I voted early yesterday. Ten minutes before the City Hall polling place was to open a line was forming. Quickly 50 or 60 people joined the line. The stream was constant. To the extent that there was conversation, it was in dribs and drabs about this exciting new opportunity to cast ballots before election day. …
Month: October 2016
Moulton takes North-South Rail Link to New Level
Decades ago, a rumpled state rep from Brookline would go from event to event, largely Democratic political gatherings and journalist venues, and tout the concept of a North-South Rail Link, connecting North and South Stations and hence the entire northeast corridor from Maine to Virginia. He was dismissed as a crank. People would say yeah, it …
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Why more kids should have access to charter schools
The Neighborhood House Charter School in the Dorchester section of Boston is a prime example of why more children should have access to charter school education. That's the goal of Question 2 on the November ballot, allowing the state Board of Education to approve up to 12 new charter schools a year. If more than …
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Is grassroots democracy under attack in Newton?
Newton has always prided itself on being a well run city with high degrees of citizen participation. But now it seems that, as part a special commission's review of the decades-old city charter, grassroots democracy may have to take a back seat to some notion of streamlining and efficiency. A case in point: the commission's toying …
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Finally, movement on Sal DiMasi
It's about time. Federal prosecutors have finally asked for the early release of former Mass. House Speaker Sal DiMasi from a federal prison in Butler, North Carolina. DiMasi was convicted on seven out of nine corruption charges and sentenced to federal prison for eight years. Di Masi used his office to enrich himself to the tune of $65,000, securing $17.5 …
Trump, Clinton “revelations” show nothing new
Last night's video of Donald Trump, showing lewd behavior, coarse language, gutter-level attitude toward women and boasts of Bill Cosby-like predatory actions, shows nothing new about this extreme misogynist. Perhaps the video shocks because it so starkly portrays his fundamental character writ large. Is the video analogous to Monica Lewinsky's semen-stained blue dress? Incontrovertible evidence of the character we're dealing …
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Pence wins on looks; Kaine, on facts
The Vice Presidential debate never matters much in the selection of our Chief Executive. Given what's at stake in choosing between the Democrat and Republican Presidential nominees, it perhaps matters even less this year. But at least for a few days, last night's Mike Pence/ Tim Kaine head-to-head could influence the national conversation. Even that could …
An open letter to my grandson about the election
Dear Jacob, This is your first Presidential election, and I know you understand the importance of your vote - especially since you're casting your ballot from college in Ohio rather than in Massachusetts. You, as did so many of your Oberlin classmates and other millennials, voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary. The Vermont Senator …
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Marjorie Arons-Barron 