Along with the national GDP figures that came out today was news that the Massachusetts economy slowed its growth in the fourth quarter. Not the best of news, but Mass. still retains its lower-than-national unemployment rate. Read more here.

President Obama may have “no interest” in running General Motors, but Barney Frank sure does. From Today’s Wall Street Journal Opinion page. The latest self-appointed car czar is Massachusett’s own Barney Frank, who intervened this week to save GM distribution center in Norton Mass. The warehouse, which employs some 90 people, was slated for closure [...]

Jay Fitzgerald’s article from today’s Boston Herald: A University of Massachusetts report out yesterday warned that the state’s jobless rate could hit 9.1 percent in a few months – and possibly head into double-digit territory soon afterward – at the current rate of economic decline. Breaching the 9.1 percent mark would push the state’s jobless [...]

You probably read this in the daily newspaper, but here it is in an easy-to-read and understand format. From The Warren Group: [The Massachusetts'] condominium market, which experienced more moderate sales declines in September and October, saw double-digit percentage declines in sales and prices in November. Sales sank 27.5 percent to 1,204 from 1,660 in [...]

Good news: Massachusetts’ unemployment rate was only 5.5% in November, 2008, while the United States’ unemployment rate was 6.5% in November, 2008. Bad news: Because Massachusetts’ rate was lower than the national average, Bay Staters who are currently unemployed will only receive seven extra weeks of benefits whereas those on unemployment in states with rates [...]

The Globe had a great article in yesterday’s paper about converting your home from oil to gas heat. Philip Giudice, commissioner of the state’s Department of Energy Resources says, “Massachusetts residents who heat with oil spent about $2,345 last winter, while natural gas users paid about $1,593.” … [Commissioner Philip] Giudice said “homeowners must weigh [...]

I nearly choked on my Cheerios when I read this in last week’s Economist: Until recently, few Americans went abroad for medical treatment. Over the past decade, however, that has begun to change. Americans seeking medical care are increasingly making trips far from home, often at their own expense—not just short hops to Caracas for [...]

Something we can all be proud of. From the Globe: Nearly three-quarters of previously uninsured Massachusetts residents now have medical coverage under the state’s landmark campaign to extend health insurance to virtually all Bay Staters, according to a report released yesterday by Governor Deval Patrick’s administration. Since the program’s launch in June 2006, 439,000 more [...]

From the AP: College presidents from about 100 of the nation’s best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth, and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age to 18 from 21, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus. The movement called the Amethyst Initiative began quietly recruiting presidents more than [...]

It’s summer, which means it’s time for the semi bi-annual “Provincetown sure is changing these days” article in the Boston Globe. 2008: No longer mainly for gays, Provincetown courts all 2006: A sea change in P-town 2006: Youth movement; Provincetown tries to attract younger residents as its year-round population ages, declines 2004: Behind the bustle, [...]