New from CommonWealth Beacon FRAYING SAFETY NETS: Gov. Maura Healey is drawing criticism over her push to tighten eligibility for the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program […]
CommonWealth Beacon staff
Posted inThe Download
‘It just requires people to be destitute’: Healey draws criticism over push to tighten eligibility for safety-net program
New from CommonWealth Beacon COURT COSTS: Gov. Maura Healey’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget focuses its courts-related spending boosts on operations and staff costs in the Trial Courts, plus ramping […]
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The Download: Regulating insurance as health care costs surge
New from CommonWealth Beacon BALLOTS FIRED: The campaign opposing a ballot measure that would impose strict rent control limits across the state wants the Supreme Judicial Court to keep the […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Regulating insurance as health care costs surge
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 Michael Caljouw, the state commissioner of insurance. They discuss new regulations for insurers, concerns about the stability and solvency of the Massachusetts health insurance system, and insurer consolidation.
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The Download: Holyoke’s unsheltered homeless count hits new record as threats to federal aid loom
New from CommonWealth Beacon HEALTH INSURANCE: Commercial insurers denied roughly one out of every five claims submitted in 2024, with administrative issues driving a large chunk of those blocked coverage […]
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The Download: From T support to school aid, surtax emerges as crutch for state budgeting
New from CommonWealth Beacon UNEMPLOYMENT: The state’s unemployment system made big strides on paying checks in a timely fashion in November and December, but even with those improvements, it still […]
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The Download: Despite improvement, Mass. unemployment system remains one of the worst in the country by some measures
New from CommonWealth Beacon EMINENT DOMAIN: The state’s highest court will wade into a yearslong fight over land owned by Northeastern University that Nahant Town Meeting voted to seize by […]
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The Download: Was a vote to seize Northeastern University land for conservation in ‘bad faith?’
New from CommonWealth Beacon NEW CODCAST: Gov. Maura Healey has released her state budget proposal – a $63 billion spending plan. This week on the Codcast, reporter Chris Lisinski digs […]
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The Download: Unpacking the governor’s state budget proposal
New from CommonWealth Beacon ENERGY: A sustained cold snap is driving up energy usage in Massachusetts, threatening to blunt the utility bill savings Gov. Maura Healey targeted with state investment. […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Unpacking the governor’s state budget proposal
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon senior reporter Chris Lisinski hosts Viviana Abreu-Hernandez of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center and Jim Stergios of the Pioneer Institute for a discussion about Gov. Maura Healey’s fiscal year 2027 state budget proposal.
Posted inThe Saturday Send
Mass. vs. ICE
reporter Jennifer Smith explains the state’s legal limitations in addressing ICE actions and Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s lawsuit against nine towns for not adhering to the MBTA Communities law. Meanwhile, the Sierra Club calls for the removal of the House energy chair and cold weather throws cold water on Governor Maura Healey’s energy savings efforts.
Plus: the state’s budget significantly increases MassHealth spending, declining immigration threatens the Massachusetts economy, and Everett’s new mayor inherits a slate of major development projects.
Posted inThe Download
The Download: Growing health care pressure drives up spending in Healey’s annual budget
New from CommonWealth Beacon ICE STORM: Massachusetts officials are bracing for another possible immigration surge, but what could they actually do if a Minneapolis situation unfolds in the Bay State? […]
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What Mass. can and can’t do about ICE
New from CommonWealth Beacon GROWTH ON ICE: Massachusetts population growth has slowed to a crawl – a combination of President Trump’s immigration policies and more people leaving the Bay State […]
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The Download: Mass. Sierra Club takes unprecedented step to call for removal of House energy chair
New from CommonWealth Beacon EVERETT: Everett’s new mayor, who is just settling into office, is now tasked with implementing a flurry of major development deals put into motion as his […]
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The Download: Healey’s State of the Commonwealth balancing act
New from CommonWealth Beacon STATE OF THE STATE: Gov. Maura Healey leaned into affordability concerns and took aim at the Trump administration during her 2026 State of the Commonwealth speech. […]
Posted inThe Codcast
‘No doubt it may get worse before it gets better’ — Breaking down the 2026 State of the Commonwealth.
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Chris Lisinski talk about Gov. Maura Healey’s 2026 State of the Commonwealth speech. They compare her tone and policy position to earlier years, review reactions to the speech, and look ahead at what this says about Healey’s run for reelection.
Posted inThe Saturday Send
Dark money aims to kill the recreational buzz and four more stories
Chris Lisinski looks at the national anti-marijuana group financing efforts to ban recreational use in Massachusetts and Jennifer Smith breaks down the state’s $250 million investment in health insurance subsidies. In Springfield, Hallie Claflin speaks with housing housing teams who are facing chaos as the Trump administration seeks to overhaul the federal government’s main homelessness program. Plus: the MBTA (again) faces financial shortfalls and Gov. Maura Healey makes her final State of the Commonwealth address before she’s up for reelection.
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The Download: Healey comes out swinging against Trump in election-year address
New from CommonWealth Beacon OFF TRACK: Updated MBTA financial projections rolled out last week suggest the agency is once again careening toward a shortfall in the next 18-plus months. Chris […]
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The Download: Trump administration targets program for chronically homeless residents, sparking fear for vulnerable populations in cities like Springfield
New from CommonWealth Beacon LITERACY REFORM: The Senate will take up its own version of a House-approved early literacy reform bill next week, increasing the likelihood that a new law […]
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The Download: National dark money anti-pot group bankrolling efforts to ban recreational marijuana in Mass., Maine
New from CommonWealth Beacon NEW CODCAST: On the newest episode of The Codcast, Massachusetts Health Connector executive director Audrey Morse Gasteier and Health Care for All senior director of policy […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Filling the health care funding gaps
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith unravels the latests state health coverage moves with Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, and Alex Sheff, senior director of policy and government affairs at Health Care For All.
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The Download: What’s behind Massachusetts’s $250m investment in health insurance subsidies
New from CommonWealth Beacon ENERGY BURST: House leaders are planning a rare series of closed-door meetings for lawmakers this week to discuss the path forward for legislation aimed at lowering […]
Posted inCommonWealth Voices
What ICE is doing is abhorrent. But here’s why canceling the state contract to house its detainees might not be the right thing to do.
How the country addresses immigration is, admittedly, not an easy issue. We need immigrants – and have long been a place where those from other countries sought to a build a new, better life — and we also need secure borders. I know how hard striking this balance can be.
Posted inThe Saturday Send
How Massachusetts hit a new low and four more stories
Jordan Wolman and Chris Lisinski investigate how Massachusetts became the slowest state in issuing initial unemployment payments in the country between June and October. Plus, Keolis seeks redemption in its bid for a new MBTA contract, the debate over real estate transfer fees polarizes lawmakers, and the Healey administration delays implementing a clean heat program over affordability while House leaders plan closed-door meetings to to discuss the path forward for legislation aimed at lowering energy costs.