Tovia Smith

1 Month Since The Bombings, Signs Of Progress In Boston

Tovia Smith — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:19:00 +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.

Boston Business Owners Allowed To Return To Bombing Site

Tovia Smith — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:03:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The massive swath of Boston that has been closed for more than a week is getting closer to reopening. City officials yesterday brought victims of the marathon bombings and their relatives in for a private visit and allowed neighborhood residents back home for the first time in over a week. Businesses also began the process of cleaning up and preparing to reopen.

The hardest-hit shops and restaurants remain boarded up.

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 22:07:00 +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.

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.