government Archives

PARTY POOPERS: BLUE AND RED STALWARTS SHOULD STOP ATTACKING MINOR PARTY SUPPORTERS

July 30, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Blue and Red stalwarts should stop attacking minor party supporters for remaining independent—and start debating ideas The quadrennial whinefest has already begun. The RNC and DNC pageants are barely over, the presidential election is still over three months off, and yet major party

JASON PRAMAS July 30, 2016

MEDICINE FOR A MENDICANT MEDIA: Government support can revive American journalism

July 25, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS [Note: This is the full version of this article. A shorter version ran in the print edition of DigBoston— also dated July 25, 2016.] Journalism is in a tough spot. There are tens of thousands of trained journalists in the United States, but a dearth

JASON PRAMAS July 25, 2016

KILL SHOT 2: MASS PUBLIC HIGHER ED STILL ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

UMass President’s Office at One Beacon Street in Boston Overlooking the Massachusetts State House July 12, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Will campus advocates spark a rebellion for proper funding or cling to failed politics as usual? Hot on the heels of the UMass Boston administration issuing pink slips to

JASON PRAMAS July 12, 2016

WELFARE KINGS: BAKER MOVES TO MAKE CORPORATE GIVEAWAYS EVEN SWEETER

June 28, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS If you think that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston lavishing $270 million in tax breaks and direct aid on General Electric in exchange for moving their world headquarters to the Hubis unconscionable, you should realize that the deal is

JASON PRAMAS June 28, 2016

GE BOSTON DEAL: THE MISSING MANUAL, PART 8

Photo by Jason Pramas. Copyright 2016 Jason Pramas. June 21, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Problems with GE Fort Point arrangement show need for democratic economic development planning A new wrinkle surfaced earlier this month in the plan to use a big chunk of the $270 million in public aid and

JASON PRAMAS June 21, 2016

KILL SHOT: YEARS OF STATE AUSTERITY BUDGETS PUT UMASS BOSTON IN JEOPARDY

June 10, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Community needs to join Faculty Staff Union movement for a return to full funding There is only one appropriate response to the looming layoff of 400 unionized non-tenure track faculty at UMass Boston. Rebellion. We are well past the era of shots across

JASON PRAMAS June 10, 2016

#makeGEpay Budget Amendment Filed in MA Senate; Advocates Encourage Public Support [an Apparent Horizon breaking news report]

May 25, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS The #makeGEpay advocacy network — including Jewish Voice for Peace-Boston and dozens of other local community organizations — just announced that Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) has filed a “Community Benefits for Corporate Tax Breaks” amendment to the Massachusetts Senate’s budget proposal. If included in the final state

JASON PRAMAS May 25, 2016

IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY GROUP OF CAMBRIDGE PROVIDES MODEL FOR MUNICIPAL HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISM

Joint Committee Meeting of the Cambridge City Council to Discuss Immigrant Representation and Resources, May 12, 2016. Photo by Jason Pramas. Copyright 2016 Jason Pramas. May 23, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS We live in strange times. On the one hand, the United States is a more diverse society than

JASON PRAMAS May 23, 2016

GE BOSTON DEAL: THE MISSING MANUAL, PART 7

May 11, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS General Electric tries to cheap out on cleaning up its PCB apocalypse on the Housatonic River In 1929, Swann Chemical Company began commercially producing polychlorinated biphenyls for industrial use as an electrical insulator and as a coolant. PCBs were immediately a huge success,

JASON PRAMAS May 11, 2016

ECONOMIC VIOLENCE: VERIZON CUTS OFF HEALTH CARE BENEFITS TO STRIKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

May 6, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS As the Verizon strike enters its fourth week, the 39,000 union members on picket lines up and down the East Coast—and now taking their campaign nationwide—are continuing to hold fast for a better contract than the giant corporation has thus far been willing

JASON PRAMAS May 6, 2016