For more than three years, Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu — who was way out in front on the issue — has been hammering away at the idea of making […]
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 inPolitics
Chang-Diaz considering a run for governor
STATE SEN. SONIA CHANG-DIAZ is the latest Democrat to signal a potential interest in running for governor next year. The Jamaica Plain legislator said in a statement released Monday morning […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Study finds not prosecuting misdemeanors reduces defendants’ subsequent arrests
A STUDY EXAMINING the effect of declining to prosecute lower-level nonviolent offenses — a signature policy adopted by Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins that has drawn both praise and scorn […]
Posted inEducation
Duxbury Dragons and death camps
Almost more shocking than the news of Duxbury High School’s football team using terms like “rabbi” and “Auschwitz” for its line-of-scrimmage audible play calling is the fact that it apparently […]
Posted inPolitics
Is Trump’s exit bad for Baker?
IT’S TRUMP’S FAULT. Not the insurrection at the US Capitol or the discrediting of fairly conducted elections or the general degradation of democratic principles — though there may be those […]
Posted inPolitics
For Janey, opportunity knocks
ON SUNDAY, a day before she shattered twin barriers in becoming Boston’s acting mayor, Kim Janey poked some fun at herself during the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast, the city’s annual […]
Posted inEducation
Advocates, mayors renew push for voc-tech admission changes
AFTER YEARS OF frustration with admission policies at Massachusetts vocational technical high schools, which they say shut out disadvantaged students who might benefit most from hands-on learning, a coalition of […]
Posted inPolitics
Pandemic shutdown has opened up civic participation
WHEN IT COMES to civic engagement, a funny thing happened on the way to the pandemic shutdown. While all sorts of aspects of daily life ground to a halt as […]
Posted inHealth Care
Chelsea’s yearlong battle with COVID
TRYING TO DEFEAT COVID has often been likened to a war. If the analogy is apt, nowhere in Massachusetts has the fight been more intense than in Chelsea, and Gladys […]
Posted inHealth Care
Bob Cousy scores vaccine — with possible assist from Fauci
THEY ARE POPPING UP all over the country — stories of volunteer brigades or just concerned individuals operating on their own who work to get COVID vaccine appointments for elderly […]
Posted inEducation
Dorchester Youth Collaborative shutdown a tough blow
THE NEWS HIT George Huynh hard, and for good reason. Starting when he was nine, Huynh often spent more waking hours at the Dorchester Youth Collaborative than he did at […]
Posted inPolitics
Bernie backing means little in middle-of-the-road Winthrop
IT TURNS OUT Bernie Sanders has little sway with voters in Winthrop and Revere when it comes to choosing their next representative. The same goes for former US housing secretary […]
Posted inPolitics
Curtatone won’t seek reelection as Somerville mayor
JOE CURTATONE, the feisty longtime mayor of Somerville, who has been an outspoken leader on progressive municipal policy — from his early declaration of racism as a public health crisis […]
Posted inEconomy
Baker heralds approach of ‘next normal’
PLAY BALL! In the clearest sign yet of confidence that the state is getting a handle on the COVID pandemic, Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Thursday a broad set of […]
Posted inEducation
The elephant in the classroom: 3 feet or 6 feet?
WITH TUESDAY’S ANNOUNCEMENT by state officials that they want to see all elementary grade students back in classrooms five days a week by April, now comes the hard part of […]
Posted inEducation
State looking to force school reopenings
TAKING DIRECT AIM at Massachusetts school districts and teachers unions that have been reluctant to return to in-person instruction, state education commissioner Jeff Riley said he wants to use state […]
Posted inPolitics
For Downing, politics are personal
ON PAPER, Ben Downing looks very much like someone who might launch a run for governor while still in his 30s, which is what the 39-year-old Democrat did earlier this […]
Posted inUncategorized
Newsroom strife at Times poses bigger questions for journalism
THE NEW YORK TIMES is increasingly beholden to the views of its left-leaning subscribers. It sounds like the sort of scorched-earth screed you might hear on Fox News — or […]
Posted inPolitics
Janey preparing to step into office — and history
FOR SOME, the Presidents’ Day holiday was a chance to unwind over a three-day weekend. Asked whether that was the case for her, Boston City Council president Kim Janey answered […]
Posted inEnvironment
State environmental official resigns over climate comments
THE STATE’S UNDERSECRETARY of environmental affairs for climate change, who has come under fire for comments made to an environmental panel last month, resigned his post Wednesday night. David Ismay, […]
Posted inEnvironment
Did state enviro official say anything that outlandish?
STATE ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS undersecretary David Ismay has made outrageously reckless claims, and is in serious hot water. At least if you read the Boston Herald. The paper has been pummeling […]
Posted inPolitics
Smooth sailing for Walsh in confirmation hearing
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH, a former union leader who said organized labor provided his immigrant parents a pathway into the American middle class, seemed well on his way to becoming […]
Posted inEducation
Uncertainty continues to plague school reopening debate
ONE OF THE most disturbing of the shockingly wide range of symptoms experienced by people with COVID-19 is often described as “brain fog,” a lingering inability to think clearly that […]
Posted inHealth Care
In vaccine rollout, cities find themselves on the front line
IN ALL THE finger-pointing over the state’s shaky COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the criticism may have been aimed at Charlie Baker, but in Revere, the phone calls went to Brian Arrigo. […]