Despite the widespread panic (or joy) that this year’s midterms have elicited on the national level, 2010 is also proving to be an interesting if not particularly apocalyptic and/or providential on the local level. A smattering of races are attracting some attention. The lynch pin
Neal’s Wikipedia Photo. Partly due to percolating over this and partly due to laziness, WMassP&I returns to reality with a new posting focusing on a figure oft-mentioned, but rarely explored. There is little doubt that he is a giant in the political establishment of the
This week, Massachusetts Republican Senator, Scott Brown, announced that he would vote to end debate (filibuster) of the sweeping financial reform bill now awaiting Senate passage. With the support of Maine’s Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, the Democratic Senate leadership has the votes
With the Massachusetts Senate passing its own casino gambling bill, the gaming industry’s march into Massachusetts is now all but complete. Although sticking points remain, particularly Speaker DeLeo’s treasured slot parlors, it seems unlikely that some compromise cannot be hammered out. Since no political downside
Today, we begin a new segment covering the Massachusetts gubernatorial election due this November, “The Governor Giveth and the Governor Taketh Away.” For purposes of practicality, the name may be shortened to one of the two clauses in the title depending on what and whom
*Be sure to Check out our new explanation section of fiscal years and Proposition 2 1/2 limits! Look left! For all the humdrum about government spending, taxes, and fiscal discipline, budget hearings, planning, and execution is a fairly dull subject. Save for conservative oft-overlooked one-column
For the second time in five years, it seems the issue of immigration has been brought, if not forced, front and center in the national arena. Competing for coverage with an oil spill and palace intrigue at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, immigration has become
In the span of only a week or two, Boston experienced two major, but for the most part inconvenient events that cast cost businesses money and threw some people into panic mode. Two weeks ago a fire broke out in the city’s Red Line tunnel
With hopeful assessments about the nation and region’s economic recovery apparently matching actual positives changes in unemployment and other economic figures, there is reason at last to breath a sigh of relief. Although employments will very likely not regain their pre-recession levels for many years,
Yesterday, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed its bill to establish 2 casinos and slot parlors at the state’s race tracks. The bill passed by an overwhelming margin, practically flipping the vote on the governor’s casino bill from 2008. The House, then led by former