The 13th Season of OPEN HOUSE

About OPEN HOUSE

OPEN HOUSE, Rep. Kaufman's monthly public policy series, was launched in 1995 to provide a forum for discussing the challenges and opportunities facing our community and Commonwealth. While Rep. Kaufman invites guests with expertise and experience in the policy area under consideration, the public is an integral part of the program, and audience participation typically directs the conversation. OPEN HOUSE has been named the best television series by the Massachusetts Cable Television Commission, and was awarded the cable industry’s Beacon Award as the nation’s best government relations series. OPEN HOUSE is produced in partnership with the Lexington Historical Society and LexMedia, which films the forums for broadcast in eastern Massachusetts.

This Month's OPEN HOUSE

Season 14 Dates
September 18, 2008
October 16, 2008
November 20, 2008
January 15, 2009
February 19, 2009
March 19, 2009
April 16, 2009
May 21, 2009
June 18, 2009

Open House Archive

The New Governor's Development Cabinet – A Three-Part Series
September 20, 2007 "Roads, Bridges and the Future of Public Transportation: A Conversation with Bernard Cohen, Secretary of Transportation"
October 18, 2007 "Of Budgets and Priorities: A Conversation with Leslie Kirwan, Secretary of Administration and Finance"
November 8, 2007 "Jobs and Economic Development: A Conversation with Dan O'Connell, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development"

January 17, 2008 "A Community conversation on Taxes"
March 20, 2008 "Newspapers in the Age of the Blog, A conversation with Renee Loth"
April 17, 2008 "Managing Finances in a Recessionary Economy, with Treasurer Timothy Cahill"
May 15, 2008 "In the footsteps of Horace Mann, Education Policy for the 21st Century"
June 19, 2008 "Crime & Punishment, Criminal Prosecution and Crime Prevention"

September 21, 2006 "What do you want from your Legislators?"
October 19, 2006 "Greater Boston: Too Expensive to Survive?"
November 30, 2006 "Local Schools and State Policy: Conflict or Partnership?"
January 18, 2007 "The Music of Politics, The Politics of Music"
February 22, 2007 "How Do We Measure Success in Government, and Who Gets to Decide Anyway?"
March 15, 2007 "Politics from the Bottom Up: A Conversation with Eli Pariser, Founder of Move-On.Org"
April 12, 2007 "It's Getting Hot Out There: A Forum on Global Warming"
April 18, 2007 "God, Values and Public Policy: A Conversation with Michael Lerner"
May 17, 2007 "Giving an A: Thoughts on How we Grade One Another"
June 14, 2007 "Immigration 1620 to the Present: Some Things Never Change"

September 22, 2005 "Protecting the Sanctity of Your Vote: Electronic Voting, Redistricting, and Campaign Finance Reform"
October 20, 2005 "Health Care Reform Now: Expanding Access, Reducing Cost, Improving Quality"
November 10, 2005 "Electing a Governor 2006"
December 8, 2005 "Reining in the Costs of Energy: Financial, Environmental, and Social"
January 19, 2006 "The Community Preservation Act"
February 23, 2006 "Disaster's Wake: Emergency Preparation and Response in the Commonwealth"
March 23, 2006 "Rethinking Teacher Compensation: Incentive Pay for Public Educators"
April 27, 2006 "A Conversation with the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection"
May 18, 2006 "Polling, Politics, and the Governor's Race"
June 22, 2006 "What's Wrong with Liberals?"

Leadership for Change – A Four-Part Tenth Anniversary Series
March 17, 2005 "Why is Leadership Rare?"
March 24, 2005 "The Art of Leadership"
March 31, 2005 "Herding Cats"
April 7, 2005 "Leadership on the Line"

Reinventing Public Education – A Six-Part Tenth Anniversary Series
October 18, 2004 "The Role of Public Education in A Democracy"
October 25, 2004 "Reframing the Debate About School Funding"
November 1, 2004 "Race Matters: The 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
November 8, 2004 "What do we Mean by a 'Quality' Education?"
November 15, 2004 "Assessing Success: What do we Measure and How do we Measure it?"
November 22, 2004 "The Learning Commons: A Bold New Approach"

September 21, 2004 "The Next Generation of Voters: Civic Engagement and Disillusionment"
October 21, 2004 "When I'm Sixty-Four: Baby Boomers Come of Age"
November 18, 2004 "Post Election Reflections"
January 20, 2005 "A New Legislative Session Begins: A Conversation with Your State House Reps"
February 12, 2005 "A Community Sings with Greg Greenway"
February 14, 2005 "Reframing the Environmental Debate"
March 22, 2005 "A Conversation with House Speaker Sal DiMasi"
April 28, 2005 "Affordable Housing in Our Community"
May 26, 2005 "A Political Science: The Politics of Stem Cell Research"
June 16 2005 "The Public Conversation and the Press"

September 18, 2003 "Our Hospitals: On the Critical List"
November 13, 2003 "Children's Mental Health: What's Being Done? What Needs to be Done?"
January 15, 2004 "Fishing and Farming: The Future of Massachusetts' First Industries"
February 19, 2004 "Making Your Way in the Information Age and Knowledge Economy"
March 3, 2004 "Marriage at the Crossroads: Rights, Responsibilities and Values"
March 7, 2004 "Boston Symphony Orchestra Community Concert"
March 18, 2004 "Global Trade and Local Authority: Who's Minding the Store?"
April 15, 2004 "Environmental Stress, Environmental Opportunity"
May 18, 2004 "Challenging our Youth: Drugs, Sex and Alcohol"
June 17, 2004 "OPEN HOUSE Anniversary: Looking Back, Looking Forward"

September 19, 2002 "Hanscom: 30,000 Jobs, $4 Billion and an Airport"
October 17, 2002 "In God We Trust: Religion in the Public Square"
November 21, 2002 "Health Care: The Next Big Idea"
January 16, 2003 "Challenge to Leadership"
February 13, 2003 "Challenge of Leadership"
March 20, 2003 "Income, Community and Politics - Growing Divides: A Conversation with Robert Reich"
April 10, 2003 "Civil Liberties on the Line: Free Speech and Privacy in the Age of Terrorism"
May 15, 2003 "Do Political Parties Stand for Anything Anymore?"
June 19, 2003 "Smart Growth: Vision or Oxymoron?" with Doug Foy

September 20, 2001 "A Conversation with House Speaker Tom Finneran"
October 18, 2001 "Are We Safe? Is Democracy Safe?"
November 15, 2001 "Public Education: The Debate About Vouchers, Charter Schools & Privatization"
January 17, 2002 "Reflections of a Politician: Jay Kaufman on Eight Years in Public Life"
February 21, 2002 "The State Budget Crunch: Cutting Programs, Cutting Losses"
March 21, 2002 "Health Care Reform and the Role of Government"
April 18, 2002 "What's Wrong and What's Right with Property Taxes?"
May 9, 2002 "The Political Landscape As a Columnist Sees It: A Conversation with Eileen McNamara"
June 20, 2002 "The Rising Tide of Anti-Semitism: A Community Conversation"

September 21, 2000 "Protecting the Environment: The Role of the State"
October 19, 2000 "Meet the Press"
November 16, 2000 "Megaprojects: The Big Dig and Boston Harbor Cleanup"
January 18, 2001 "Reinventing Government"
February 15, 2001 "What's Becoming of Community?" with Robert Putnam
March 15, 2001 "Reinventing Education"
April 19, 2001 "Genetics and Public Policy"
May 17, 2001 "Privacy: Protect It or Forget It"
June 21, 2001 "An Evening with Cheryl Wheeler"

October 12, 1999 "Excellence in Public Schools: What Does It Take?"
November 18, 1999 "Families in Crisis and the Law" with District Attorney Martha Coakley
December 16, 1999 "What's Happening in Managed Care?"
February 17, 2000 "A High School Diploma: What Is It Worth?"
March 9, 2000 "The Education Market: Competition, Vouchers and Public Schools"
April 13, 2000 "Education Reform: What's Next?"
May 25, 2000 "Justice, Democracy, and the Growing Concentration of Wealth"
June 15, 2000 "Confronting Prejudice in Our Midst"

September 24, 1998 "Teaching in the 21st Century"
October 15, 1998 "Campaign Finance"
November 19, 1998 "There But For the Grace of God: Poverty in Our Midst"
January 21, 1999 "The Intellectual and the State: A Conversation with Noam Chomsky"
February 18, 1999 "What's News? Politics and the Press"
March 18, 1999 "Health Care: In Critical Condition"
April 15, 1999 "It Takes a Village" Cosponsored with Lexington Clergy Association
May 27, 1999 "Challenged Students, Challenged Schools: Teaching Children w/Special Needs"
June 17, 1999 "Private Corporations, Public Trust"

September 18, 1997 "Special Education: Special Opportunities, Special Challenges"
October 16, 1997 "Talking Trash"
November 18, 1997 "Money and Politics: The Case for Campaign Finance Reform"
February 19, 1998 "Crime and Punishment" with Attorney General Scott Harshbarger
March 19, 1998 "The Working Poor and the Shrinking Middle Class"
April 16, 1998 "The New State Tests: Testing Students, Testing Teachers, Testing Schools"
May 21, 1998 "METCO, School Desegregation, and Race in the '90s"
June 18, 1998 "Funding Public Education: A Taxing Challenge"

September 19, 1996 "It's the Economy..."
October 17, 1996 "Privacy in the Global Village: Your Medical Record in the Computer Age"
January 16, 1997 "Electric Utility Deregulation: Power to the People"
February 20, 1997 "Democrats and Republicans: Whither the Two Parties"
March 20, 1997 "A Conversation with the Speaker" with Representative Thomas M. Finneran
April 29, 1997 "For the Health of It: Wellness, Sickness and Alternative Medicine"
May 15, 1997 "Hanscom Airfield: Under New Management"
June 19, 1997 "Priorities, Policies and Politics: A Conversation with Your Representative"

June 15, 1995 "Funding Public Education: A Taxing Challenge"
September 21, 1995 "Is Our Health Care System Well?"
October 19, 1995 "Jobs and the Economy: Planning for the Future or Luck of the Draw?"
November 16, 1995 "Talk Radio, Politics, and Policy in Massachusetts"
January 18, 1996 "Hanscom Field: Poised for Take-off?"
February 15, 1996 "Town and Gown: Remaking Higher Education for a Changing World"
March 21, 1996 "Diversity and Community"
April 18, 1996 "Environmental Policy: On the Cutting Edge or the Chopping Block"
May 16, 1996 "Crime and Public Safety"
June 20, 1996 "Church and State"