Published December 21, 2010

Oh, look, another Daily Beast list. What’s that, you say, Boston ranks really bad again?

Now the Daily Beast has gone and declared Boston the grinchiest city in America. Why? How?

To find America’s grinchiest cities, we took a broad look at how people choose to spend their money and time. To measure the gift-giving of each resident, we took into account retail spending data from Bundle.com, a database of spending data culled from government and private sources, and divided by each city’s annual wage (from the Bureau of Labor Statistics), to see how many dollars were spent at retail stores during November and December 2009 per dollar earned last year.

Bostonians spend 1.2 percent of annual income during the holidays, according to the findings. Just a quarter of us volunteer our time, and less then three percent of us donate to charity.

In 2009, the Beast declared Emerson College the most dangerous in America. In 2010, it was Tufts. (Both universities loudly disputed the findings.)

Earlier this month, the University of New Hampshire was named “druggiest college” (what does that mean?) with Northeastern coming in at No. 2.

And when the Beast ranked the “smartest” cities in America, Boston didn’t even come in at No. 1. (It was Raleigh-Durham. I thought Boston was the smart capital of the universe.)

I don’t think Boston is grinchy. Do you think Boston is grinchy?

Published December 21, 2010

Music fans: Singer-songwriter Aly Spaltro, known as Lady Lamb The Beekeeper, will appear on Radio Boston this hour. She sits down with WBUR’s Sacha Pfeiffer and performs a song.

The 21-year-old Mainer just moved to Boston this month, and she’s generating a lot of, well, buzz. The Boston Globe calls her music “pensive and playful.” The Herald says she’s an instant local favorite. She reminds me Joanna Newsom or Tristan Prettyman.

Spaltro performed two tracks for us in WBUR’s Studio 3, and we put together this video. It’s definitely best enjoyed with headphones.

Continue reading →

Published December 21, 2010

Massachusetts will lose a congressional seat, trimming the state’s U.S. House delegation from 10 to nine, according to new U.S. Census figures released today.

Redistricting has a colorful history here. After Gov. Elbridge Gerry's redistricting attempts, Elkanah Tisdale published this cartoon in 1812, which created the term "gerrymander." (Wikimedia)

The Massachusetts population grew from 2000 to 2010 (by about 3 percent), but not as much as many other states. That follows decades of population patterns. State population figures dictate how the nation allocates all 435 House districts to the states.

In 2000, the state barely held on to its 10th congressional seat. Most observers predicted we would lose a seat this time around.

The new census numbers hamper a well-tenured and powerful delegation in Congress and raise unique political questions ahead of 2012. “Losing a seat means losing political clout,” said the New England Council’s Jim Brett on Morning Edition today. “That’s not good news for Massachusetts.”

The Legislature is now tasked with redistricting — or redrawing the state map with nine districts — setting up new electoral questions and match-ups in 2012 as two incumbents are forced into the same district.

Reps. John Olver, of the 1st District, and Richie Neal, of the 2nd, have already announced their 2012 re-election bids, possibly to avoid getting forced out of the delegation. Others, including Reps. Mike Capuano, of the 8th, and Stephen Lynch, of the 9th, have been mentioned as possible challengers to Sen. Scott Brown in 2012.

Over the past 100 years, Massachusetts has consistently lost seats — moving down from a high of 16 seats last held in 1920. All other New England states will have no changes to their seat counts.

The population count also determines state share of billions of dollars in annual federal funding.

More coverage:

• U.S. Population Nearly 309 Million, Census Says
• Map: Congressional seat changes by state

Earlier Mass. coverage:

• Census Snapshot: A Slowly Growing State
• The 2010 Election And Its Redistricting Impact

Published December 21, 2010

Big Maestro, little baton:

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Boston Celtics center Shaquille O’Neal made his conducting debut Monday night, leading the Boston Pops Orchestra and Tanglewood Festival Chorus in “Sleigh Ride,” “Can You Feel It,” and “We Are the Champions.”

Published December 20, 2010

Still looking for a perfect gift for that Pats fan on your list? Unfortunately, you won’t be able to put playoffs tickets under the tree this Christmas.

OK, maybe you can put Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski under the tree, but not playoffs tickets. (Courtesy of New England Patriots)

Though the Patriots have clinched a playoff spot, we don’t know where they’ll be playing yet. (Anyone trying to sell you a playoff seat is a huckster worse than the Patriots’ run defense.)

Thanks to a Pittsburgh Steelers loss on Sunday, the Pats still cling to the top spot in the AFC. Sunday’s win over the Green Bay Packers helps the team’s cause, but won’t inspire much faith in the Pats’ quest for the conference’s No. 1 seed.

At 12-2, the Patriots are tied for the league’s best record. With just one win in their final two games, the Pats will lock down the No. 1 seed and be assured of both a first round bye and home-field advantage for each playoff round prior to the Super Bowl (which is played on a neutral site — this year, in Dallas.)

However, should the Pats lose both of their final two games (versus division rivals Buffalo and Miami) they’ll go on the road in a Wild Card playoff game, probably in either Kansas City or Indianapolis.

Now, the Pats dropping their final two games isn’t likely. The Bills are 4-10 and the Pats clobbered Miami 41-14 in October. Truth be told, and jinxes be damned, I think the roads to the Super Bowl go through Foxborough (in the AFC) and Atlanta (in the NFC.)

So, for all of you last-minute shoppers, maybe an airline gift card will do? Just make sure it’s for a carrier that flies to Missouri, Indiana and Texas.

Published December 20, 2010

Massachusetts had 14 congressional districts in 1900. Between 1900 and 1910, the state grew by 20 percent, increasing representation to 16 seats. Since, the delegation has been reduced, and could reach nine seats after the 2010 census is released. (Courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center/Boston Public Library)

Tomorrow the Census Bureau releases its decennial tally of the U.S. population. The count plays a vital political role determining representative apportionment — a topic I covered in September, as Massachusetts is expected to lose a congressional seat. But ahead of all the political wrangling and hypothetical scenarios, a simple look at the facts and figures of our state is pretty interesting.

The bureau has an interactive graphic comparing population change, population density and political apportionment over the last 100 years. I’ve embedded it below; if you have any trouble viewing it, find it on the Census website.

Continue reading →

Published December 20, 2010

But this one was unusual:

A car traveling west on Commonwealth Avenue, near the BU Bridge, skid on ice and ended up right in front of a Green 'B' Line MBTA train. (Andrew Phelps/WBUR)

A black Lexus traveling west on Commonwealth Avenue, near the BU Bridge, found itself parked right in the path of a Green ‘B’ Line trolley. The passenger told me the driver hit a patch of ice. He steered right; the car veered right. The trolley did not hit the car.

No one was hurt, but many were miffed. Some T passengers chose to disembark and walk. Traffic on both sides of the road stretched as far as the eye could see.

Unlike many Green Line delays, this one cleared up relatively quickly. After two tow truck drivers argued about jurisdiction — city or MBTA property? — the car was removed from the tracks and the trolley toot-tooted away.

Update: Please drive safely. WBUR’s Traffic page has your commute covered.

Update 2: Wicked Local Newton snapped a photo of holiday J-O-Y over the Pike, where traffic is awfully slow-going in this first snowfall of the season.