Monthly Archives: May 2011

The League Of Women Voters Takes Sides

Published May 6, 2011

Ever since U.S. Sen. Scott Brown excoriated the League of Women Voters for taking sides in the congressional battle over whether the Environmental Protection Agency should have the power to regulate greenhouse gases, I’ve been thinking he’s got a point.

I had this image of the League as that organization that organizes debates and takes sides in issues that have to do with how the electoral process is run. The League was one of the biggest backers of the citizen-passed Clean Elections Law, for instance, before the Legislature overturned that law.

In case you missed the tit-for-that between Brown and the League, here’s the Brown press release:

Today, U.S. Senator Scott Brown issued the following statement in response to the partisan attack advertisement being run by the League of Women Voters:

“This ad reeks of political demagoguery and exposes the League of Women Voters as nothing more than a pawn in the Massachusetts political machine. It is outrageous for an allegedly non-partisan group to use sick children to misrepresent a vote about jobs and government over-regulation. These type of over-the-top distortions have no place in our political discourse.”

And here’s the ad Brown is so upset about:

[youtube url=”7vTd9nmSpbI”]

But it turns out that the League of Women Voters often takes sides on issues it cares about.
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Boston University Dean Takes Charles River Plunge

Published May 6, 2011

You can call Boston University Dean of Students Kenneth Ellmore a man of his word.

Ellmore made good on a pledge he made to jump into the Charles River if the class of 2011 was able to reach a goal of 2,011 donations to its class gift in time for commencement on May 22.

Although this year’s graduating class has yet to hit that benchmark, Ellmore, tuxedo and all, took the plunge today after the class of 2011 set a university record of finding more than 1,600 donors.

For Mysterious Downed Plane, Call Woods Hole

Published May 6, 2011

In this June 8, 2009 file photo released by Brazil's Air Force, Brazil's Navy sailors recover debris from the missing Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic Ocean. (AP)

In this June 8, 2009 file photo released by Brazil's Air Force, Brazil's Navy sailors recover debris from the missing Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic Ocean. (AP)

In June 2009, Air France Flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil. All 228 people on-board died. Nearly two years later, authorities have no idea why the plane went down.

Yet.

David Gallo, a researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, hopes to change that. He was the co-leader of the team that found the sunken plane last month, nearly three miles below the ocean’s surface.

Call Woods Hole

There has been no explanation as to why the plane crashed — it simply vanished from air traffic control radar screens somewhere between South America and Africa. No distress signal, no Mayday call.

A day after the plane vanished, Brazilian Air Force pilots found small pieces of the plane in the middle of the Atlantic, but the rest of the plane had sunk. Authorities hoped the answers to their questions would be contained in the on-board flight recorders that keep data on planes, but no one knew where exactly the plane (and the recorders) went down.

The crew prepares a Remus submarine to search the ocean floor. (Courtesy Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

The crew prepares a Remus submarine to search the ocean floor. (Courtesy Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Enter Gallo and his team from Woods Hole. Turns out, if you lose something deep in the vast ocean, they’re the people you want to call.

“It was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, somewhere in the range of about two to three miles deep, we knew that much,” Gallo said. “We knew that it had come down somewhere on the flanks of an underwater mountain range. And the group of people on this planet that can work in that kind of area — that deep and that kind of rugged terrain — is very small. At Woods Hole, our teams have been doing that for about 30-40 years.”

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Woods Hole scientists have been exploring the ocean for a long, long time. The institute was founded in 1930. In the 1970s, they explored the vast deepwater ecosystem. In the ’80s, they’re the ones who found the Titanic. They now have more than 1,000 ocean researchers.

Continue reading →

Tell Us Your Teacher Stories

Published May 6, 2011

(Old Shoe Woman/Flickr)

(Old Shoe Woman/Flickr)

What makes an A+ teacher? That’s the subject of our upcoming series at the end of May.

We’ll be looking at such issues as how teachers are evaluated and whether it’s fair. We’ll be looking at teacher pay: If you pay teachers more, will they really be better teachers? We’ll be looking at whether good teaching is teachable.

But we also want to hear from you. You have a few weeks to send us your stories about your personal experiences with great teachers and your experiences with not-so-great teachers. For example:

  • If you’re a parent and your child had a bad teacher, what did you do about it?
  • If your child had a great teacher, was that teacher rewarded?
  • If you’re an administrator, how do you reward good teachers?
  • If you’re a teacher, what do you do to make yourself better?

We want to hear from you. Share your stories in the comments or email teachers@wbur.org.

Friday Morning: DiMasi Heads To Court

Published May 6, 2011

Sal DiMasi, former speaker of the Massachusetts House, and two co-defendants went on trial in federal court in Boston yesterday. As WBUR’s David Boeri reports, DiMasi’s “My Pal Sal” image is about to clash with the prosecution’s portrayal of “Sal the Thief.” The big recent news is that Gov. Deval Patrick is expected to testify in the trial.

Nurses and administrators at Tufts Medical Center reached a contract agreement early Friday, just hours before a planned strike was to begin.

The controversy over a Cambridge-based consulting firm’s work with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi continues to broil, after the company admitted it should have registered as a lobbying group. The Monitor Group enlisted several prominent Harvard professors for its work with the Libyan government.

More than a year after Phoebe Prince committed suicide, five former classmates received sentences of community service and probation as punishment for bullying the 15-year-old girl. The criminal prosecution that prompted a national debate about how the law should deal with bullying is now over.

Some members of Congress from New England are pushing the military to extend its stipulation that all military gear be made in the U.S. to sneakers. The only company that still manufactures sneakers stateside is Brighton-based New Balance, so they’d stand to pick up a lot of business if the mandate is put into practice.

A Boston-area woman is suing Sony over the theft of personal information from the company’s PlayStation Network. Dawn Thompson is seeking in excess of $5 million for herself and other gamers. The PlayStation Network was discovered to have been compromised by hackers on April 19.

What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on the shakeup at the auditor’s office, the 9/11 widow who met the president at Ground Zero and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement at Harvard this afternoon.

Thursday Morning: Phoebe Prince’s Mother Rips Bullies

Published May 5, 2011

In emotional testimony, the anguished mother of Phoebe Prince condemned the students that admitted to bullying her daughter, saying their harassment was “predatory” and contributed to her death. Three more teens are expected to accept plea deals today.

Opening statements in the corruption trial of former House Speaker Sal DiMasi are set to begin today. The case centers on whether DiMasi used his influence as speaker illegally. Want to get caught up on the details fast? Check out this WBUR timeline.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney has a commanding lead among likely New Hampshire Republican primary voters, according to the latest Suffolk University poll.

The wife of one of the 9/11 victims from Boston was invited to go to Ground Zero with President Obama today. Christie Coombs of Abington wrote the President a letter at 2 a.m. Sunday after learning that Osama bin Laden had been killed.

Finally, Celtics great Bill Russell is getting a statue. The team’s charitable arm announced yesterday that it will erect a statue in Russell’s honor. That’s after an incredible 11 NBA titles, four MVP awards and thousands of hours spent working for civil rights. Oh, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Bradley Manning, the man at the center of the WikiLeaks controversy, joined an informal hacking club at Boston University, according to the Washington Post. In the report, the paper tries to understand exactly who Manning is.

The Bruins scored twice in the first 63 seconds and never let up in a 5-1 win over the Flyers, taking a commanding 3-0 series lead. The Bruins need just one more win to skate into the Eastern Conference finals. Of course, scribes wrote the same thing last year, before an epic collapse.

What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on the Phoebe Prince case, the DiMasi trial and Sen. Kerry’s hearing on U.S.-Pakistan relations.

Finally, Bill Russell To Get A Statue

Published May 4, 2011

Celtic great Bill Russell reacts at a news conference as he learns the most valuable player award for the NBA championships was renamed the Bill Russel NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. (AP)

Celtic great Bill Russell reacts at a news conference as he learns the most valuable player award for the NBA championships was renamed the Bill Russel NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. (AP)

The Boston Celtics announced today that the team’s charitable arm will be erecting a statue of Celtics great Bill Russell.

Long overdue, the statue will memorialize the Hall of Famer’s accomplishments both on and off the court, the team said in a release. It’s not known yet where the statue will be located.

One of the best NBA players of all time, Russell brought an incredible 11 championships to Boston and won four MVP awards. He ranks second in the NBA in total career rebounds with over 21,600.

Off the court, Russell is remembered as an outspoken civil rights advocate and, to many, a complex figure who never shied from speaking his mind. President Obama honored Russell with the nation’s highest civilian honor, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, in February.

“(Russell) almost single-handedly redefined the game of basketball,” the White House said in a statement at the medal ceremony. “The first African American to coach in the NBA — indeed he was the first to coach a major sport at the professional level in the United States — Bill Russell is also an impassioned advocate of human rights. He marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and has been a consistent advocate of equality.”

Back in February, local graphic designer Nate Morrow mocked up in Photoshop what a possible Bill Russell statue might look like.

Now that it’s becoming a reality, where should the statue go?

Boston Fire Tweets: Commercial Wharf Offices In Flames

Published May 4, 2011

(Click an image to open photo gallery)

A three-alarm fire struck some law offices this morning at 95 Commercial Wharf in Boston’s North End.

The fire was the result of “careless cigarette disposal” from the building’s second floor, according to the Boston Fire Department’s twitter feed. Damage is being estimated at $3 million.

Seventy-five firefighters responded to the scene. At least five were sent to the hospital — according to a 12:20 p.m. tweet — none had life-threatening injuries.

Steve Lyons, a Boston attorney whose office was destroyed in the fire, told The Boston Globe that he saw the flames:

“I live nearby and this morning I woke up and looked out from my balcony and saw my office in flames,” Lyons said in a calm but sad voice. “So I came down here, unfortunately to find my office totally engulfed and all the offices around it in flames.’’

The Boston Police Department tweeted that Commercial Street will be closed for most of the day because of the fire.

Wednesday Morning: The Calm Before The Storm

Published May 4, 2011

A deluge of important news is about to come down the pipe.

State lawmakers will open hearings on casino gambling today, reigniting a contentious debate that dominated the end of the last legislative session. Still, it’s a different economic world since casinos were last debated on the state House floor.

The Governor’s Council is expected to vote today in Judge Barbara Lenk’s SJC confirmation hearings. Currently an appeals court judge, Lenk would be the first openly gay justice on the Supreme Judicial Court.

Jury selection has been completed for the corruption trial of former House Speaker Sal DiMasi. The trial starts tomorrow and is expected to last about six weeks.

It doesn’t look like DNA that originated in Boston was used to help identify the remains of Osama bin Laden, contrary to a Monday ABC News report. ABC reported that bin Laden’s sister died in Boston and some of her brain tissue was used in identification. Instead, the New York Times reports that U.S. authorities probably used DNA from one of bin Laden’s parents or children. CommonHealth was all over this controversy from the start.

The Celtics sit in a two game hole after another playoff loss to the Miami Heat last night. It’s not quite panic time, but it doesn’t look good for the men in green.

What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on a bill filed by Rep. Barney Frank limiting the powers of regional Federal Reserve banks, possible nurses strikes in Boston and Worcester and a huge fire in a North End building.

James Carroll On 9/11, Our Wars And Our Opportunity

Published May 3, 2011

James Carroll (Courtesy)

James Carroll (Courtesy)

The other day I had a conversation with James Carroll about our response to Sept. 11, the wars that were “unnecessary” and the moment of opportunity America now faces.

The Globe columnist, distinguished professor-in-residence at Suffolk University and author — most recently of the book “Jerusalem, Jerusalem” — regularly presents us with both the big picture of American foreign policy and the tectonic clash of Christianity with Islam and Judaism in ancient and modern history.

For my piece this morning, I availed myself of his brilliance as a chronicler of Boston, as well, for a look back to what began here 10 years ago and ended with the killing of Osama bin Laden.

I had far too much to share and so little time, so here’s an extended interview: