Boston has seen office vacancy rates spike since the pandemic. That is leading to lowered assessed values for buildings. With fears that lowered tax payments could create budget woes, Mayor Michelle Wu wants authority to raise commercial tax rates as a potential fix.
Michael Jonas
Michael Jonas works with Laura in overseeing CommonWealth Beacon coverage and editing the work of reporters. His own reporting has a particular focus on politics, education, and criminal justice reform.
Posted inEducation
State exit from Holyoke puts spotlight on mixed takeover record
The state’s looming exit from its takeover of the Holyoke schools puts a spotlight on state use of this authority — and its mixed record.
Posted inEducation
Holyoke schools poised to exit state receivership
14 years after a new law authorized the state to take control of underperforming school districts, Holyoke is poised to become the first takeover district returned to local hands.
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook: Mariano’s blunt urinalysis of Steward
We may be in an era of “Mariano missiles.” House Speaker Ron Mariano, a former schoolteacher from Quincy, can be similarly blunt, or teasing, in his remarks, as he was while speaking at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.
Posted inCriminal Justice
In remarkable start to 2024, Boston has had only 2 homicides this year
Boston has had just 2 homicides so far in 2024, and shootings are down 64 percent, an extraordinary start to the year in a city that already had low baseline rates of homicide and gun violence.
Posted inHousing
Battle over parking often really about housing and development
A focus on parking and parking minimums have shaped post-war development in the US for the worse, says author Henry Grabar. But he says we’re in the midst of an encouraging “parking science renaissance” that’s rethinking those policies.
Posted inHousing
In housing battles, left-right lines are blurred
The push for zoning reforms that allow for more housing is bringing together a rare convergence of the political left and right.
Posted inPolitics
Political notebook: ‘Java with Jimmy’ now Uber mouthpiece…Point person Peisch…Murphy’s law quest…Cain for Senate
‘Java with Jimmy’ now an Uber cheerleader Jimmy Hills, host of the online show “Java with Jimmy,” sits somewhere between a journalist and a talk show host. His episodes feature […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Healey faces heat over proposed reentry cuts
Being governor in times of plenty comes with the ability to make lots of people happy. When the revenue picture turns grim, Healey is learning, the mood quickly shifts.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Controversial gang database credited in big federal bust
The Boston Police Department’s controversial gang database has faced widespread criticism for improperly profiling young Black and Hispanic males, but Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said it played a crucial role in the recent federal bust of more than 40 people allegedly connected to a violent street gang.
Posted inEducation
A grilling for those looking to scrap MCAS graduation test
Two decades after the state began requiring students to pass the 10th grade MCAS exam to graduate from high school, the well-formed battle lines pitting supporters against opponents of the high-stakes test show little sign of fraying, with the prospects of a high-profile ballot showdown now looming over the debate.
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook
WHEN STEVE LYNCH paints congressional Republicans as an extremist band of ideologues detached from reality it carries a bit more weight. The one-time Southie ironworker is nobody’s idea of a […]
Posted inPolitics
Warren challenger sounds a lot like…Warren
As Deaton unspools his story and talks about how it inspired him to want to go to Washington to fight for the little guy, it’s hard not to think of the origin story that Warren says drives her, growing up on “the ragged edge of the middle class” in Oklahoma.
Posted inGambling
On age minimums, state weaving a tangled tale
What’s the right age to grant the rights and responsibilities of adulthood? Based on current policy debates, it all depends. Are you looking to roll the dice or rob a store?
Posted inEducation
Riley stepping down as state education commissioner
State education commissioner Jeff Riley, who often sought to find common ground in the polarized world of education debates and steered schools through the unprecedented COVID crisis that shuttered classrooms across the state, will leave his post next month after six years as the state’s top official overseeing K-12 schools.
Posted inGovernment
How did we become such snowflakes about snowstorms? Blame NYC mayor.
Baby boomers still revel in sharing tales of the Blizzard of ‘78. This generation of snowflakes will be left to recount how they endured the Dusting of ‘24.
Posted inArts and Culture
Boston’s free museum plan leaves out thousands of kids
Under a new seven-month pilot program, on the first two Sundays of every month, Boston Public Schools students and up to three family members will have free admission to several Boston arts and cultural institutions. But the free admission program doesn’t apply to all young people in the city.
Posted inEducation
Short takes: Newton lawmakers silent on teachers strike
One might think the Newton teachers strike is the kind of pressing issue that the city’s state lawmakers would speak out about. Think again.
Posted inEducation
Auchincloss urges two sides to settle Newton teachers strike
US Rep. Jake Auchincloss, who lives in Newton, urged the two sides in the Newton teachers’ strike to settle the contract dispute and have schools reopen on Tuesday.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Incarceration and crime rates both down sharply since 2018 reforms
Five years after Massachusetts enacted sweeping reforms aimed at reducing incarceration and addressing racial disparities in the criminal justice system, a new study says the state has seen sharp decreases in both incarceration and crime rates.
Posted inEducation
Striking Newton teachers get support from Boston congresswoman
Some of the loudest voices of support among political leaders for striking teachers are again coming from officials who are far removed from the day-to-day oversight of the schools or state policy governing teachers’ strikes, which are illegal under current law.
Posted inEducation
Is tutoring the answer to pandemic learning loss?
Tutoring has a stronger base of solid positive evidence than almost any other school intervention, but joins lots of other innovations in education that seem to offer great promise but have been stubbornly difficult to implement at the kind of scale that would really drive population-wide improvements.
Posted inEconomy
Short takes: Healey backs Everett soccer stadium
The New England Revolution’s bid to bring a soccer stadium to Everett’s waterfront appears to have a new center forward who could help them score a win: Gov. Maura Healey.
Posted inEducation
Spilka renews push for free community college
Senate President Karen Spilka renewed her push for free community college in Massachusetts on Wednesday, touting a new report that lays out a plan to cover all costs for residents attending one of the state’s 15 public two-year schools at an annual cost of $170 million.