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May 4, 2012

UMASS Law School Revisited

I won’t bury the lede — the UMASS law school has been recommended for provisional accreditation by the ABA’s Accreditation Committee. The next step will be a consideration of that recommendation by the ABA’s Council on Legal Education. A commenter on a...
May 2, 2012

Here We Go Again... Now It's Medford

Several months back, the egregious abuses at the Chelsea Housing Authority showed the weaknesses in oversight of municipal housing authorities. The fact that it got away with that abuse for so long, even after federal and state audits, should give one pause....
Healthcare
April 17, 2012

Is Romneycare A Budget Buster?

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF) put out a report late last week on the cost of Massachusetts health reform. The number from the report that has gotten the most media attention has been– $91 million. Over the five full fiscal years since...
April 13, 2012

HOT(High Occupancy Toll) Lanes in Massachusetts?

Toll hikes are a tough sell in this area, but what if tolls were optional? And what if you were getting a premium level of service in return for your money? That’s the basic idea behind HOT (High Occupancy Toll) Lanes. These...
Healthcare
April 10, 2012

How Much Do Same-Sex Marriage & Health Care Overlap Constitutionally?

Socially liberal commentators opine against some conservative’s preference to nationalize the issue of marriage when they argue so strongly for a federalist impulse in many other areas of policy including health care. On display this past month has been the exact opposite positioning...
April 6, 2012

The Hidden Transit Enemy? Dwell Time.

Transit riders (like me) love to complain about how long certain trips take. We wish trains, trolleys, and buses could go faster. But a lesser known factor making trips longer is dwell time — how long you spend at stops and stations...
April 3, 2012

If the State Takes the MBTA's Debt, Then...

Multiple voices have suggested during this debate that the state take over the MBTA’s Big Dig Debt. Just today, MassDOT Sec’y added his voice to the debate noting that a debt transfer was not “a bad idea”. Administration and Finance Secretary Jay...
March 28, 2012

The Political Elegance of the MBTA's Deficit Solution

If you want the details of today’s MBTA deficit solution, take a look for yourself. Slide 4 is the key breakdown of the total solution. Service reductions account for only about 8% of the deficit reduction, fare increases account for almost 40%,...
March 28, 2012

Sigh. Another MBTA Procurement Snafu?

As a sometimes commuter rail passenger, it’s depressing to contemplate that a plan to replace almost 20% of the commuter rail’s passenger cars is now at least a year or more behinds schedule. The need for an upgrade to the fleet was...
March 26, 2012

STERGIOS and ARCHAMBAULT: The way forward post-Obamacare

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/26/the-way-forward-post-obamacare/?page=all#pagebreak The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing  oral arguments on the constitutionality of the federal health care law President  Obama pushed through Congress two years ago, the  Patient Protection and Affordable Care  Act. The court is expected to issue an  opinion by...