Category Archives: Boston

One Critical Element for Improving Mass Transit: A Local Press Corps That Uses It

Posted on January 3, 2023 by mikethemadbiologist

This isn’t a particularly devastating article about the trials of Boston’s mass transit system, the MBTA (aka ‘the T’). It’s well-written, but what I find notable is the subject matter: it’s about service delays. When I lived in Boston, the … Continue reading →

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It’s Time to Shut Down the Capital Beltway

Posted on July 12, 2022 by mikethemadbiologist

Or at least limit it to one lane each way, with a top speed limit of 25 mph. I’ve proposed this before, but here’s a less snarky version (boldface mine): Reactive measures usually include some combination of grounding or pulling … Continue reading →

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You Are the Traffic: The Boston Red Line Breakdown Edition

Posted on June 28, 2019 by mikethemadbiologist

Recently, in an effort to make D.C.’s WMATA feel good about itself, Boston’s T, specifically the Red Line, was pretty much broken due to a derailed train that wiped out much of the signaling infrastructure. As with so many unplanned … Continue reading →

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Boston’s Swanktuaries

Posted on May 28, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

When I lived in Boston, there were some very nice high end places, but global capital wasn’t using Boston residential real estate as a piggy bank. Things, apparently, have changed (boldface mine): The bottom 24 floors of One Dalton will … Continue reading →

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Boston, “The Future Of Inflation”, And Housing

Posted on April 20, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

We come across this statement by the chairman of the Boston Federal Reserve (boldface mine): At a Friday breakfast meeting of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Boston’s Federal Reserve president Eric Rosengren laid out some of the unique challenges … Continue reading →

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Geometry And Ride-Sharing

Posted on February 14, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

And by ‘ride-sharing’, I mean another form of taxis, but with a shiny app and no medallions. This isn’t good news from Boston (boldface mine): Ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft are exacerbating rush-hour traffic jams in Boston, according to … Continue reading →

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D.C. Has Boot Scrapers

Posted on July 24, 2017 by mikethemadbiologist

No, I’m not referring to Trump administration spokesmen. As I noted a while ago, many older houses in Boston have maintained their boot scrapers: Back in the days of yore, when streets were covered with ‘mud’ (a euphemism for a … Continue reading →

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The Press Corps And Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (Like Mass Transit)

Posted on June 25, 2017 by mikethemadbiologist

Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung writes (boldface mine): By now, you must have read that The Boston Globe has moved downtown from our longtime home in Dorchester, where most employees drove to work and enjoyed free parking. No such perk … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, DC, Transportation | 4 Comments

Education Reform As A Distraction

Posted on November 16, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

From a Massachusetts activist who successfully opposed the pro-charter referendum Question 2 (boldface mine): For a short while in Boston last night, we were ecstatic. We beat the privatizers on Question 2, and we beat them across the state, with … Continue reading →

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Yes, New Construction Can Raise Housing Prices (And Rents)

Posted on September 1, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

What triggered this post was a tweet by Noah Smith: Yesterday I talked to two SF progressives who are absolutely convinced that building more houses raises rents. Amazing. — Noah Smith (@Noahpinion) August 21, 2016 And another one by Brendan … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, DC, Housing | 3 Comments