CommonWealth Beacon staff
Posted inThe Codcast

Why gas companies are spending big in ‘fossil fuel free’ communities

by CommonWealth Beacon staff

Starting in 2024, a group of 10 Massachusetts communities kickstarted a first-of-a-kind experiment by pledging to go fossil fuel free. But moving off gas for new buildings doesn’t preclude the utilities from needing to spend tens of millions of dollars each year upgrading the existing infrastructure by replacing pipes. This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Hallie Claflin and Jordan Wolman discuss Wolman’s latest piece uncovering how gas companies have spent $100 million on natural gas infrastructure in nine of those 10 communities, roughly since they adopted their fossil fuel-free ordinances.

Posted inThe Codcast

What can Mass. learn from New Mexico’s universal child care experiment?

by CommonWealth Beacon staff

New Mexico is making waves, and generating questions from curious onlookers, by offering universal child care to all families. How is it funded? Is it truly universal? Are there enough caretakers to keep up with demand? And with our astronomically high child care costs, could Massachusetts achieve something similar? Jacob Vigil, the chief legislative officer of New Mexico Voices for Children, joins CommonWealth Beacon‘s Chris Lisinski to dive into the policy, the grassroots campaign behind the changes, and how money from the booming New Mexican oil and gas industry played a key role.

Posted inThe Codcast

Bad incentives and industry headwinds vex Point32Health CEO

by CommonWealth Beacon staff

Patrick Gilligan has a lifetime of experience in health care. One year ago, he accepted the role of CEO of Point32Health, a regional nonprofit health insurance provider. On this month’s edition of Health or Consequences, hosts John McDonough and Paul Hattis ask Gilligan to take a deep dive into the current state of health insurance. Are patients getting what they’re paying for? How are health insurers cutting costs while remaining competitive? How is market consolidation contributing to rising health care costs? And what policies might help stem the tide?

Posted inThe Codcast

Can Mass. hit its housing goals? New housing secretary says yes.

by CommonWealth Beacon staff

Gov. Maura Healey’s administration estimates that the state will need 222,000 by 2035 to deal withe existing need and population growth. Her new housing secretary, Juana Matias, says we can meet that goal, and joins CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith to talk about chipping away at decades of sluggish housing production. Matias, who was a state representative and regional administrator at HUD, talks about what she’d like to see come from the end-of-session rush and how the state can weather federal pullbacks on fair housing an public housing.

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