I’m dealing fine with the heat, it’s the seeming meltdown in civic functioning that’s getting to me today. Without warning or announcement this morning, the E line decided it didn’t want to run past Brigham Circle. Grrr. Someone explained to me that when the weather goes above 95, the steel in the tracks expands, making […]
A couple of analysis pieces on the Big Dig are particularly worthwhile. First is a Globe Ideas piece by Commonwealth Inc. editor Robert Keough. (Hat tip: Dan Kennedy). “There’s no evidence-yet-that the leaking water, falling debris, and plunging panels can be linked to the revolving door of transportation secretaries and Turnpike Authority chairmen,” he writes. […]
LIke I say, I wasn’t around here when most of the Big Dig stuff was going on, so I’ll profess my ignorance. I certainly have a narrative about what was involved with the runaway project, but I don’t have the details. Charley offers a list of those who should answer for their involvement (or lack […]
Dan Kennedy is asking similar questions to those that I’ve been wondering.
I can’t help but think about the Callahan and Sumner tunnels, and all those century-old tunnels used by the subway system. They’ve worked from the day they opened, and I can’t think of a structural disaster that’s ever befallen any of them.
So why is […]
Whether or not Matt Amorello has legal precedent to stay as Turnpike head or not, after Monday night’s tragedy and yesteday’s performance I don’t see him staying on much longer. I have some sympathy: clearly the shoddy construction is not Amorello’s fault and he’s trying to do what he thinks is his job, coming out […]
John Daley looks at the front page of today’s Globe and asks, “Has the Globe site been hacked? Is this a parody?” Indeed, it is flabbergasting. I mean, the SJC decision is mildly important, but the gay marriage amendment will be with us at least through the ConCon. And then there’s the page-size cactus.
The only […]
Lot of folks picking on Jon Keller these days, so maybe I should say two things.
One, I don’t think people realize how revolutionary it is to have a gubernatorial debate that focuses squarely on policy choices, instead of poll numbers, horserace positioning, fuzzy symbolic ‘issues’, or personality conflicts. I’ll take this last debate over a […]
The Globe had a good write up on the political bloggers in the state, left (Blue Mass Group) and right (Hub Politics). I was pleasantly surprised to see LeftCenterLeft given a mention. A belated welcome to any Globe readers who have made their way here.
The paper takes my tag line and adds “left-leaning.” My friends tend to think […]
Tonight’s grand opening of Barneys Boston is spiking up the search engine traffic leading here. All because of a post I wrote a month ago that won’t be very helpful to the hordes of Googlers.
Puritan City has more, noting that "Word on the street is that everyone wants an invite, and nobody got one. […]
I’m glad I’m not the only one skeptical about the mayor’s wi-fi dreams. It strikes me as a bourgeois wishlist item dressed in populist garb. Besides, do we even know if wi-fi is going to be a standard five or ten, much less twenty years from now? Computer technology changes rapidly.
Adam Gaffin brings up the […]
Funny, I’ve seen little reaction so far to news that the South End BioLab has gotten another green light. Expect ribbon cutting in the next month. At the very least, the article paints political opposition as pretty beleagered. Which makes sense to me: the 2005 mayor and city council elections may have been the last […]
In the comments, Jason claims I’m too sanguine about Beacon Hill classism. Probably. On one hand, the architectural value and historical significance of the neighborhood will mean, given class divisions, that Beacon Hill will remain an exclusive neighborhood for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, a quick look at the Boston blogosphere will suggest […]
I’d probably share Jason’s lament that the public sculpture Partisans has been removed from Boston Common only, embarrassingly enough, I somehow have never even noticed it before. I would disagree, however, with his populist characterization of the cultural battle at hand:
It’s not the last time someone will hear "they didn’t fit" coming from a resident […]
Marilora lays out a manifesto for Eastie self-determination:
I keep reading comments on other blogs and news articles about East Boston, which keep harping on this idea of East Boston becoming the next South End or North End. Listen people, East Boston is nothing like the South End and frankly, I don’t think it ever will […]
So I’m catching up with the news for the last couple of days after a weekend out of town, and I see that the biggest local story seems to be controversy over Thanksgiving blue laws. (Hat tip: Universal Hub and Borderline. Archived story at the Globe) It started when Whole Foods planned to have all […]