STATE LEADERS appear to be serious about finally passing new legislation this year that would update the state’s education funding formula for K-12 schools. But exactly what would a new funding […]
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
Pressley moving from Dorchester home
AYANNA PRESSLEY is on the move in more ways than one. Sworn in last week as the new representative for the 7th Congressional District and now dividing her time between […]
Posted inPolitics
Holmes calls House leadership ‘a dictatorship’
RUSSELL HOLMES, the Mattapan state representative who caused a stir two years ago with talk of succession planning for a new House speaker, is showing no signs of quieting down […]
Posted inPolitics
Beacon Hill pols prefer less scrutiny of Beacon Hill pols
IF, AS THE Washington Post now proclaims on its masthead, “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” the already low-level lighting on Beacon Hill was just dimmed to a 5-watt flicker. When lawmakers passed […]
Posted inEducation
Momentum growing for ed funding bill
SIX MONTHS AFTER the clock ran out on negotiations to revamp the state’s education funding formula, a broad coalition of lawmakers, mayors, and school leaders unveiled legislation on Wednesday to […]
Posted inTransportation
State rep’s rail-car warning echoes in DC
STATE REP. SHAWN DOOLEY acknowledged last month that some might think he had a screw loose for sounding a warning over the cybersecurity risks posed by the MBTA contracting with […]
Posted inPolitics
Warren faces the affability ceiling
FOR ALL THE talk about the glass ceiling that women face in politics, it turns out the barrier isn’t whether voters think women have the strength or the smarts to do […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins takes office with reform agenda
RACHAEL ROLLINS, who has broken barriers throughout a two-decade legal career, cracked another one on Wednesday as she became the first woman to serve as Suffolk County district attorney and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins brings mandate for change – and blunt style – to Suffolk DA’s job
RACHAEL ROLLINS DEFIED expectations when she rolled to a decisive victory this fall in the race for Suffolk County district attorney. She won a five-way Democratic primary, outpacing a field […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Are Chinese rail cars a Trojan horse?
AS IF THE MBTA doesn’t have enough trouble keeping its aging fleet of trains going, a state lawmaker is warning that the cure may be worse than the disease. State […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Trump the criminal justice reformer
EFFORTS TO REFORM the US criminal justice system have been characterized by an alliance of unlikely bedfellows, with liberal groups like the ACLU joining with Right on Crime, a conservative […]
Posted inHealth Care
Sudders talks health care
WHAT’S IT LIKE to be in charge of nearly half the state budget? “Extraordinarily humbling,” said Marylou Sudders. But don’t confuse humbling with cautious indecision or lack of tenacity. Gov. […]
Posted inPolitics
Moulton caves — and declares victory
IT’S EASY TO poke some fun at Seth Moulton and liken his message to that of George Aiken, the Vermont senator who famously declared in 1966 that the US should […]
Posted inPolitics
Housing blues is long-running lament
IT’S THE LONGEST running tragicomedy on the Boston area political stage. We desperately need to build more housing to accommodate growth and temper a price run-up that puts home ownership […]
Posted inPolitics
Globe to Warren: Just say no
IF ELIZABETH WARREN wants some encouragement for what has seemed a likely presidential run, she’ll have to look beyond the dominant paper in her home state. The Boston Globe runs out […]
Posted inUncategorized
Judging the judge
WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN with Newton District Court Judge Shelley Joseph, who is apparently the focus of a federal grand jury considering whether she improperly aided a defendant in eluding federal […]
Posted inPolitics
Former senator Joyce died from overdose
FORMER STATE SENATOR Brian Joyce, who was found dead in his Westport home in late September, died from a barbiturate overdose, according to the state medical examiner’s office. Joyce died […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
BPD commish shows his blue colors
WILLIE GROSS’S weekend Facebook post may have received lots of “likes” from law enforcement compatriots, but it stirred a lot of unnecessary ill will in a city that has been […]
Posted inPolitics
Pushed out of Roxbury
SOME PEOPLE MAY have been taken aback by the overflow crowd of 350 people who showed up earlier this month for a Boston City Council hearing in Roxbury to hear […]
Posted inUncategorized
This bud’s for you
THE STATE’S LEGAL MARIJUANA era started with a bang, or, by mid-morning for some early customers, perhaps a buzz. There was a celebratory feel at the first two retail outlets […]
Posted inEconomy
Mega misses — or wins?
LIKE A HIGH SCHOOL KID working to move past an unrequited crush, Boston told Amazon it just wasn’t that into the e-commerce giant anyway. Mayor Marty Walsh said he was […]
Posted inHealth Care
Nurse staffing study left union in the dark
THE CONTENTIOUS BALLOT QUESTION campaign over nurse staffing levels may be over, but bitter feelings remain over a study that played a pivotal role in the high-profile debate. In early […]
Posted inEducation
Charter school lesson plans
It feels like an odd time to be celebrating charter school success in Massachusetts, but that’s just what Cara Candal does in a new book that not only touts the […]
Posted inPolitics
A hard line against colorful hardliners
The state has always had colorful figures in elected office who make for interesting copy and are willing to pop the balloon of decorum and comity that’s often really just […]