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Shelter Poverty: Housing Affordability Among Asian Americans, Michael E. Stone Feb 2014

Shelter Poverty: Housing Affordability Among Asian Americans, Michael E. Stone

Michael E. Stone

Relatively little research has been conducted that focuses on the housing situation of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (hereafter generally referred to as Asian Americans), especially on the national level. From a review of about 30 articles and reports over the past decade that examine racial/ethnic housing situations nationally, only one specifically addressed housing problems of Asian Americans (Hansen, 1986) while two others included Asian Americans along with other populations of color. Of the remaining articles, most used the terms race, racial discrimination, or segregation in their titles, yet did not include Asian Americans in the studies. Of particular note, …


Shelter Poverty In Boston: Problem And Program, Michael E. Stone Feb 2014

Shelter Poverty In Boston: Problem And Program, Michael E. Stone

Michael E. Stone

This paper argues, first, that most housing problems—in Boston and throughout the nation—are ultimately the result of the squeeze between inadequate incomes, on the one hand, and the cost of profitably providing housing on the other. It is also argued that housing cost and incomes together are the most decisive determinants of the overall quality of life of families and communities. Third, it is contended that the long history of inadequate attempts to cope with the affordabiiity problem have not only failed to solve the problem, but have indeed contributed significantly to the broader and serious problems of the overall …


Cable Television In Massachusetts, Padraig O'Malley Feb 2014

Cable Television In Massachusetts, Padraig O'Malley

Padraig O'Malley

Today the electromagnetic spectrum is crowded with signal traffic used for just about every conceivable communications purpose, ranging from standard navigational time signals at the Very Low Frequency band to satellite communications at the Superhigh Frequency band. Between these two frequency extremes there are five other frequency bands — Low Frequency, Medium Frequency, High Frequency, Very High Frequency, and Ultra High Frequency — each of which can accommodate only a limited number of uses, and each of which is better suited for some uses than for others. Because the spectrum was, like oil, once believed to be in almost unlimited …


The Massachusetts Fiscal System: Structure And Performance, Padraig O'Malley, Raymond G. Torto Feb 2014

The Massachusetts Fiscal System: Structure And Performance, Padraig O'Malley, Raymond G. Torto

Padraig O'Malley

On November 4, 1980 the citizens of Massachusetts, by a vote of 59% to 41%, resoundingly endorsed a tax reduction plan known as Proposition 2 1/2. All communities in the Commonwealth were faced with an immediate reduction in their local revenues due to the immediate cut in the excise tax that Proposition 2 1/2 called for, and up to 130 communities will have to implement a 15% reduction in their tax levies for FY 1982. Already there are protestations from many local officials that they cannot make the required tax cuts without severely reducing the level of local services. The …


Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli May 2013

Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli

Jonathan G. Cooper

Climate change, understood as a statistically significant variation in the mean state of the climate or its variability, is the greatest environmental challenge of this generation (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001). Marshfield is already being affected by changes in the climate that will have a profound effect on the town’s economy, public health, coastal resources, natural features, water systems, and public and private infrastructure. Adaptation strategies have been widely recognized as playing an important role in improving a community’s ability to respond to climate stressors by resisting damage and recovering quickly. Based on review of climate projections for the …


Final-Offer Arbitration And Public-Safety Employees: The Massachusetts Experience, David B. Lipsky, Thomas A. Barocci Mar 2013

Final-Offer Arbitration And Public-Safety Employees: The Massachusetts Experience, David B. Lipsky, Thomas A. Barocci

David B Lipsky

[Excerpt] We conclude that, in terms of its impact on the bargaining process, final-offer arbitration has had a mixed record in Massachusetts. On the one hand, the law must probably be given some credit for preventing police and firefighter strikes; in addition, the rate of arbitration usage was remarkably low compared to experience in other states. On the other hand, the law probably led to more impasses in police and fire bargaining (although the experience in the commonwealth was still favorable compared to other states) and reduced the effectiveness of the mediation stage of the impasse procedures. Perhaps most important, …


Final-Offer Arbitration And Salaries Of Police And Firefighters, David B. Lipsky, Thomas A. Barocci Mar 2013

Final-Offer Arbitration And Salaries Of Police And Firefighters, David B. Lipsky, Thomas A. Barocci

David B Lipsky

[Excerpt] Did final-offer arbitration have a discernible impact on the salaries of police and firefighters in Massachusetts during the 3-year trial period which ended June 30, 1977? To analyze this question, we collected information on the maximum salary paid to police patrolmen, police sergeants, firefighters, and fire lieutenants for a large sample of Massachusetts municipalities. We integrated these data with police and fire impasse experiences and added several economic and environmental characteristics for each Massachusetts municipality. Then we performed several tests of the economic impact of final-offer arbitration.


Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli Feb 2013

Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli

Sally Miller

Climate change, understood as a statistically significant variation in the mean state of the climate or its variability, is the greatest environmental challenge of this generation (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001). Marshfield is already being affected by changes in the climate that will have a profound effect on the town’s economy, public health, coastal resources, natural features, water systems, and public and private infrastructure. Adaptation strategies have been widely recognized as playing an important role in improving a community’s ability to respond to climate stressors by resisting damage and recovering quickly. Based on review of climate projections for the …


The Massachusetts Health Plan: Public Insurance For The Poor, Private Insurance For The Wealthy, Self-Insurance For The Rest?, Timothy Stoltzfus Jost Jan 2013

The Massachusetts Health Plan: Public Insurance For The Poor, Private Insurance For The Wealthy, Self-Insurance For The Rest?, Timothy Stoltzfus Jost

Timothy S. Jost

No abstract provided.


Restoring Legal Immigrants' State Health Insurance- The Finch Case, Wendy E. Parmet, Lorianne Sainsbury-Wong Jul 2012

Restoring Legal Immigrants' State Health Insurance- The Finch Case, Wendy E. Parmet, Lorianne Sainsbury-Wong

Wendy E. Parmet

In Finch v. Commonwealth Insurance Connector Authority, 461 Mass. 232 (2012), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that a 2009 law barring a class of legal immigrants from a state funded health insurance program for low income adults violated the state Constitution. This article presents our perspective as plaintiff’s counsel. We focus on the pragmatic issues that we confronted as we considered whether or not to pursue litigation, and the forum and claims to pursue.


Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Brief And Record Appendix For The Plaintiff On Reserve And Report From The Single Justice, Finch, Et Al. V. Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, Et Al., No. Sjc-10748 (Filed September 2010), Wendy E. Parmet, Lorianne Sainsbury-Wong, Lauren Guth Barnes Feb 2012

Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Brief And Record Appendix For The Plaintiff On Reserve And Report From The Single Justice, Finch, Et Al. V. Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, Et Al., No. Sjc-10748 (Filed September 2010), Wendy E. Parmet, Lorianne Sainsbury-Wong, Lauren Guth Barnes

Wendy E. Parmet

In 2009 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts enacted a law, St. 2009, c. 65, § 31(a), that excluded approximately 44,000 legal immigrants from Commonwealth Care, a key component of the state’s 2006 health reform act which provides health insurance subsidies for uninsured residents whose income are up to 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. In 2010 Health Law Advocates, a public interest law firm, filed a class action before a Single Justice of the State Supreme Judicial Court challenging the exclusion as violating the equal protection provisions of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. The Single Justice referred four questions to …


Brief Of Health Care For All, Inc., Health Law Advocates, Inc., The Massachusetts Hospital Association, Inc., The Massachusetts League Of Community Health Centers, Inc., Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, Inc., And Community Catalyst, Inc. As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioners Urging Reversal On The Minimum Coverage Provision Issue, Department Of Health And Human Services, Et Al. V. State Of Florida, Et Al., No. 11-398 (Filed Jan. 13, 2012), Wendy E. Parmet, Lorianne Sainsbury-Wong, Kevin Outterson Feb 2012

Brief Of Health Care For All, Inc., Health Law Advocates, Inc., The Massachusetts Hospital Association, Inc., The Massachusetts League Of Community Health Centers, Inc., Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, Inc., And Community Catalyst, Inc. As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioners Urging Reversal On The Minimum Coverage Provision Issue, Department Of Health And Human Services, Et Al. V. State Of Florida, Et Al., No. 11-398 (Filed Jan. 13, 2012), Wendy E. Parmet, Lorianne Sainsbury-Wong, Kevin Outterson

Wendy E. Parmet

This amicus brief was filed before the Supreme Court in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) litigation on behalf of Health Care for All and other Massachusetts organizations that have been involved in the implementation of Massachusetts’ health 2006 health reform legislation. The brief argues that Massachusetts’ health reform law, upon which the ACA is modeled, has been very effective in expanding insurance coverage within the State, but it required substantial federal support, through a Medicaid waiver, to achieve its success. In addition the Commonwealth’s experience illustrates that the health insurance and health care markets are inherently interstate commerce and that …


Cloud Computing Providers And Data Security Law: Building Trust With United States Companies, Jared A. Harshbarger Esq. Nov 2011

Cloud Computing Providers And Data Security Law: Building Trust With United States Companies, Jared A. Harshbarger Esq.

Jared A. Harshbarger

Cloud computing and software-as-a-service (SaaS) models are revolutionizing the information technology industry. As these services become more prevalent, data security and privacy concerns will also rise among consumers and the companies who consider using them. Cloud computing providers must establish a sufficient level of trust with their potential customers in order to ease initial fears - and ensure certain compliance obligations will be met - at least to the extent that any such inquiring customer will feel comfortable enough to ultimately take the irreversible step of releasing their sensitive data and personal information into the cloud.


Discrimination And Business Regulation (The Supreme Court And Local Government Law: The 1999-2000 Term), Eileen Kaufman Dec 2010

Discrimination And Business Regulation (The Supreme Court And Local Government Law: The 1999-2000 Term), Eileen Kaufman

Eileen Kaufman

No abstract provided.


From Nondiscrimination To Civil Marriage, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson Jan 2010

From Nondiscrimination To Civil Marriage, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

As William Faulkner explained, we must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. This article analyzes the continuing constitutional struggle for civil rights on the basis of sexual orientation, concentrating on the constitution state's critique of its constitution. Connecticut is currently at the forefront of recognizing civil rights. Connecticut has ruled that discrimination against gay and lesbian persons is subject to intermediate scrutiny, which has historically been used to review laws that employ quasi-suspect classifications such as gender. Civil marriage for same sex couples is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. …


Surveys On Massachusetts And Rhode Island Water Law, Denis Binder Dec 1994

Surveys On Massachusetts And Rhode Island Water Law, Denis Binder

Denis Binder

No abstract provided.