Gateway City workshop spotlights asset-building as key growth strategy

Leaders from Gateway Cities, state agencies, and financial institutions assembled in Worcester on June 22nd to learn about innovative new opportunities to connect low-income families with wealth-building financial services. The forum was a byproduct of a MassINC policy brief released last April. The paper described the toll reliance on high-cost financial services exacts on Gateway

MassINC’s Schneider speaks up on behalf of Gateway Cities

  Provides recommendations to special panel on revitalizing Massachusetts  regional urban engines MassINC Executive Vice President John Schneider participated in a panel discussion Saturday morning to weigh in about strategies for improving the economic outlook in Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities.  The panel discussion was part of a conference held by Congresswoman Nikki Tsongas and the Northeast-Midwest

Creative Economy Strategy Gains Momentum in Pittsfield

1 Thursday, June 24, 2010 The Colonial Theater had been dark for over 50 years when the City of Pittsfield bet that bringing it back to life would make a bold statement about the community’s future. We met recently with leaders from the across Western Massachusetts to learn about what Pittsfield has achieved since successfully

If I ruled the Globe

. It’s embarrassing, I know. But the Globe has been owned by the New York Times for quite a while now. There’s no sense wasting those synergies. It was sad—the end of an era—when the Globe shuttered its international bureaus. In the pre-Internet era, few people subscribed to multiple newspapers—the Globe did need to “do

Ads and comments blend at the Globe

Letting its ads creep into its content, the Boston Globe is trying to build a revenue stream from the comments its readers submit about online stories. As far back as I can remember, the Globe has had ads in the sections where readers post their comments in response to articles. But a few months ago,

We need more housing

I participated yesterday in a forum on the connection between housing and the economy held by the Home Builders Association of Massachusetts. The event marked the release of a report demonstrating the large net revenues residential construction provides for state and local governments. This is a critical issue because it’s tied so tightly to why our

Springtime in Holyoke

By Ben Forman Last Friday was one of those gorgeous spring days meant for venturing out. Instead of following my normal routine (getting on the T and riding east), I got into the car and drove west on the turnpike to the historic city of Holyoke. The visitor’s center at Heritage State Park was full

The ‘comment’ game, part 2

As of Monday afternoon, 90 comments had been posted on Boston.com about the Boston Globe’s story about Don Chiofaro’s clash with Mayor Thomas Menino, and they seemed split fairly evenly between opponents of the controversial developer and opponents of the mayor. As I reported last week, Chiofaro’s opponents knew the Globe story was coming and

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