MORE ARTICLES
Mapping Mass Migration: New Census Data Shows Continued Out-Migration from Massachusetts to Competitor StatesDecember 19, 2024 - 8:52 am
UK’s John Suchet, OBE, on Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, & BalletsDecember 18, 2024 - 9:40 am
Tim’s Take: An Education Reform Stalwart Takes a Curious Look at Homeschoolers With ESAsDecember 12, 2024 - 1:10 pm
U-OK’s Dan Hamlin on Emerging School Models & Learning LossDecember 11, 2024 - 10:20 am
What To Do About 340BDecember 11, 2024 - 9:47 am
Pioneer Institute Offers Blueprint for Federal Administrative ReformDecember 10, 2024 - 9:06 am
The House Call – Mayor Wu Wants to Overhaul Boston’s Arcane Development Approvals Process? Here Are Three Reform OptionsDecember 9, 2024 - 11:05 am
Pioneer Institute Releases Examination of Metropolitan Housing Markets; Obtains Insights Into Improving Affordability December 5, 2024 - 9:03 am
NYT #1 Bestseller Dava Sobel on Marie Curie & Women in ScienceDecember 4, 2024 - 10:58 am
The Roger Perry Internship ProgramDecember 3, 2024 - 2:00 pm
Sure, fight the housing shortage, just not here.
/0 Comments/in Blog, Economic Opportunity, Housing, News /byIs what’s good for Springfield also good for Amherst? Friend of Pioneer Peter A. Gagliardi, leader of nonprofit housing developer HAP, Inc., has found that where one stands on affordable housing depends on where one’s property sits. Qualified families in both towns languish on waiting lists for decent homes, yet Springfield welcomes new construction, while Amherst fought a HAP project in court for five years. Gagliardi is the author of both a Pioneer housing paper and one of the best “Dear Deval” pre-inauguration Globe op-eds. He’s also a veteran, having slogged for decades through the mud hidden behind good intentions and pretty speeches about affordable housing. As proven by Gagliardi’s experience, as well as his research, those who would increase […]
Jim Stergios on MCAS
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, News, Related Education Blogs /byPioneer Executive Director Jim Stergios appeared on NECN’s Newsnight last evening. He spoke in favor of the MCAS on a panel with the decidedly anti-MCAS Lisa Guisbond of FairTest. Check it out here. (Bear with it, you have to sit through an ad first.)
Tooting My Own Horn – Biotech Edition
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government, Economic Opportunity, Healthcare /byPioneer has had a lot to say about the Governor’s biotech proposal — some positive, some negative — but the exact parameters of the proposal are not yet clear. There’s a lot of discussion around research grants, paying for equipment, and tax incentives, but a many details remain to be filled in. The Administration is having its first meeting of a large advisory group to begin the work on those details. My thoughts, from an article in this morning’s Globe: Patrick has won praise from life-science leaders for the inclusiveness of his approach to building and luring a competitive industry. But as his plans become more concrete, letting biotech leaders suggest ways to give cash to their own industry raises […]
The Vatican takes on its most daunting target
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byThe Vatican has just put out its “Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road“, which I have to believe is aimed directly at Massachusetts drivers, rated as the worst in the nation. A brief snippet: Sometimes the prohibitions imposed by road signs may be perceived as restrictions of freedom. Especially when unobserved and unmonitored, some people are tempted to infringe such limitations, which are in fact designed to protect them and other people. Some drivers thus consider the duty to respect certain prudent regulations that reduce traffic risks and dangers as humiliating. Others deem it intolerable – almost a curtailment of their “rights” – to be obliged to follow patiently another vehicle that is travelling slowly, because, for example, […]
More Pension Fun
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byToday’s Globe has two stories on pensions today. In the first, it reports that the Board of Higher Ed has changed its policy to include housing allowances in the calculation of pension benefits for its college presidents. Former UMASS president Bulger won his court case on this matter, so it appears that the board really had no choice. But the whole matter prompts some questions: How did we get into the practice of paying housing allowances in the first place? I’ve heard several times that this is ‘standard practice’, but the Globe reports: Last year, the American Council on Education surveyed 2,148 public and private college presidents nationwide and found that 20 percent received housing allowances and 28 percent lived […]