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Sarah Gantz

Sarah Gantz is a senior at Boston University, majoring in print journalism. She is interning this semester for the Tribune Washington Bureau, which provides political news for the LA Times and Chicago Tribune, and is reporting for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Sarah has previously worked at the Boston Globe as a city desk co-op metro correspondent. She also has worked as a business desk intern at the Poughkeepsie Journal, a Gannett publication and New York State’s oldest daily newspaper.

STORIES WRITTEN:

Worcester Makes the Leap to Green

WASHINGTON, April 21 —Worcester was once a bustling mill town, a star of the industrial revolution. Then the biotech boom hit and the city, along with the rest of central Massachusetts, clamored to cater to the surge of university research and new business. After that came a lull, as the biotech hype settled and the science students left for bigger things.

Worcester native leaves mark on Washington as major general

WASHINGTON, April 10 – The president and the general shared a brief exchange moments after laying a wreath with two elderly Medal of Honor recipients at the foot of the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery. But that was not the highlight of the day for Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe Jr.

Local congressmen post earmarks on their Web sites

WASHINGTON, April 9 – Local congressmen reported more than $647 million in 2010 budget earmark requests on their Web sites, in accordance with a House Appropriations Committee reform to enhance transparency.

Trucking industry opposes McGovern bill that limits truck size

WASHINGTON, April 2 – As the trucking industry seeks to loosen weight regulations for trucks traveling on the nation’s highways, U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern (D-Worcester) and U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) will introduce legislation that would cap truck weight and size. They say limits are necessary to minimize road damage and decrease truck-involved traffic fatalities. (By Sarah Gantz)

Local congressmen vote in favor of tax on AIG bonuses

WASHINGTON, March 19 —The House of Representatives voted Thursday to take back almost all of the money firms aided by the Troubled Assets Relief Program paid out as bonuses to employees, a measure local congressmen say is necessary to quell an infuriating situation.

Energy efficient insulation industry would benefit from earmark 

WASHINGTON, March 7 – Insulation made in Northborough can be found wrapped around a natural gas pipeline deep in the ocean off the coast of Brazil, packed around the electrical cables beneath the subway system in Beijing, and layered over the oil tank of a tractor in the French countryside.   

Shift in Donations a Sign of McGovern Moving Upward

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 — In an uncontested 2008 House race, the $1 million U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, raised topped any of his other campaigns except his first race for reelection 10 years earlier. Since then, the congressman's source of campaign funds has changed—lobbying firms, lawyers and pharmaceutical companies now back a politician who once relied on money from labor unions. 

McGovern Proud of $7.3 million in Earmarks for Central Mass.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26-- Central Massachusetts may receive $7.3 million in the form of earmarks for workforce restructuring, medical research and infrastructure from the $410 billion fiscal 2009 omnibus spending package that the House passed Wednesday. The Senate will debate and vote on the bill next week.

Stimulus infrastructure aid could stimulate Worcester’s economy

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 —The promise of what Worcester could be—colorful and attention-commanding—takes the form of an 18-foot-8-inch mosaic signpost that towers over Main Street outside the Hanover Theatre in downtown Worcester. The sign is part of the Wayfinding project, which calls for hundreds of signs to help visitors better navigate the city’s labyrinth-like tangle of roads.

Stimulus bill includes plan to computerize health records

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 —When it comes to medical technology, Massachusetts is ahead of the game. Hospitals, private practices and medical facilities across the state have been working to computerize patients’ health records for years, a practice intended to reduce medical errors and save money. But it won’t be easy and it may not be enough.

For local women, equal pay law is the beginning

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 —In 1964, the Civil Rights Act demanded equal pay for women. But decades later, with women earning only 78 cents for every dollar men earn, wage discrimination remains an issue. President Barack Obama Thursday signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, the first of his administration. For many women, the law, which reverses a 2007 Supreme Court decision that required lawsuits for wage discrimination based on sex, race and other factors to be filed within 180 days of the first unequal paycheck, represents a step toward workplace equality.

Millions turn out for moment in history

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 – Vincent Bates had been standing outside, in the cold, smack-dab in the middle of more than a million people crowded onto the National Mall, for more than five hours by the time Barack Obama was sworn-in as the 44th President of the United States And Mr. Bates said he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry makes history again 

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 — Eli Biddle lied about his age. He was 16 in 1863, not 17, as he told the recruiters he met on the street. Mr. Biddle had been booted out of class for refusing to sing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” While wandering around Boston, he decided to join the army, even though he was one year shy of the age requirement.

Witnessing history, whatever the price

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 — Carrie and Caitlin Howland, of Shrewsbury didn’t think they would be able to attend the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama but on Friday they got a call from Rep. James McGovern’s office informing them that there were two tickets available. Luckily, they had made a hotel reservation in Baltimore the day after the election.

Burncoat Choir Does DC

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 — In one gulp, Rachael Brown swallowed the mint she had popped in her mouth to stave off hunger just in time for the opening line of the Star Spangled Banner. Ms. Brown, 17, is a self-proclaimed “very loud soprano” for the Burncoat High School Select Choir, which gave an impromptu performance on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives Saturday morning.