MORE ARTICLES
NYT’s Anupreeta Das on Bill Gates, Microsoft, & Tech BillionairesAugust 28, 2024 - 12:03 pm
Harris’ Tax Vision: Policy & PoliticsAugust 27, 2024 - 3:23 pm
Poll: State Voters Overwhelmingly Support Ending Public Records Exemption, Auditing the LegislatureAugust 26, 2024 - 10:45 am
National Alliance’s Starlee Coleman on Public Charter SchoolsAugust 21, 2024 - 1:14 pm
How Has Employment Changed In Massachusetts?August 20, 2024 - 4:03 pm
How Has Transportation Been Changing In Massachusetts?August 20, 2024 - 2:31 pm
Digital Privacy Divide: Can Law Enforcement Google Where You’ve Been?August 20, 2024 - 11:40 am
American Bar Association Elects President of the Pioneer Law Center as Vice Chair of Judicial DivisionAugust 20, 2024 - 9:30 am
Pioneer Institute: 340B Hospitals Does Not Necessarily Translate to Charity CareAugust 19, 2024 - 12:49 pm
Wrap Up of the Massachusetts Legislative Session – Or Is It??August 14, 2024 - 1:53 pm
More Doors Equals Faster Service
/1 Comment/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byI’m a big fan of the planned expansion of the MBTA’s Fairmount Line. Its a little used commuter rail line that runs from South Station to Readville. In between are some of the densest areas of the city that don’t have ready access to subway service. The MBTA has (slowly) been adapting the Fairmount Line by adding stations, in an effort to provide more service to these communities. Some supporters of the expanded Fairmount Line have been pushing for DMUs, which are self-powered vehicles that could operate on commuter rail lines but might be able to provide more subway-like service. When the MBTA looked into this option, they found that DMUs had significant benefits — quicker acceleration, lower operating costs […]
Would you rather be….
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /bysecretary of transportation in Massachusetts or drummer in Spinal Tap? Good luck and g*dspeed, Jeffrey Mullan.
Waiting Times for Medical Care in MA
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byOk, a bunch of folks — Globe, Newsweek, USA Today, Cato, Heartland Institute — have picked up a Merritt Hawkins survey of physician waittimes. And more specifically, that wait times in Massachusetts have increased over the past five years — which at least some observers ascribe to the impact of healthcare reform here. That’s all well and good, until it shows up on one of my favorite sites — Adam Gaffin’s Universal Hub. Then I need to step in. There are a couple of problems with the report — 1) Sample size — To get data from Boston, they called between 9 and 18 doctors in each specialty in both 2004 and 2009. (And not the same doctor’s each time.) […]
Pension Reform II may cost you money
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byI’ve blogged in the past about the comments of several members of the Pension Reform Commission who have talked about possibly raising the amount spent on pensions for public employees. Now that the Commission has submitted their initial list of potential proposals to PERAC’s actuary for costing, several members have reinforced my initial opinion: “The whole idea of cost neutrality, I don’t know how you balance that when it gets to the legislature,” said state Sen. Kenneth Donnelly, a former commissioner with the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission. “I think the chairman (Munnell) believed it would be good to have a cost-neutral proposal. I don’t know if that’s really possible,” the Arlington Democrat said. and “Reform does not mean ‘take […]
Important Announcement on US Senate Race
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byI will not be a candidate for US Senate. First, I’d like to thank the many (ok, several) citizens who urged me to enter the race. I know that many of you saw the fine website — www.draftpoftak09.com – produced by my dear friends at Liberty Dewey O’Neil Rasky Regan Denterlein Communications. Thanks again for your entirely unsolicited grass roots support. (And my apologies to the elderly residents of Kansas City who thought they were signing up for an effort to draft former Royals infielder Freddie Patek. Helpful hint: I’m taller.) Second, I’d like to thank my adoring and supportive family who helped me through the many hours of anguished deliberation (with the notable exception of my unfunny brother-in-law, who […]