Tovia Smith

1 Month Since The Bombings, Signs Of Progress In Boston

Tovia Smith — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:04:00 +0000

Explosions rocked the finish line of the Boston Marathon one month ago. Four Boston-area families continue to mourn their loved ones and dozens of the 250 injured push on with their rehab. In the area of the bombing, only one business has not reopened.

Markey, Gomez Vie For John Kerry's Senate Seat

Tovia Smith — Wed, 01 May 2013 08:06:00 +0000

Veteran Democratic Rep. Ed Markey, who has been in office for 36 years, and novice Republican Gabriel Gomez will face off in the race to become the next U.S. senator from Massachusetts. They won their party primaries Tuesday in the special election to fill the seat vacated by Secretary of State John Kerry.

Officials say voter turnout was light.

Deadly Blasts Punctuate Boston Marathon's Finish Line

Tovia Smith — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:29:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. Good morning.

The lead agency in yesterday's Boston Marathon explosions is the FBI. Federal investigators say this morning they are doing all they can to get answers, but there is still much they do not know.

INSKEEP: Here's some of what we do know. Three people were killed, and the number of injured is now topped 150. That's according to Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick.

As Support For Gay Marriage Grows, An Opponent Looks Ahead

Tovia Smith — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 22:20:00 +0000

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to weigh in on gay marriage, Maggie Gallagher, one of the nation's leading voices in opposition to same-sex marriage, is also preparing for what might come next.

Gallagher, co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage, likes to call herself an "accidental activist." After graduating from Yale in 1982, she thought she'd become a writer and focus on what she called "important things," like money and war.

Crime Lab Scandal Leaves Mass. Legal System In Turmoil

Tovia Smith — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:34:00 +0000

A scandal in a Massachusetts crime lab continues to reverberate throughout the state's legal system. Several months ago, Annie Dookhan, a former chemist in a state crime lab, told police that she messed up big time. Dookhan now stands accused of falsifying test results in as many as 34,000 cases.

As a result, lawyers, prosecutors and judges used to operating in a world of "beyond a reasonable doubt" now have nothing but doubt.

Already, hundreds of convicts and defendants have been released because of the scandal.

Colleges Try To Curtail Flu Risk For Students

Tovia Smith — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:47:00 +0000

As college students return to class from winter break this week, campuses around the nation are bracing for the possibility of a flu outbreak.

Colleges in Boston are especially worried after the mayor's declaration last week of a public health emergency in the city. The city's student population is large — around 150,000.

Massachusetts Freshman Brings Kennedys Back To Capitol Hill

Tovia Smith — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 10:11:00 +0000

Last year marked the first time in more than six decades that there was no Kennedy in elected office in the nation's capital.

But that gap ends this week with the inauguration of Rep.-elect Joseph Kennedy III of Massachusetts. The son of former Rep. Joe Kennedy and the grandson of the late Robert F.

As Colleges Retool Aid, Can Entry Stay Need-Blind?

Tovia Smith — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 21:25:00 +0000

With money coming in more slowly than the financial aid given out, schools say they are nearing the breaking point, and even the most selective elite universities are rethinking their generosity.

"It just became clear that if we continue to give more and more aid, the numbers don't add up," says Raynard Kington, head of Grinnell College. Thanks to longtime former board member Warren Buffett, Grinnell has an endowment bigger than most schools dream of.

Maine, Maryland Voters Approve Same-Sex Marriage

Tovia Smith — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 22:50:00 +0000

The number of states where gay marriage is legal will grow by at least two. On Tuesday, Maine and Maryland became the first states to approve same sex marriage by popular referendum. It brings the number of states where such unions are allowed to eight. In the state of Washington, the vote on a similar measure is still too close to call. In Minnesota, voters turned down an amendment to the state constitution that would have banned gay marriage.

Teacher Evaluation Dispute Echoes Beyond Chicago

Tovia Smith — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 20:37:00 +0000

One of the primary issues at the heart of the the Chicago teachers' strike is whether student test scores should be used to evaluate teachers and determine their pay. Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pushing that approach, as are other officials around the nation.

But many teachers insist that it's inherently unfair to grade their teaching based on their students' learning.

Just the fact that there's a growing discussion around teacher evaluations is a huge leap for the education industry.

In Chicago, Perfect Storm Led To Teachers Strike

Tovia Smith — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 09:18:00 +0000

It was a major accomplishment in Chicago that teachers who used to walk out frequently had, for the past 25 years, managed to avoid a strike. But it's not surprising, many experts say, that things would fall apart now.

"I think it is a perfect storm," says Tim Knowles, head of the University of Chicago's Urban Education Institute.

Mass. Prison Reviews Court's Transgender Ruling

Tovia Smith — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 10:04:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Prison officials in Massachusetts say they are still reviewing a federal court decision in Boston ordering them to provide sex-change surgery for a prison inmate. Critics are urging officials to appeal what they call an outrageous abuse of taxpayer funds.

Ann Romney Adds Fire, Faith To Husband's Campaign

Tovia Smith — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 19:38:00 +0000

If you want to see how much Mitt and Ann Romney consider themselves a team, check out his official portrait at the Massachusetts Statehouse. He's the first governor to request that an image of his wife be included in the painting — he's posed beside a framed picture of her.

By all accounts, the Romneys consult each other on everything. So after a bruising campaign in 2008 that left Mrs.

The Law — And Reality — Of Gun Access

Tovia Smith — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 07:39:00 +0000

Timothy Courtois' family had been worried about him for weeks. They repeatedly told police in Biddeford, Maine, that the 49-year-old was off his meds for bipolar disorder. And police were also told he had guns. But still, because he wasn't doing anything that rose to the legal definition of imminent threat, police said their hands were tied.

"We're very limited — very, very limited to what we can do," says Biddeford Police Deputy Chief JoAnne Fisk. "Just because somebody has a hunch, we will investigate it.

To Prevent A Tragedy, How Much Can A School Do?

Tovia Smith — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 20:16:00 +0000

A Colorado judge on Thursday will consider whether to lift the gag order in the case of James Holmes, 24, who's accused of killing 12 and wounding dozens more at a movie theater last month.

NPR and other news organizations want access to case files, including a notebook that Holmes reportedly sent to a university psychiatrist before withdrawing from the school that may have described an attack.

The University of Colorado is now reviewing whether there was more they could have done to prevent the shooting.

When Hyphen Boy Meets Hyphen Girl, Names Pile Up

Tovia Smith — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 21:46:00 +0000

Those born at the height of the name-hyphenating craze will be the first to tell you — having two last names can be more trouble than it's worth. There's the perennial confusion at school and at the doctor's office, and the challenge of squeezing your name onto forms.

And now that the hyphenated generation is marrying and parenting, a whole host of new tricky situations has emerged.

Take Leila and Brendan. Their story is one of those fairy tale stories of love at first sight.

Online Classes Cut Costs, But Do They Dilute Brands?

Tovia Smith — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 21:00:00 +0000

The University of Virginia may have settled its most urgent controversy by reinstating President Teresa Sullivan after initially forcing her out. But still unresolved is one issue underlying her ouster: whether the university was too slow to join the stampede of schools into the world of online education.

Many other schools share the concern and wonder if the technology will live up to its hype.

Rollins College in Florida was one of the early pioneers of online learning. It's one of 16 Southern schools using technology to share courses and professors.

Romney's Views On Gay Marriage: Also Evolving?

Tovia Smith — Thu, 10 May 2012 22:20:00 +0000

A day after President Obama announced his support for gay marriage, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney avoided the issue at a campaign appearance Thursday in Nebraska.

But in an interview with Fox News, he reiterated his belief that same-sex couples should not be allowed to marry.

Obama has said his position on gay marriage "evolved" over time, and a case can be made that Romney's views on gay rights have changed as well.

Romney has long been accused of hedging on issues like gay rights, but Wednesday he insisted his position on same-sex marriage is clear: "My view is that mar

Pledge Holds Attack Ads At Bay In Mass. Senate Race

Tovia Smith — Sun, 06 May 2012 09:57:00 +0000

It was no big surprise when outside groups started spending millions of dollars on attack ads in the high-stakes U.S.

Economy Puts Value Of Liberal Arts Under Scrutiny

Tovia Smith — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:31:00 +0000

As high school seniors wrestle with big decisions before Tuesday's deadline about which college they want to go to, some of the nation's top liberal arts colleges are dealing with big decisions of their own. Many of the most elite private schools are trying to figure out how they may have to adapt at a time when they're seen as a more expensive — and less direct — path to landing a job.

Liberal arts schools have long had a rap of being a kind of luxury, where learning is for learning's sake, and not because understanding Aristotle will come in handy on the job one day.

A Century Of Joy And Heartbreak At Fenway Park

Tovia Smith — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:29:00 +0000

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is about Fenway Park. A century after it was built, fans still gush about this "lyric little bandbox," as John Updike called it. To guys like Ed Carpenter, Fenway is history and home, magic and mystique.

"I love this place," he says, tearing up. "I mean, it's not mortar and bricks and seats."

Carpenter first started coming to Fenway with his dad in 1949, when he was 6.

"We walked up this ramp right behind this home plate," he recalls. "I can still see everything was green, emerald green.

Fenway Park Celebrates 100 Years Of Baseball

Tovia Smith — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:06:00 +0000

The nation's oldest ball park is turning 100. Boston's Fenway Park has been home to the Red Sox through some of baseball's greatest highs and most heartbreaking lows. The park also narrowly escaped the fate of similar old stadiums that were torn down.

In Bullying Programs, A Call For Bystanders To Act

Tovia Smith — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:53:00 +0000

The documentary Bully opens in theaters Thursday, and the heated controversy over the appropriate rating for the film has frustrated many schools hoping to use it as a teaching tool.

Administrators have struggled to find effective ways to help curb bullying in their schools in recent years, and a growing number of bullying prevention programs have emerged to meet the demand.

Many schools started by cracking down on bullies, then later focused on propping up victims, with the hope of helping to make them "bully-proof." Now, they have shifted their efforts to people who witness bull

Girl Scouts: 100 Years Of Blazing New Trails

Tovia Smith — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 05:01:00 +0000

It's hard to imagine Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and Lucille Ball as part of the same club. But they were all, at one time, Girl Scouts. Founded 100 years ago in Savannah, Ga., the Girl Scouts now count 3.2 million members.

Girl Scout cookies have become as much of an American tradition as apple pie.

Tough-Love Reading Laws Target Third-Graders

Tovia Smith — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:02:00 +0000

There's little dispute among educators that kids are not reading as well as they should be, but there's endless debate over what to do about it.

Should Valets Be Responsible For Drunk Drivers Too?

Tovia Smith — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:01:00 +0000

That old public service announcement is pretty well ingrained these days: "Friends don't let friends drive drunk." But who else should be responsible for stopping would-be drunken drivers? Bars and restaurants are already legally on the hook. Some in Boston say valet parking attendants should be, too.

City Councilor Rob Consalvo says he decided something needed to be done after a 23-year-old on a scooter was mowed down by a drunken driver in Boston. The driver later said he was "blackout drunk" and couldn't believe that a valet guy actually handed him his car keys.

"I was stunned.

Same-Sex Marriage May Hinge On Supreme Court

Tovia Smith — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:12:00 +0000

With New York's legalization of same-sex marriage effectively doubling the number of Americans living in states where gays can marry, gay advocates like to say 2011 was a big year.

It's hard to imagine another doubling this year, but proponents are still hoping to build on last year's success. Same-sex marriage is currently legal in six states plus Washington, D.C., and it may come up for a vote in six more. All the while, legal challenges are pushing the issue closer to getting an opinion from the U.S.

New England Fishermen Brace For Cod Restrictions

Tovia Smith — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:09:00 +0000

Three years ago, scientists found plenty of cod in the region but data this season indicates just the opposite. Federal regulators say stocks are at such dangerously low levels, cod fishing might need to be shut down. Fishermen say they don't believe the reports.

Mass. Senate Race A Battle Over Who's More Populist

Tovia Smith — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:11:00 +0000

Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts made a point of calling Ted Kennedy's old U.S. Senate seat the "people's seat," and he won it in large part by casting himself as the opposite of that glamorous and privileged dynasty.

Brown won in a special election in 2010. Now, Democrat Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard Law professor and Wall Street watchdog, is raising Democrats' hopes they can win the seat back.

For Mill Town's Youth, 'It Can't Get Any Worse'

Tovia Smith — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 09:39:00 +0000

Part of a monthlong series

Coming after Gen X and Gen Y, the next generation of young people have been called "Gen Wrong Place, Wrong Time." With unemployment and college costs both sky-high and the housing market in collapse, young people today are facing extraordinary economic uncertainty.

Perhaps nowhere is that more clear than in a small town like East Millinocket, Maine.

Try to ask young folks here how they feel about their economic future, and you pretty much have your answer before you e