Also, we’ll discuss the state’s film tax credit, which some people argue is a give away to Hollywood film executives, and some is an important economic stimulus.  Do you care if movies and TV shows are shot in Massachusetts?  We’ll talk with a current reality TV show star from Massachusetts.

Also, House Speaker Robert DeLeo has outlined his proposals for expanded gambling in the state.  His proposal differs from Governor Patrick’s idea by including slot machines at the state’s race track.  Two of those tracks are  in DeLeo’s district. 

Comment about these topics here, and join us this Friday at 1.

Also, journalist C. S. Manegold’s latest book, “Ten Hills Farm,” blows away the popular notion that Boston kept its hands clean of the slave trade.  As Black History Month wraps up, we talk with Manegold and visit Ten Hills Farm in Medford, where five generations of powerful New England families held slaves.

Finally, Teen Voices brings us essays by local young women who have been impacted by the the Haiti earthquake.

We’re halfway through the worldwide collective ski holiday in British Columbia that is the Vancouver Olympics. What have we learned? The first three notes of “Oh Canada” and NBC’s Olympics theme are the same; cheese does not heal deep muscle bruises when applied topically; and Vancouver is the most livable city in the world.

What does Vancouver have that Boston doesn’t? For one thing, a style of urban planning named after it. One of the people at the heart of downtown Vancouver’s stunning redevelopment into a universally lauded example of livable urban design was in Boston recently; acclaimed urban planner Larry Beasley joins us this week to talk about what Boston can learn from Vancouver.

As part of the dicussion, we’ll talk about the Chiofaro Company’s controversial proposal to redevelop the Harbor Garage with a tall pair of mixed-use waterfront towers. Don Chiofaro shows off his design:

Also this week, there’s a new exhibit at the Howard Yezerski Gallery chronicling Boston’s bygone red light district: the Combat Zone. We’ll visit the exhibit and swap memories with legendary Combat Zone performer Louise Wightman, AKA Princess Cheyenne!

What’s at stake? Census participation advocates say as much as $3,ooo per person counted, and at least one Massachusetts seat in Congress.To avoid losses, governmental and non-governmental agencies are scrambling to make sure that all of the Commonwealth’s historically undercounted minorities communities get counted. This week, we talk with officials and advocates on the front lines of that effort.

Census outreach booths in Downtown Crossing (Photo: Tim Skoog)

01/13/09, 4:30 pm UPDATE:  Scott Brown’s campaign has had to pull out of their committment to have Senator Brown appear live on the show.  That doesn’t mean we won’t be discussing the issues at stake in this race.  Martha Coakley will still be there to answer your questions, as will our panel of political anaylsts. 

Polling in special elections is notoriously unreliable.  The problem is that special elections tend to have low voter turn out, and the folks who do turn out tend to be the party loyalists.  Often, special election outcomes come down to whose organization is strongest. 

Even still, it’s hard to remember a time when polls showed such vastly different results one week out.  In the special Senate race here, a Boston Globe poll shows Martha Coakley ahead by 15 points, while another poll releasted the same day by Public Policy Polling shows Scott Brown up by one, effectively making the race too close to call.   

The decision of who will be the next Senator from Massachusetts is ultimately up to the voters, and so this Friday at 1, we’ll give you one last opportunity to chat with each of the leading candidates for the Senate.