Tag: Film Reviews
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On the Brink
Tammy Anne Callahan-Callanan Spare Change News My family has lived like gypsies in Salem for many years, in that we move from place to place as employment demands. For the countless families that are low-income, being nomadic relates to not only employment, but also to financial demands: the demands of rent, affordable housing, utilities, clothing,…
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Editorial: Betting on trouble
As a federal judge lectured yet another Massachusetts legislative leader for official corruption and sentenced him to multiple years in jail, the remaining powers that be on Beacon Hill were busy pitching a scheme that was devised behind closed doors to bring Las Vegas-style casinos to the Bay State. Somehow, it’s impossible to think about…
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Open Letter to Senator Scott Brown
Dear Senator Brown: I am writing you because you are my lobbyist in Congress. Your voters have but three. Special interests have thousands. This is not exactly a letter, it is more like a lament. Hopefully something here will have some appeal. Here is how one voter sees the world as Congress works to restore…
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Editorial: Encouragement in the fight against homelessness
Credit is due to the Patrick administration for its efforts to reduce the Bay State’s homeless population. A new emphasis on housing as the first response to homelessness promises to be more humane — and cost-effective — than our traditional reliance on shelters and motels to get people off the streets. The policy shift took…
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Top Lieutenant: Kevin Weeks writes about 25 years with Whitey Bulger
Adam Sennott Spare Change News For 25 years, he was James “Whitey” Bulger’s right-hand man and one of his closest friends. “[He] was a guy that taught me a lot, there was a friendship there. I really believed in him,” said Kevin Weeks, Bulger’s former top lieutenant . “And now I look here and I…
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SCN Interview with Harvard Economist Edward Glaeser
Edward Glaeser, an economics professor at Harvard University, recently sat down with Spare Change News editor Tom Benner to discuss his myth-shattering book about cities, “Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier.” SCN: Your book makes the case that cities make up America’s economic heartland, and…
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From The New Executive Director
Alan Feinberg Spare Change News I just wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself to all the readers. My name is Alan Feinberg, and I have over 30 years experience in the social services field. I have worked in diverse and economically disadvantaged communities throughout Greater Boston. I am very familiar with the issues…
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Editorial: Senators, You’re No Ted Kennedy
When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appointed John Kerry to the so-called “super committee” charged with cutting more than $1 trillion from the federal deficit over 10 years, we couldn’t help but wonder if the Bay State’s senior senator is in for more swift-boating. Kerry and the two other Democratic senators appointed to the committee…
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Some of us just need housing
James Shearer Spare Change News Many of you no doubt have been following Spare Change News editor Tom Benner’s three-part series on Housing First, and it has been a good and informative series. But for me, on a personal and professional level, there are still some things that need to be addressed. No, not by…