Rollins brings mandate for change – and blunt style – to Suffolk DA’s job

With reform talk in the air, Boston’s new prosecutor prepares to take the reins

RACHAEL ROLLINS DEFIED expectations when she rolled to a decisive victory this fall in the race for Suffolk County district attorney. She won a five-way Democratic primary, outpacing a field that included the favorite of the law enforcement establishment, and went on to trounce an independent candidate in the November general election. The seat was

Dr. Tracy Corley joins the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth’s (MassINC) Gateway Cities Innovation Institute

Will lead MassINC’s ongoing effort to tap into the promise and potential of transit-oriented development in Gateway Cities

BOSTON – MassINC welcomes Dr. Tracy Corley to the new role of Transit-Oriented Development Fellow. In this position—made possible with generous financial support from the Barr Foundation—Dr. Corley will lead MassINC’s ongoing effort to tap into the promise and potential of transit-oriented development in Gateway Cities. “Over the next several years, the state must make

What’s next for the T?

Newsmakers event recap

The staff of CommonWealth magazine and MassINC would like to thank those who attended “Newsmakers” on November 27, which provided us with the opportunity to connect headline-makers to headline-readers in discussing the future of the MBTA. We would also like to extend our gratitude to those who gave generously during our fundraising campaign. We are

Seth Moulton and the Shifting Sands of Polls

The Topline

Polling is a snapshot of time; when times change, polls are a time capsule of the way it used to be. Perhaps no one better exemplifies the shifting sands of polls right now than Seth Moulton, who has led the apparently unsuccessful charge to block Nancy Pelosi from returning as Speaker of the House. The

Talking strategy with Alan Berube and Hugh Dunn

Gateways Episode 3

In this episode of Gateways, Ben Forman speaks with Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program, Alan Berube, about facilitating inclusive economic opportunity in the Gateway Cities and what it's really like to tell your family that you work at a think tank.

Bring it on!

The Gateway Cities Journal

Next year Beacon Hill leaders are expected to finally turn their attention to solving the Chapter 70 underfunding challenges that have long plagued Gateway City school districts and disadvantaged Gateway City students. Many are calling on the state to follow the 1993 ed reform playbook, and attach additional accountability for improving student learning to any

Local Accountability: The Forgotten Element in Education Reform

Part One in a Series of Three Papers

Prepared in partnership with the Center for Assessment, this novel paper is a first attempt to define the purpose and principles of “local accountability” practices that complement state and federal accountability frameworks. The conceptual frame in a series of three reports, The Forgotten Element in Education Reform explores the shifting balance of responsibility for monitoring school performance

Mayors, city managers forming commuter rail coalition

Driscoll: ‘There needs to be a voice for commuter rail and its riders’

MAYORS AND CITY MANAGERS across eastern Massachusetts are forming a coalition to advocate for the MBTA’s commuter rail system. Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, who is active in forming the coalition, said the commuter rail system often gets overlooked in discussions about transportation even though its impact is enormous in many communities. “It’s the lifeblood of

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