Beacon Hill

Latest Articles

Barney's Big Surprise

Long before The Sopranos and Jersey Shore introduced the nation to the ripe effusions of the New Jersey personality, voters in and around greater Boston had accepted Barney Frank as one of the more unusual players in the political game.
A working-class hero goes down kvetching. Plus, new hope in the fight against AIDS.
By EDITORIAL | December 02, 2011

Transgendered rights

A bill to extend basic legal protections to transgendered people in Massachusetts has languished for years on Beacon Hill. It is time to stop stalling.
The time to act is now
By EDITORIAL | September 30, 2011

Boston's last congressman?

At the moment, neither the Senate president nor the Speaker of the House lives in the city. And in two years, the unthinkable could become reality: Boston might not have a single congressman residing in its borders.
Musical chairs dept.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 02, 2011

In a job-starved economy, casinos are still a good bet

As Beacon Hill considers — yet again — an expanded gaming proposal, some say that the opportunity has passed. We disagree, and continue to support a carefully crafted plan for bringing resort casinos to Massachusetts.
The issue provoked a rare show of common purpose on Beacon Hill
By EDITORIAL | September 02, 2011

Photos: Protests of Fox News and Verizon

Members of the Boston Media Reform Network (BMRN) protest Fox News at Beacon Hill on August 4, 2011; Verizon field workers and their allies protested Verizon at Post Office Square also on August 4, 2011.
From Beacon Hill to Post Office Square | August 4, 2011
By KELLY DAVIDSON AND TIM KENNEDY | August 12, 2011

Meanwhile, At The Dysfunctional Statehouse

Yes, I know, it's all Whitey all the time -- believe me, I'm enjoying the spectacle -- but let's remember that there's another sordid tale...
By David S. Bernstein | June 24, 2011

Curbing corruption with a catch-all

Sal DiMasi is no saint, but that doesn't mean he's a criminal. His behavior makes us grimace, but it simply doesn't amount to a state or federal felony.
Vague Justice?
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | June 24, 2011

Republicans continue to wage war on women

The Republican Party's unrelenting war on women is now being waged with such frenzied fury that sane people might well wonder if there is a GOP-wide obsession with punishing an entire gender.
Plus, Beacon Hill follies, youth violence
By EDITORIAL | May 13, 2011

Don't shortchange the arts

Building a state budget in these challenging economic times is a thankless task. So much needs to be done, and there is so little cash with which to do it.
Plus: DeLeo's welcome health-insurance fix, and bicycles and burritos — only in Boston
By EDITORIAL | April 29, 2011

After Wisconsin Nightmare, Activists Kick Off Protest Season on Beacon Hill

Demonstration season kicked off on Beacon Hill today. Gadflies and activists didn't swarm just to support black leaders who organized the streetside press conference in...
By Chris Faraone | March 10, 2011

RALLY DISPATCH: The Tea Party comes to Beacon Hill, gets treaded on...

When the Tea Party rabble-rousers began chanting “You Work For Us” at municipal employees, first responders, and state workers, I was hoping that some of...
By Chris Faraone | February 23, 2011

An (almost) A-to-Z guide to Boston

Welcome to Boston, college kids.
From Ben Affleck to Yawkey Way
By LUKE O'NEIL | January 28, 2011

Governor Fuzzy: Has Deval Patrick lost his edge — already?

Some folks — including this newspaper — who supported Governor Deval Patrick's re-election and wish him well as he wrestles with the daunting task of steering Massachusetts through the next four years are scratching their heads.
Plus, Boston City Council president Stephen Murphy.
By EDITORIAL | January 07, 2011

Generation X

Your article, “ Gen X Goes to Washington ” (November 26, 2010) was great. I’m glad this topic is finally being discussed.
Letters to the Boston editor, January 7, 2010
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | January 07, 2011

Double-Secret Probation: 2010's biggest Boston political scandal

In a year that started with a former House Speaker under indictment, an open US Senate seat, and a governor seemingly headed to electoral defeat, the biggest political story of 2010 turned out to be the Beacon Hill probation patronage scandal. And, if pa
As the previous Beacon Hill scandals wind down, another — a potentially bigger one — emerged this year: political patronage
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | December 24, 2010

Can Patrick Hang On?

Massachusetts has a mixed record of re-electing governors.
What Deval needs to do now
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 01, 2010

Ben Affleck and Rebecca Hall on the Town

Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner, who play Doug and Jem, a pair of Charlestown gangsters in Affleck’s stunning adaptation of local author Chuck Hogan’s novel Prince of Thieves , make for an intense, photogenic screen couple. That is, until Rebecca Hall com
Class acts
By PETER KEOUGH | September 17, 2010

A Race Well Run

Five months ago, when Massachusetts failed to win a Race to the Top education grant from the federal government, the Phoenix took the legislature and teachers' unions to task for being too timid and politically motivated to do the right thing.
Beacon Hill and the education establishment overcame narrow self-interest by putting students and schools first
By EDITORIAL | August 27, 2010

Photos: One Night in Boston 2010

STUFF Magazine presents photos taken in Boston's streets over nine hours on the night of August 22, 2010; here are a few of our favorites
Fifteen photographers. Nine hours.
By STUFF BOSTON | August 13, 2010

Same Old Faces

If you're wondering who the geniuses are behind the political campaigns in Massachusetts this year — the strategists, media firms, ad teams, and fundraisers — well, it's a lot of the same folks who have been behind Massachusetts campaigns for a long time
It's an outsider's year for candidates, but the consultants are old Beacon Hill mainstays. Plus, who spent what at the conventions, and Baker goes on TV first.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | June 25, 2010

Mr. Patrick Goes to Franklin Park

As Deval Patrick engaged constituents at the third annual 10,000 Strong Boston barbecue in Franklin Park on Father's Day, it was clear that his support from black voters doesn't derive solely from the luster of his climb from Chicago's hardscrabble stree
'Deval in the 'Hood' Dept.
By CHRIS FARAONE | June 25, 2010

Trail of jeers

As summer officially kicks off this weekend, thousands upon thousands of people will be descending on our fair metropolis to get a glimpse of America's most history-drenched city.
Forget Paul Revere. This summer, treat yourself to a tour of Boston's worst in political corruption.
By LAWRENCE ''HUGGY'' BERGMAN | June 18, 2010

Weenie Roast!

A year ago, with scandals and embarrassments swirling around Massachusetts state politics, the Phoenix tossed some well-deserving pols on the flames in our first annual Memorial Day political roast. I'm pleased that I've been invited back.
The Phoenix 's second annual Memorial Day political roast
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | June 04, 2010

Mexican president flubs it at the Kennedy school

Only a day before the Massachusetts Senate showed its true colors by approving a set of anti-immigrant amendments to the state budget — a recent change of heart that would probably not have happened had it not been for the so-called Arizona effect — the
Yo No Tengo Huevos Dept.
By MARCELA GARCIA | June 04, 2010

Heck of a Guy

Scott Brown’s stunning victory in January’s special US Senate election continues to reverberate through Massachusetts politics.
Despite a history of illiberal views and a boorish reputation, Guy Glodis enters the Democratic state convention unscathed
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 28, 2010

Moneybags Menino

Inside Boston’s political back rooms, there is a growing suspicion that Mayor Thomas Menino is sitting on millions of dollars — tens of millions, maybe as much as $400 million — that could be used to save vital city services, such as, among many examples
The mayor cuts services, but sits on a stash of cash.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 14, 2010

‘There are no rules’

On April 19, the Globe first reported that arbitrators had awarded the Boston firefighters union a 19-percent raise. By the next morning, both the Globe and the Herald were citing Menino administration figures of a $74 million cost.
The 11th-hour change
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 14, 2010

Mayor-Select Marie?

Tom Menino, just a few months into an unprecedented fifth term as Boston’s mayor, has raised eyebrows by hiring State Representative Marie St. Fleur of Dorchester to the newly created, $120,000-a-year position of chief of advocacy and strategic investmen
Some think that Tom Menino is anointing Marie St. Fleur as his successor, but he might just be serving himself
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 07, 2010

Library woes

In an attempt to save four Boston Public Library branches that are slated to close due to budget shortfalls, some state legislators from Boston have threatened to block all state funding the library receives if it shutters any of its 26 branches.
Plus, Arizona declares war on immigrants
By EDITORIAL | April 30, 2010

Tea Party Progressives?

When Democrat Peter Smulowitz celebrated his victory in the special-election primary for State Senate earlier this month in the back room of Masala Art restaurant in Needham, no bigwigs from his party were in attendance.
Outsiders are trying to crash the gates of the state’s Democratic establishment — and are starting to succeed
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | April 30, 2010

Friends' Activity

Popular