Sarah Schweitzer

Rich white people fight full-day kindergarten; say that's just for poor people

adamg — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:42:35 -0400

Sarah Schweitzer reports on the latest issue confronting the weary, beaten-down monied classes: full-day kindergarten:

One parent penned a letter to the [Concord] School Committee, saying studies had shown that students who benefited from the program generally come from "at-risk communities."

Dear Concord parent,

Thanks for reminding me why I couldn't stand Concord when I was a reporter.

Sincerely,

Parent of a non-at-risk kid who went to full-day kindergarten, albeit not in your precious snowflake of a town.

Shocking disclosure: I actually sort of agree with a point our Robb Reporter in training raises: Although I think our daughter did well with full-day kindergarten, I did find it a little sad to see just how much academic work these kids were expected to do. But then Ms. Schweitzer comes through in the clutch with all sorts of down-their-noses sneering at the lesser classes and ties it all together in a trend story based on complaints from, oh, three people, and my faith in her ability to make me rant at the vapidity of people with too much money and the newspaper that serves them is restored.

News you can use: Falling interest rates make that Rolls more affordable

adamg — Mon, 19 May 2008 09:54:31 -0400

Reporter to the Rich and Richer Sarah Schweitzer scoops the Herald again on how some people are saving money in these troubled times:

...One executive, who asked not to be quoted by name, said that as a business owner, he is not immune to the economic downturn, which has cut into his company's profits. Like many Bostonians, he said, he is watching his spending habits and has cut back on dining out and is traveling less. But that didn't stop him from recently purchasing a Ferrari. ...

Question for the Globe: Isn't it somewhat lame that you run a story about fin-de-siecle spending by the uberrich only a couple weeks after you ran a story complaining how the new Natick Mall is going down the tubes because rich New Englanders don't know how to spend money?

When the children of cheesemaking Duxbury residents go off to college

adamg — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 09:34:49 -0400

One of the first things they do is start whining to administrators that their $50,000 a year should buy them common areas where the couches aren't haphazardly arranged, the Globe's Sarah Schweitzer informs us, in another of her exposes on the seamy underbelly of the overclass.

And a nation cries out in despair

adamg — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:01:18 -0400

In her ongoing front-page series on the travails of rich white people, the Globe's Sarah Schweitzer today gives us a sensitive, caring look at Duxbury residents desperately trying to prevent their scions from taking the wrong path in life, by paying up to $80 an hour for etiquette lessons at the Duxbury Yacht Club. I think the following sentence sums up the rough road ahead for them:

"So many of these children had never seen two forks," Tunnicliffe said.

South End under attack by rich white people having babies

adamg — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:28:24 -0400

The Globe today really puts the news in context. A front page story declaring the worst recession since World War II sits right atop crack investigative reporter Sarah Schweitzer's expose on rich white parents in the South End: South End getting (a lot) younger.

Yes, shocking: Rich white people are taking time out from accumulating wealth to pop out babies!

What has changed, residents say, is that affluent young professionals who once moved away when they planned to have children began about five years ago to stay. Some now are upgrading from smaller, couple-size condos to four-bedroom units that can cost $2 million.

So, hold on, all you yuppies moving to the Natick Mall: Ms. Schweitzer now declares there is life in the old city yet.

However, the story really only continues Schweitzer's - and the Globe's - odd compulsion to turn every little anecdote-based story into some sweeping declaration of a "trend." Is the South End really getting younger? The most recent demographic data on the neighborhood is from the 2000 federal census - in other words, from two years before her alleged trend started.

As Adam Reilly of the Phoenix points out (in e-mail to me, since he can't post to his blog for some reason), there could be another explanation for Schweitzer's anecdotes: Rich white parents (and the stores that cater to them) are displacing poor brown parents in the neighborhood:

In other words, she can't conclusively state that there are more kids than there used to be. But because there are a lot of new upscale options catering to parents with disposable income...QED?

What Schweitzer ignores, obviously, is the possibility that, with the flight of lower- and middle-income families, the neighborhood may have no more kids than it used to, or even less.

Icky poor people? Please. They're Herald readers; we'll have none of that in the New Globe.

Why stop at dogs?

adamg — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:34:59 -0500

It's good to know that, even in the midst of rapidly declining readership, an endless series of staff buyouts and a fast-shrinking news hole, the Boston Globe has found one area in which it can beef up its coverage: Spotting the trends that matter to the Boston area's rich. Because Lord knows this is a group that has been sadly neglected in the past.

Thankfully, the Globe made the right choice in assigning the local Robb Report beat to Sarah Schweitzer,

It's refreshing to see the Globe finally tackling the issues of everyday people

adamg — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:03:37 -0500

Yesterday, the Globe gave us an insightful front-page look at those modern-day pioneers forsaking their six-figure financial-services salaries and Back Bay condos to become Vermont cheesemakers. Today, the Globe once again awakens us from our complacency with a front-page expose on the travails of another breed of pioneers: People buying million-dollar condos at the Natick Mall:

... "You just don't see malls like this," said Kellie DuGally, 37, owner of an online sales company in Hudson, who plans to convert one of the penthouse's three bedrooms into a closet for her clothing and shoes. ...

Would you forgive me if I dropped everything and became a cheesemaker?

adamg — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:19:35 -0500

Apparantly, it's the thing to do these days.