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Driving the New Urban Agenda: Desired Outcomes for the Middle Cities Initiative

/0 Comments/in , /by Editorial Staff

Desired Outcomes for the Middle Cities Initiative Author(s): Jim Stergios and Maria Ortiz Perez — Publication date: 2009-07-22 Category: Economic Opportunity Abstract: As national discussions continue on the future of cities across the country, an array of stimulus strategies are being offered. These include downsizing older industrialized cities or engaging in large-scale urban renewal projects. Whatever path is taken, Pioneer urges elected officials and policymakers not to fall into old habits of things tried that failed. The challenges our cities face are not new and while stimulus can be helpful, it will not turn back generations of economic change to which cities have not adapted. [wpdm_package id=61]

The Challenge of Regionalization

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This space is a big fan of regionalization (see here and here), but we acknowledge the challenges involved. A recent report by the state on the potential of a Hamilton-Wenham tie-up highlights many of them. First, an incentive program put in place to encourage regionalization would, curiously, penalize the communities for an actual merger. By going from the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District (which exists currently) to a single, consolidated town, they will lose $500k+ in transportation reimbursements. This reduces the overall merger savings from $1.3m (against a budget of $42.9m) to $750k. Second, the devil really is in the details of tax rate harmonization. Hamilton has a higher mil rate than Wenham, so a tax rate in between the two […]

Subway incentives to promote seat belt compliance

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Joe Giglio and Charlie Chieppo had a nice piece, High-tech Highway Funding, in the Globe today on the need for broader and more strategic use of technology to improve transportation service and create an effective revenue stream for transportation needs. Some people – not naming names – some people love this idea but worry that technology can be, well, misused, let’s put it that way, to, uhm, well, also reduce the ability to violate speed limits. Not that they are right. Again, I am not naming names, nope. A similar issue arises with today’s announcement by state and local public safety officials and advocates about an impending seat belt law “enforcement blitz,” as the Statehouse News Service put it, which […]

Teachers Unions Do Not Equal Teachers

/5 Comments/in , , /by Liam Day

In the wake of yesterday’s State House hearing on his proposal to create in-district charter schools in Boston, the Globe has an article exploring Mayor Menino’s motivation for changing his stance on charters, which he has historically (and quite vocally) opposed. I will leave aside for now my thoughts on the Mayor’s proposal, and simply point out in the article what I thought was a curious paragraph, one that highlights a problem that too often plagues public discussions of education reform: The party’s shift has elicited feelings of betrayal among teachers, who feel that too much blame is placed on them and that political leaders are failing to take responsibility for not providing funding and other resources teachers say are […]

Even More Zoo Thoughts

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(Disclaimer: I am in the tank for the Franklin Park Zoo. I’m a member, I go there often, I know Executive Director John Linehan (not well)) With that out of the way, I wanted to add a few items to the discussion: 1) Clause M of the Section 5 of Chapter 92b of the MA General Laws — I’m curious why this hasn’t come up sooner — it prevents the Zoo from charging admission to students on school trips. I understand the impulse but it seems unfair to expect the zoo to stand on its own (kind of) without letting them charge an important group of customers. 2) The Two-Headed Monster — The political dynamic created by the two locations […]