In Massachusetts, Town Meetings Are Gatekeepers To New Development
Having deep roots in the region’s Puritan founding in the mid-17th century, town meetings were designed to decide fundamental things like land distribution, taxation, and infrastructure needs. They have now become make-or-break steps for large-scale developments.
Trump’s Fed chair nominee is pushing a myth
Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh has turned to the myth of “the Maestro” to provide an intellectually coherent reason for acceding to President Donald Trump’s demand for lower interest rates. But in arguing that he can cut rates based on anecdotal evidence, Warsh is taking the wrong lessons from Alan Greenspan’s tenure.
An Oligarchy of Old People
Gerontocracy has always thrived in undemocratic places—Communist people’s republics, Gulf monarchies—where only death could pry power from the ruling elders. American gerontocracy is exceptional for being freely elected. Donald Trump will soon be an octogenarian, and is president in part because the preceding octogenarian, Joe Biden, did not want to admit his senescence. The median senator is 65, and the oldest, 92-year-old Chuck Grassley, has not ruled out running for reelection in 2028. The typical general-election voter is a spry 52, but in primary elections, which decide the majority of political contests, that number rises to 59. Half of all the money donated to political campaigns comes from Americans age 66 and older.
BU took down pride flags over spring break and now its campus is fighting back
Holding pride flags whipping in the wind, dozens of students, staff and faculty rallied outside Boston University President Melissa Gilliam’s office on a brisk Thursday afternoon in response to the administration’s removal of flags and political posters.
Gen Z Is Choosing Staycations—Even If They’d Prefer Not To
Generation Z is more likely to travel domestically in order to save money even though they might prefer to travel internationally instead, according to new travel data. Booking.com’s 2026 Travel Trends survey shows that 20 percent of the American adults who participated in the poll planned on reducing their travel budgets by opting to travel domestically, while more than one in four (or 26 percent) of Gen Z respondents, those born roughly between 1997 and 2012, said the same.
Can Design Turn Schools Into the New Third Space?
In modern school design, the most critical spaces for student development may not be classrooms — they may be the areas in between. Third spaces like commons, libraries and even hallways represent an untapped frontier for fostering the youth’s social and mental well-being. They’re crucial for community health, but they are steadily declining. This presents a unique opportunity for educational facilities.
‘Feels like we’ve gone back in time.’ Pride flags were removed from Boston University offices. Professors are alarmed.
While students and faculty at Boston University were away on spring break this month, school administrators removed Pride flags hanging in public view from several offices and buildings on campus, a move that has left professors reeling and prompted many to decry what they view as a pattern of stifling free speech.
Frustrated by Massachusetts Legislature, critics want to change how it operates — by thinning lawmakers’ wallets
Critics of the Massachusetts Legislature have found a new target in the name of improving government accountability: how much lawmakers make. Activists, some former lawmakers themselves, are pushing a bid to ask voters to change how legislators earn extra money for holding leadership roles, such as committee chair, majority leader, or even House speaker. They’re arguing those stipends should be determined by how much work lawmakers do, rather than leadership decisions.
‘That’s selective enforcement’: BU professors mobilize after University removes pride flags during spring break
Faculty are speaking out against Boston University’s signage policy amid ongoing disagreements over the removal of public-facing pride flags in office windows, an issue faculty say is an unnecessary breach of free speech. Several faculty members sent letters to BU President Melissa Gilliam after pride flags were stripped from the windows of three campus locations, including the office of one professor who has a storied history with the signage policy, while Commonwealth Avenue was vacant for spring break.
BU faculty decry removal of pride flags from campus offices
According to the letter addressed to campus president Melissa Gilliam, the flags were pulled from windows in the women’s studies program and some professors’ offices. These acts “suppress free speech on campus” and are “just one of a growing number of disappointing choices by the administration to contradict the values it purports to champion,” wrote associate professor Joseph Harris, who co-leads the BU chapter of the of the American Association of University Professors.