Hallie Claflin is a Report for America corps member covering Gateway Cities for CommonWealth Beacon.
She is a Wisconsin native and newcomer to Massachusetts. She has written for several nonprofit publications in Madison, Wisconsin, and her work has been recognized by the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2023 she spent a summer at Voice of America where she covered national and international affairs for the visual content team in Washington, DC. She previously covered rural homelessness, poverty, politics, state government, and statewide elections at Wisconsin Watch.
She completed her degrees in both journalism and political science at the University of Wisconsin, where she became passionate about strengthening local news, pursuing solutions journalism, and holding state and local officials accountable. Hallie’s coverage focuses on major policy issues like housing, transportation, and education in Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities.
‘Not if, but when’: Flood prevention project in Everett and Chelsea remains frozen one year after federal program cuts
Local planners remain committed to climate resilience, but as flood risks continue to worsen, leaders say disaster on the Island End River is only a matter of time
Worcester’s ‘A Better Life’ housing program helps break generational poverty by promoting self-sufficiency
The program, which requires residents to work, attend school, or participate in community service each week, caught the attention of the Trump administration
Rail projects inching along in Western Mass. as MassDOT discusses hourly trains from Springfield to NYC
Officials say progress hinges on new Amtrak trains and pricey improvements to Springfield’s Union Station
‘Climate of fear’: Student enrollment declining amid Trump’s immigration crackdown
Some school district leaders have attributed recent enrollment drops to amplified federal immigration enforcement in Gateway Cities like Chelsea, Lynn, and Revere
Salem, Quincy receiving millions in tax credits for Gateway Cities despite no longer qualifying for the designation
Gateway Cities are prioritized for many state programs, but policymakers aren’t keeping track of which municipalities no longer meet the criteria
‘Couldn’t come at a better time’: Six Gateway Cities to get economic boost in downtown districts
Each city will receive a full-time development fellow through MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative
Healey has called for universal pre-K in every Gateway City by the year’s end. Providers say they won’t get there.
Child care providers say the governor’s “Gateway to Pre-K” initiative has the right intention, but implementing universal access at the local level remains a challenge
Holyoke’s unsheltered homeless count hits new record as threats to federal aid loom
This year’s one-night snapshot of homelessness across the country came at a critical time for Western Massachusetts
Everett’s new mayor inherits major development projects
Agreements for two new hotels and a soccer stadium were struck just as former mayor Carlo DeMaria was leaving office
Trump administration targets program for chronically homeless residents, sparking fear for vulnerable populations in cities like Springfield
Local housing teams are facing chaos as the Trump administration seeks to overhaul the federal government’s main homelessness program – a move outlined in Project 2025
No way in and no way out: Beacon Hill hasn’t kept track of which communities qualify for Gateway City status
Gateway Cities receive special funding from the state, but over the last decade, Beacon Hill hasn’t kept track of which cities qualify and which ones don’t, leaving two cities out
Our top five Gateway Cities stories of 2025
The state’s most economically distressed communities faced old and new challenges this year, underscoring the need for solutions
‘It couldn’t come at a worse time’: Legislature strips casino mitigation funds amid municipal budget woes
Gateway Cities like Springfield are set to lose millions as state lawmakers seek to offset the state’s budget pressures with the funds
State audit claims 2023 maternity unit closure in Leominster was preventable
Auditors say $6.2 million in COVID relief funding, which UMass Memorial Health says was spent on bonuses for frontline workers during the pandemic, could have been used to recruit and pay maternity staff
How incoming mayor Robert Van Campen will write Everett’s next chapter
The mayor-elect campaigned on change after his swaggering predecessor, Carlo DeMaria, was marked by scandal this year. But in some ways, Van Campen will keep DeMaria’s legacy alive
Suspension of maternity services at Mercy Medical Center sparks fears of permanent closure
Health care providers and experts worry the Trinity Health-owned hospital in Springfield could be next in a string of maternity unit closures over the last decade
Half of Holyoke’s middle school students started the year at a new school. The other half were ‘left behind.’
How Proposition 2½, strained municipal budgets, and an inequitable state funding formula have left some communities between a rock and a hard place when it comes to new school construction
Lawmaker representing Randolph seeks to loosen Gateway City eligibility criteria
A new bill would open the designation to more communities, including Boston and a town of less than 5,000 on Martha’s Vineyard
When communities lose trust: One year after Steward Health’s bankruptcy and the death of two hospitals
How Boston’s largest neighborhood and a rural North-Central town are grappling with the loss of Carney Hospital and the Nashoba Valley Medical Center
State school building program favors wealthier districts, leaving lower-income urban students in aging, dilapidated buildings, according to new study
Under the state formula, in Gateway Cities like Lynn, extensive renovation projects and new school construction are often a pipe dream
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