MassINC urges public funds to spur private investment in Gateway Cities

MassINC is calling for a 10-year infusion of $1.7 million in public money to jump-start private investment in the state’s 24 Gateway Cities in a process it calls “transformative redevelopment.”

MassINC’s Gateway Cities Innovation Institute estimates that public investment on that order would stimulate nearly $7 billion in private investment and create about 80,000 jobs.

Gateway Cities report proposes $1.7 billion public investment in underperforming cities – including Springfield and Holyoke

An institute dedicated to strengthening Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities is proposing a $1.7 billion public investment in those cities, which include Springfield, Holyoke, Pittsfield and Westfield.

The Gateway Cities Innovation Institute, run by MassINC, unveiled the proposal Thursday at a legislative breakfast.

MassINC calls for investment in redevelopment of Gateway Cities

A $1.7 billion strategic investment by the state over 10 years would dramatically boost the economic climates of two-dozen small and midsize Gateway Cities such as Taunton and Fall River, according to a report MassINC released Thursday.

“This is a big idea, a bold idea,” said MassINC Gateway Cities Institute director Benjamin Forman, who presented the research Thursday at the Hampshire House to members of the Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus.

MassINC Calls for $1.7 Billion for Redevelopment of Gateway Cities

A new report is calling for major investment into redeveloping the real estate market in Massachusetts’ so-called “Gateway Cities.”

Boston-based policy institute MassINC released a report Thursday calling for $1.7 billion to strategically revitalize former manufacturing centers like New Bedford, Springfield and Worcester.

Brockton could benefit from investment program for gateway cities

Over the years, the city has tried different strategies to revitalize its downtown area: a new courthouse, thriving health center, vacant buildings renovated as condos.

The Gateway Cities Innovation Institute – whose mission is to serve a committed group of gateway city leaders, a program of MassINC – released a study on how a development strategy called “transformative investment” could jump-start building in regional economic centers, drawing private investment with enough impact to transform communities.

Report calls for $1.7 billion investment in Mass. cities

A state investment of $1.7 billion over the next decade would lift the economies and redevelopment of struggling urban centers outside of Boston, creating jobs and stimulating private investment, according to a new report from MassINC.

The report, published by MassINC and the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute, calls for the state to commit $125 million a year for the next 10 years to a redevelopment fund that would provide the seed money and leverage private investment for downtown renewal projects in urban centers around the state.

Gateway Cities like Lowell eyed for $1.7B economic boost

WBUR Poll: Brown Would Be In Strong Position For Special Election

A WBUR poll of 500 registered voters (PDFs – topline, crosstabs) finds U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is in a strong position should there be a special election to fill U.S. Sen. John Kerry’s seat.

The poll, conducted by the MassINC Polling Group on Monday and Tuesday, finds voters view Brown favorably, despite the fact that in November they chose to elect Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren in his stead. Fifty-eight percent of those polled say they have a favorable view of Brown, compared with 28 percent who view him unfavorably. Rounded off, 12 percent say they are undecided, and 1 percent say they have never heard of him.

My Fox Boston – Poll shows Brown leads as potential Kerry replacement

A WBUR/MassINC Poll released Thursday shows current outgoing Mass. Senator Scott Brown is in good position to win a potential special election to replace Sen. John Kerry.

National Review – Stage Is Set for a Scott Brown Comeback – If He Wants One

WBUR poll of 500 registered voters finds U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is in a strong position should there be a special election to fill U.S. Sen. John Kerry’s seat.

MassINC pollster Steve Koczela looked at how well Brown would fare against four current or former Democratic members of Congress.

Politico – Mass. poll: Scott Brown for John Kerry’s seat

Outgoing Sen. Scott Brown might not be out of Washington for long.

The Massachusetts Republican would be in a strong position to win a special election to fill the seat of Sen. John Kerry if the latter is appointed secretary of state,  according to a WBUR/MassInc. poll  released Thursday.

CNN – Poll: Brown in good position to win ticket back to Senate

Outgoing Republican Sen. Scott Brown may not be gone from Capitol Hill for long, according to a new poll of Massachusetts voters.

The Atlantic – The Decline of the ‘Great Equalizer’

Massachusetts, home to America’s best schools and best-educated workforce, has seen income inequality soar. Why? The poor are losing an academic arms race with the rich.

As those who can afford to do so head for the clusters, inequality grows. Across the state, communities are becoming more homogenous by income group, said Ben Forman, research director at think tank MassInc.

Wicked Local Melrose – Sen. Katherine Clark: Building a modern, sustainable transportation system

Massachusetts needs a public transportation system that is sustainable for the long-term with sufficient capital to keep fares reasonable, expand routes, modernize our infrastructure, and improve services.

MassINC, a non-partisan research organization, has concluded that Massachusetts is at a “crossroads” in how we operate and finance our transportation network and that the “rationale for investing in public transit as a regional economic development strategy is exceptionally strong.”

Boston Globe – Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse’s too-sudden shift on casinos

ALEX B. Morse’s election as mayor of Holyoke last year was bigger than any single issue, but his opposition to a casino in the city was a major factor.

Moreover, Morse’s shift was head-spinningly abrupt. As recently as October, he wrote in a commentary in CommonWealth Magazine that “a casino in Holyoke would not aid in our economic rebirth, but would ultimately undermine the effort.”

Northampton Daily Hampshire Gazette – Alex Morse explains decision to consider Holyoke casino

Over cries of “liar” and “sellout,” Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse officially opened his city to the possibility of a resort casino Monday.

Morse’s reversal was particularly surprising given his opposition to casinos in the past. In January, he rejected a proposal by Hard Rock International Co. to build a casino in Holyoke. And in October he penned a piece in CommonWealth Magazine about his opposition to casino gaming, writing, “a casino in Holyoke would not aid our economic rebirth, but would ultimately undermine that effort. ”

WGBY – Connecting Point 11/26/12

MassINC’s Research Director and Executive Director of the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute, Benamin Forman, on WGBY’s Connecting Point.

Boston Magazine – Youngest Mayor in Massachusetts Becomes Youngest Flip-Flopping Mayor in Massachusetts

Alex Morse, the anti-casino mayor of Holyoke, announced today that he suddenly embraces casinos.

How much did Morse dislike casinos? Enough to publish an editorial in October’s edition of Commonwealth Magazine railing against them.

Boston Globe Blogs – Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse backs new casino proposal in reversal of anti-casino stand

In a surprising reversal of his steadfast anti-casino position, Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse plans to announce Monday that he is supporting a proposal to develop a gambling resort off Route 91 in his economically struggling city, potentially realigning the competition for the sole resort casino license in Western Massachusetts.

Morse remained opposed as recently as this fall. In a commentary published in October by CommonWealth Magazine, Morse argued “a casino in Holyoke would not aid in our economic rebirth, but would ultimately undermine the effort.”

Masslive.com – Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse to announce casino resort plan for Mountain Park with Eric Suher

In a stunning reversal, Mayor Alex B. Morse will announce Monday he is mounting a bid to bring a casino gambling resort to Mount Tom in partnership with Holyoke native and entertainment mogul Eric Suher.

That includes Morse participating in a point/counterpoint set of commentaries on the CommonWealth Magazine website to which MassLive.com linked on Oct. 11 in whichMorse wrote against a casino and Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno wrote in favor.

Boston Business Journal – Boston World Partnerships shuttered

Commonwealth Magazine reported Thursday that Boston World Partnerships, an economic development networking company, is shutting down.

Norwich Bulletin – Rick Holmes: Can’t we just be friends?
Congressional leaders met with President Barack Obama on Friday at the White House, where they took the next steps in the dance of power that will shape the history of the next two years.

As Bruce Mohl and Sam Obar recall in a recent issue of CommonWealth magazine, Massachusetts governors and leaders of both parties in both houses of the Legislature have been meeting nearly every Monday afternoon for more than 20 years.

South Coast Today – Gateway Cities propelled Warren over Brown in Senate race

Boston Mayor Tom Menino’s voter-turnout machine got much of the credit for propelling Elizabeth Warren past Sen. Scott Brown last week, but the focus on Boston obscures a much more significant shift in support in the state’s Gateway Cities.

Brown swept his way into the Senate in January 2010 by making strong inroads into cities outside Boston that Democrats had traditionally carried by wide margins.

Masslive.com – Letters to the Editor: Holyoke mayor misses chance on casinos

If pie-in-the-sky were a marketable commodity, Holyoke’s Mayor Alex Morse would be the hands-down winner of the Commonwealth Magazine’s pro-versus-con casino debate (reprinted in the Republican on Oct. 14).

Boston Globe – Mass. tax hike on the table for roads and transit

Nearly six years after a bipartisan commission sounded the alarm about a transportation system in a crisis so severe that it carried a shortfall of nearly $1 billion a year, Governor Deval Patrick will ask lawmakers to solve the problem with a plan that includes higher taxes.

But the MassINC poll revealed that 71 percent believe the transportation red ink is a result of “waste and mismanagement,” not insufficient funding — a belief at odds with conclusions of an array of analysts, activists, and policy makers.

Governing Magazine – 11 Cities in Massachusetts Band Together to Solve Urban Ills

Lowell, Mass., is less than 30 miles from Boston, but economically, demographically and educationally, the two cities are much farther apart. The former mill town where Jack Kerouac was born has a stubbornly high unemployment rate, more than one-third of its population is either poor or working poor and less than one-quarter (23 percent) of its residents has some level of college education. Compared to Boston with its highly educated population and robust and diversified economy, Lowell is clearly second tier.

Boston Globe – Drug lab crisis calls out for corrections reform

The scandal at the state drug lab and the pending release of hundreds, possibly thousands of prisoners, is an uncomfortable reminder of the way we operate our criminal justice system even in the absence of a crisis.

In order to break this costly cycle, we need to reexamine the Commonwealth’s policy on incarceration. For over a year, the non-partisan think tank MassINC has been organizing a group of criminal justice and civic leaders to develop a blue state model for the kind of sentencing and corrections reform already achieved in many red states. The Criminal Justice Coalition will take on the issues with research, policy analysis, and public education.

Worcester Telegram & Gazette – Champion for Gateway Cities

Recently, MassINC announced plans to redouble its effort to bring focus and attention to Gateway Cities like Worcester with the launch of a new Gateway Cities Innovation Institute. Working together with many partners, MassINC has taken “Gateway Cities” from a simple term in a 2007 research study to a collaborative movement with the potential to bring about deep and meaningful change.

Boston Globe – Republican side ready for a big party in Boston

The sliders and pretzels have been ordered. Boston cover band Sweet Tooth & the ­Sugarbabies is on the bill. All Mitt Romney’s party at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center needs now is a victory.

Google and think tank MassINC are cohosting a nonpartisan party at Legal Harborside on the third-floor rooftop.

Boston Innovation – Analyze the Presidential Election & Online Trends in Real-Time With Google in Boston

We live in a time when information about what is happening all around the world pours in more rapidly from a plethora of social media streams than most of us can soak in.

As the votes come in on a national and local level, Google, in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC), will be dissecting the latest trends and search results while watching the Presidential race unfold in real-time on two giant screens.