New from CommonWealth Beacon MATERNITY: Merrimack Health’s Methuen campus will shutter its maternity unit in August, the 12th closure of maternity services in Massachusetts since 2010. Hallie Claflin looks at […]
CommonWealth Beacon staff
Posted inThe Codcast
The grassroots campaign that changed health care
On the latest episode of The Codcast’s Health or Consequences, Paul Hattis interviews his normal co-host John McDonough and Cheri Andes about their work 20 years ago to secure passage of a landmark health care reform law.
Posted inUncategorized
A small town takes a solar developer to court and four more stories
The Saturday Send Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from CommonWealth Beacon that you may have missed. This week, reporter Jordan Wolman covers the legal […]
Posted inThe Download
The Download: Lawmakers offer mixed messages on income tax ballot question
New from CommonWealth Beacon ELECTRIC SHOCK: A Bellingham man spent months securing a loan to add solar panels and battery storage to his home only to be hit with a […]
Posted inThe Download
The Download: Taking stock of Massachusetts health care reform at 20
New from CommonWealth Beacon SOLAR SHOWDOWN: The Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments in a case over the denial of a permit for a large solar power project by the rural […]
Posted inThe Download
The Download: Worcester pilot program provides early childhood educators with rent-free space to start their businesses
New from CommonWealth Beacon LEGISLATIVE AUDIT: Following months of an increasingly bitter feud with Diana DiZoglio, Attorney General Andrea Campbell used a live radio interview to signal a new willingness […]
Posted inThe Download
The Download: DiZoglio-Campbell feud hurtles toward Supreme Judicial Court
New from CommonWealth Beacon CODCAST: The Healey administration is steering into artificial intelligence, and there’s more at stake than just jobs or economic growth — all sorts of personal data […]
Posted inThe Download
What it means that a state ‘AI assistant’ will handle your data
New from CommonWealth Beacon CONSERVATION BY BALLOT: One of the dozen potential ballot measures that could greet voters this November aims to create a dedicated fund to purchase land for […]
Posted inThe Codcast
What it means that a state ‘AI assistant’ will handle your data
This week on The Codcast, we dig into the new partnership between Massachusetts and OpenAI to roll out an AI assistant to help with daily governmental tasks. CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith is joined by Technology Secretary Jason Snyder, who says his goals include “democratizing innovation” and helping streamline bureaucratic systems like the DMV. Snyder discusses the contract with OpenAI, concerns around data privacy and bias in AI systems, and explains why the state is leaning so hard into AI adoption.
Posted inUncategorized
Worcester housing program encourages self-sufficiency, and four more stories
The Saturday Send Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from CommonWealth Beacon that you may have missed. This week, reporter Hallie Claflin does a deep […]
Posted inThe Download
The Download: Massachusetts ranks low in spending for land conservation. This ballot initiative is trying to change that.
New from CommonWealth Beacon BRIC DELAY: A year after federal cuts to the BRIC program, an ambitious resilience project in Chelsea and Everett remains on hold. Hallie Claflin has the […]
Posted inThe Download
The Download: ‘Not if, but when’: Flood prevention project in Everett and Chelsea remains frozen one year after federal program cuts
New from CommonWealth Beacon STAFF UNIONIZATION: Barring a sudden reversal by their ostensibly pro-labor bosses, the Massachusetts legislative staffers who have long fought to form a union will once again […]
Posted inThe Download
The Download: House Democrats spike bill to let legislative staffers unionize
New from CommonWealth Beacon A BETTER LIFE: Hallie Claflin weaves together stories of success from Worcester’s A Better Life program, which provides families in state-subsidized public housing with case management […]
Posted inThe Download
The Download: Worcester’s ‘A Better Life’ housing program helps break generational poverty by promoting self-sufficiency
New from CommonWealth Beacon THE CODCAST: After 28 years at the helm of Massachusetts Health Quality Partners, Barbra Rabson is stepping down. Data gathered by MHQP paints a picture of […]
Posted inThe Download
The Download: Trying to measure primary care’s downward spiral
New from CommonWealth Beacon RETREAT: Local and state officials are looking more directly at the logistics of managed retreat – long a delicate subject for coastal residents. The state is […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Trying to measure primary care’s downward spiral
On the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk with Barbra Rabson, president and CEO of Massachusetts Health Quality Partners. They discuss the primary care crisis, how data transparency improves patient outcomes, and tease upcoming recommendations from the primary care task force.
Posted inThe Saturday Send
Mass. bottle return rates go down the drain, and four more stories
The Saturday Send Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from CommonWealth Beacon that you may have missed. This week, reporter Jordan Wolman investigates the cratering […]
Posted inThe Download
The Download: Where the rubber meets the road: MBTA questions if electric bus mandate is worth the tradeoffs
New from CommonWealth Beacon BOTTLES: Just one-third of the eligible bottles and cans sold in Massachusetts were redeemed last year under the state’s recycling-incentivizing deposit law, a new low as […]
Posted inThe Download
The Download: The Bay State angle into the US Senate housing bill
New from CommonWealth Beacon BALLOT BATTLES: Dueling housing ballot measures, one proposing strict rent control and one looking to ease restrictive zoning, collided with frustrated lawmakers over two days of […]
Posted inThe Codcast
The Bay State angle into the US Senate housing bill
This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Matt Noyes, director of state and federal advocacy for the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA). They dig into the Bay State implications of the sprawling bipartisan “meatball” of a housing bill that recently passed the US Senate, and take a look at how efforts at home might interact with federal policy.
Posted inUncategorized
Bay State weighs big data center expansions and four more stories
The Saturday Send Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from CommonWealth Beacon that you may have missed. This week, reporter Jordan Wolman covers how expanding […]
Posted inThe Download
The Download: Political Notebook: Eager to be counted — on largely symbolic vote
New from CommonWealth Beacon ELECTRICITY: A provision in the House-approved energy affordability bill would crack down on competitive electric suppliers, third-party companies that regulators have long alleged mislead consumers with […]
Posted inThe Download
The Download: Immigration enforcement and declines in public school enrollment
New from CommonWealth Beacon IMMIGRATION IMPACTS: Schools across Massachusetts are grappling with shrinking enrollment that they say is likely connected to President Donald Trump’s ramped up immigration enforcement push. Hallie […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Immigration enforcement and declines in public school enrollment
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Hallie Claflin discuss Claflin‘s latest piece on how immigration enforcement step ups are impacting school enrollment. They zero in on the state’s Gateway Cities, which are home to a disproportionate share of Massachusetts‘s immigrant population and are sounding the alarm over the psychological and fiscal effects of federal enforcement actions on their school communities.