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Chester plan for Lawrence falls short on ideas, options
/0 Comments/in Oped: Common Core, Oped: Education, Opeds /by Editorial Staffhttp://www.lowellsun.com/oped/ci_19718547 In November, state Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester announced he will name a receiver with “all the powers of the superintendent and school committee” to right Lawrence’s troubled schools, where about 80 percent of students score in the two lowest categories on MCAS exams. The announcement is hardly reassuring on at least two counts. First, research demonstrates that school turnaround efforts across the country have yielded meager results and aren’t a scalable strategy for fixing troubled urban districts. Second, the state’s education leadership doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. In his very first budget, Gov. Deval Patrick proposed defunding the state’s independent educational accountability office. Is it any wonder that the Merrimack Special Education Collaborative flouted financial controls and misused more than […]
Benefit of The Doubt? Not For Gov. Tim Murray
/1 Comment/in Better Government, Blog, News, Transparency /by Taylor ArmerdingLieut. Gov. Tim Murray has forfeited the benefit of the doubt. Murray, in a recent letter to political supporters, complained that he has been subjected to “false rumors and wild speculation” in connection with the crash of a state-owned car last Nov. 2 on Interstate 190 in Sterling. Perhaps he would have had a legitimate complaint if he had been completely transparent from the start. But his account of the crash is contradicted in almost every detail by what was more recently revealed from the vehicle’s black box. If anybody is causing problems by saying things that are false, it is Murray. The lieutenant governor claimed he had been obeying the 65 mph speed limit. He wasn’t. The black box data […]
Health Reform May Lessen Sting of Charity Care for NJ Hospitals
/0 Comments/in Oped: ACA, Oped: Healthcare, Opeds /by Editorial Staffhttp://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0110/2345/ New Jersey hospitals, feeling the strain of nearly $2 billion in uncompensated care, are hoping the Affordable Care Act will be more than a band-aid to help alleviate huge debts hospitals carry for treating uninsured patients. Studies by the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy have estimated that an additional 444,000 New Jerseyans will be covered in 2014, whether through an expansion of Medicaid or through the new health care exchanges, where low and moderate income individuals will be able to buy subsidized health coverage. “It is always positive to have more people insured, but we don’t know what will be the impact,” said Suzanne Ianni, president of the Hospital Alliance of New Jersey. “The burden on hospitals is […]
MBTA nixes takeover, ponders next rail contract
/0 Comments/in Oped: Better Government, Oped: Transportation, Opeds /by Editorial Staffhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120107/us-commuter-rail/ MBTA management has ruled out the possibility of taking over direct operation of the state’s commuter rail network. Instead, it may seek a longer-term contract with a private operator to spur investment in an aging system that has become increasingly prone to breakdowns. Who runs the trains and for how long is undoubtedly of less interest to 70,000 or so daily commuter rail passengers than whether the service is reliable and on time. But the cash-strapped Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s ability to provide consistently reliable service may well hinge on a series of crucial decisions it faces over the next 12-18 months. Comprised of 394 miles of track stretching from Boston west to Worcester, north to Merrimack Valley and […]
Odds-On Favorite? Not the Lottery
/0 Comments/in Blog, News /by Steve PoftakThe Massachusetts state lottery has made news the past few weeks for two things — a $20 holiday raffle that lost money and a proposal to allow gamblers to use their debit cards to buy tickets. The stories might seem only vaguely related but, at root, they highlight the Mass Lottery’s ongoing challenge — sustaining revenue levels and trying to grow in a stagnant market. And that market is going to get more crowded once casinos start operating, with expert opinions forecasting a 5 – 10% drop in lottery revenues initially. As previous studies have shown, Massachusetts has one of the most successful lotteries in the country, particularly on a per capita basis. But it has been difficult work keeping […]