BOSTON - In this week's installment from Open Media Boston's Open Court Project -- Museum of Fine Arts security dispute overtime pay, Chipotle sued by federal employment commission, and cases against banks and H&R Block over alleged discrimination against the blind.
BOSTON - In this first installment of Open Media Boston's new Open Court Project -- former FedEx drivers were wrongfully classified as 'independent contractors,' Maraj fails to prove that restraints led to prisoner's death, Holyoke PD sued for excessive force, and Brockton PD officers on trial.
BOSTON - Congressional gridlock and federal budget cuts all too often come across as a maddening string of abstract numbers, amid repeated news of failure to reach an agreement.
But for the people who rely on the affected programs—the disabled, seniors, the unemployed, the working poor—the across-the-board cuts implemented by the so-called sequester has been anything but abstract. It’s lost work, fewer days of childcare, even the threat of homelessness.
Transcript of the Tate Williams interview with Boston Phoenix Editor Carly Carioli for Open Media Boston. Transcribed by Tate Williams.
Carly Carioli: It’s been a roller coaster. Yesterday was pretty rough but I think we’re all incredibly proud of the work that we were able to do, in my case for the past 20 years, but even for people who had been here a much shorter time.
We all felt that we were really going out at the top of our game.
Tate Williams: It seemed very shocking to a lot of people. Why was the closing so sudden?
After all, while it had been a staple publication for the city for decades, there was general awareness that it was struggling in a world where classified ads are all online, and “alternative media” has fractured and bled into every corner of the Internet.
BOSTON - Hidden within the endless bytes of government data is information on everything from how corporations are influencing the votes of politicians, down to when the next bus will arrive.
But even if governments make data available to the public in a clear and accessible way (which is often not the case), there is still a mountain of information to process that, for citizens and government staff alike, is often far too much to approach in a useful way.
BOSTON/Kenmore Square - The reactions to the death of prominent computer programmer and activist Aaron Swartz have ranged from sadness, to calls for investigation, to fiery demands for policy reform.
But for many of the people worldwide who were influenced by Swartz, one very important response has been to get back to work, that is, to start coding.
BOSTON - Governor Patrick decided that it was finally politically viable to announce goals targeting growth, ending an era of budget austerity and slim pickings for working families in yesterday's State of the Commonwealth address. His proposed budget included a two percent cut in the sales tax from the current rate of 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent. Income tax would increase from 5.25 to 6.25 percent, with revenue entirely directed to a public works fund.
