Argawal, co-founders of LeverEdge, about how their new student loan platform uses loan aggregation and competition to secure better rates for student loans.

HHS COVID Funding Tracker

As of July, the Feds have distributed $86.7 billion to medical providers, of which $2.3 billion came to Massachusetts. Pioneer’s new HHS COVID-19 Funding app shows who and how much, from the $1 sent to American Current Care of Massachusetts, to the $418,034,675 sent to the MA Department of Public Health. We also break down the distribution by city or town.

NYT #1 Best-Selling Science Author, Dava Sobel on Copernicus, Galileo’s Daughter, & Astronomy

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Dava Sobel, a former New York Times science reporter, and author of Longitude, Galileo’s Daughter, and Letters to Father. Dava describes what inspired her interest in some of the most gifted mathematicians and astronomers in history, including Copernicus and Galileo, and the tensions between religion and science.

Pioneer Decries New Travel Order as Unnecessarily Intrusive and Divisive

Pioneer Institute is disappointed at certain extreme aspects of Governor Baker’s executive order that goes into effect tomorrow.

Why Landlords are Suing Massachusetts

0 Comments
/
In late July, Governor Charlie Baker extended the moratorium…

COVID-19 Silver Lining: MBTA Takes Advantage of Ridership Lull to Accelerate $8.5 Billion Modernization Program

Pioneer Institute congratulates the Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) and MBTA management for taking advantage of the precipitous ridership declines due to the COVID pandemic to dramatically accelerate ongoing construction projects.

New Study Offers Guide to Recovery in MA Retail, Accommodation and Tourism, and Restaurant Sectors

A new guide to economic recovery in the retail and hospitality industries published by Pioneer Institute calls for the federal and state governments to consider consumption-based refundable tax credits for brick and mortar businesses; the federal government to conduct a detailed study of the costs and benefits of suspending employer-side payroll taxes; businesses to pay special attention to developing and marketing their cleanliness, hygiene and contactless procedures; and third-party customer review sites to include comments about the implementation of COVID safety measures to provide options and reassurance to safety-minded consumers

COVID & Classrooms: Lessons for Students, Staff, & Society on Reopening Schools

0 Comments
/
Join host Joe Selvaggi and co-host Rebekah Paxton of Pioneer Institute as they talk with Harvard Medical School Professor Benjamin Sommers on the most current scientific observations regarding the health and safety of reopening schools.

How Should Massachusetts Reopen Its K–12 Schools in the Fall? Lessons from Abroad and Other States

0 Comments
/
This report asserts that, with the fall semester fast approaching, Massachusetts should provide more specific COVID-19-related guidance for school districts about ramping up remote learning infrastructure; rotating in-person cohort schedules; diversifying methods of communication between students, parents, and teachers; and investigating physical distancing capabilities.  Districts must determine whether to adopt in-person, remote, or hybrid schooling options, and they will not be ready for the fall unless the state provides clear direction.