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You should go faster

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(Ed. Note — Pioneer Institute urges compliance with all local, state, and federal laws.) I used to be one of those people who crept through the Fast Lane readers, believing that it needed time to read my transponder. Then a gentleman who made part of the transponder’s insides informed me that they can read at very high speeds. Meanwhile, State Auditor Joe DeNucci has found that a number of folks are being overcharged by the FastLane system. Peter Samuel of Toll Road News looks into the issue and finds that, at low speeds in bumper-to-bumper traffic, the system can’t distinguish between the break between vehicles. What that means is that the person in the first car is getting charged for […]

234 and counting

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The piece Alan Wirzbicki did in today’s Globe has pushed comments up to a level you wouldn’t ordinarily expect given the topic. 234 at 2:15. Not bad for a story on congressional seats. Down from 16 Congressional seats in 1920 to 10 a century later. Two Congressmen who provided quotes proved that they are clueless. Richy Neal is a nice guy but in his quote he raises navel-gazing to a new art form: “Everybody in the delegation is particularly well positioned with their committee assignments,’’ said Representative Richard E. Neal, Democrat of Springfield, a member and subcommittee chairman on the Ways and Means Committee. “It obviously would present a challenge for the state.’’ The loss of a seat is a […]

A Healthcare Cliche That Might Not Be True

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Today’s FT reports that “study after study shows that overall the highest level of health spending in the world does not deliver anything like the best results”. And I’ve seen similar variations elsewhere. I’d point you in the direction of a recent paper from the Population Studies Center at UPenn. In it, mortality rates for prostate cancer are considered, as prostate cancer responds well to early detection and treatment. The study shows that mortality rates for the disease have declined significantly in comparison to a number of European countries. Does it disapprove the initial assertion? Not close to completely, but it does provide some evidence that factors beyond ineffective healthcare spending are causing some of the poor results in other […]

Redistricting Wish List

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This morning’s Globe reports that Massachusetts will lose a Congressional seat based on the expected results of the 2010 census, which would require redistricting before the 2012 elections. My preference would be for an independent commission to handle redistricting, but I know that is not likely. (Look here for our current districts.) But how about some guidelines for the Legislature as it thinks about redistricting: – Eliminate the Fourth District — This is currently Barney Frank’s district (N.B. — I’m not saying get rid of the Congressman, I’m saying change his district.) and it stretches from Newton (his hometown) down to Fall River and New Bedford. In a few spots, it appears to be about a mile wide. The district […]

Charter Watch, August 11

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Thus begins our series of posts on how people are moving the goal posts on charters. We noticed this a while ago, but with Jamie Vaznis’ piece in the Globe today, I’ll start keeping tabs more publicly. Jamie V asks a fair question: Are many charter schools achieving dazzling MCAS scores because of innovative teaching or because they enroll fewer disadvantaged students? But while there is a single line in the piece on other disadvantaged categories of students, Vaznis did not go beyond special needs and limited English proficient students. A bit of digging would show that charters serve higher numbers of Hispanics, African-American, and poor (Free and Reduced Lunch) students. Aren’t they disadvantaged? My Jamie (Jamie Gass, head of […]