Supreme Judicial Court Justice David Lowy will leave the bench on February 3 – well before the required retirement age of 70 – to serve as general counsel of the University of Massachusetts system.
Jennifer Smith
Jennifer Smith writes for CommonWealth Beacon and co-hosts its weekly podcast, The Codcast. Her areas of focus include housing, social issues, courts and the law, and politics and elections. A California native who also lived in Utah, Jennifer has covered Massachusetts since 2011 for a variety of publications. She worked breaking news in the Boston Globe’s metro section and provided courtroom coverage of the Boston Marathon bomber trial for the international wire service Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) while completing her undergraduate journalism degree at Northeastern University in Boston. For four years, Jennifer was a staff writer and later news editor for the Dorchester Reporter, covering her home neighborhood and the city of Boston with a particular focus on politics and development. Her work and commentary have appeared in WBUR, GBH News, Harvard Public Health Magazine, and Politico’s Massachusetts Playbook. She has co-hosted MassINC’s Massachusetts politics and policy podcast The Horse Race since 2018, interviewing newsmakers, journalists, and elected officials across the state.
Posted inCourts
Switchblades in the SJC firing line
The state’s highest court is preparing to consider whether an absolute ban on carrying switchblade knives violates the Second Amendment.
Posted inEnvironment
A statewide strategy for coastal resilience is on the way
A new regional coastal resiliency initiative launched on Wednesday, called “ResilientCoasts,” will coordinate with the state’s 78 coastal communities to develop “tailored” resiliency strategies.
Posted inTransportation
Healey: T will ‘take care of business’ in short term, TBD on revenues
Bringing the MBTA up to state of good repair comes with a hefty price tag – $24.5 billion, according to a stunning announcement in mid-November – but Gov. Maura Healey says she’s confident in the agency’s assessment that riders won’t need to wait for an allocation of that size to see improvements.
Posted inPolitics
Mass Fiscal takes stock of past, future ballot Qs
Leaders of the conservative Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance weigh in on ballot questions that were recently scuttled as well as those may be heading to the 2024 ballot.
Posted inEnvironment
‘Re-wilding’ Massachusetts cranberry bogs
As Massachusetts’ famous cranberry industry consolidates and some of the cranberry bogs fade out of use, famers, governments, and conservationists are increasingly eager to start “re-wilding” them to natural rivers and wetlands.
Posted inState Government
Short takes: DiZoglio all in on ballot bid
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio has drained her campaign account to pay for the signature-gathering effort to put a proposed law on the ballot allowing her office to audit the Legislature.
Posted inEducation
Mass. parents split on post-high school plans
When parents of grade-school children consider what those children will want to do after high school, a new poll finds the strongest indicator is the parents’ own resume and bank account.
Posted inHousing
Sluggish housing production hammers Greater Boston
Three years after the start of the pandemic, rents are soaring and housing production is still nowhere near what it needs to be to meet demand, according to the new Greater Boston Housing Report Card from the Boston Foundation.
Posted inPolitics
New AFL-CIO president Chrissy Lynch on the changing face of labor
Chrissy Lynch is the Massachusetts AFL-CIO’s first female head, succeeding Steven Tolman this fall to be the first new president in more than a decade to lead the 800-organization federation.
Posted inCourts
SJC prods Brookline’s ‘novel’ phased tobacco ban
The Supreme Judicial Court is weighing the legality of a Brookline ordinance that bans tobacco sales to anyone born in 2000 or later, a move that would eventually phase out all tobacco sales in the town.
Posted inPolitics
Wu goes four for four in City Council races
Two years after her barrier-breaking victory, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu rallied behind four progressives looking for seats in the City Council. All four of her picks won in the low-turnout election, a feat without precedent in 40 years of Boston politics.
Posted inEducation
SJC justices raise concerns about Tufts tenure tinkering
The Supreme Judicial Court hears arguments about a change to the tenure guidelines at Tufts School of Medicine that cuts salaries of those who fail to raise enough money to support their labs. Several justices seemed wary of the changes.
Posted inCourts
Short takes: Extended hunt for SJC justice
“Third time’s the charm” is a proverb, not necessarily a legal doctrine. Even so, the team tasked by Gov. Maura Healey to help fill an upcoming vacancy on the state’s highest court is again extending the application deadline for people interested in becoming a justice on the Supreme Judicial Court.
Posted inBy The Numbers
Healey said abortion and LGBTQ-friendly policies make the state more competitive. Residents agree.
In April, Gov. Maura Healey made an impassioned pitch to residents of other states: Massachusetts is the place to live, she said, if you care about abortion access and other civil rights. Results from the new CommonWealth Beacon poll suggest Bay State residents agree.
Posted inPolitics
Danielle Allen says we have work to do on Massachusetts democracy
Harvard professor Danielle Allen says a health democracy hinges on inclusionk participation, and competitiveness. “One each of those dimensions, we can see room for improvement in Mass.,” she says
Posted inHousing, State Government
Kenzie Bok says Boston housing shortage no accident
THE STATE’S public housing infrastructure is, to put it lightly, strained. And it didn’t get that way by accident. “The way I talk about it is that it’s not that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Auditor takes sex offender board to task
YEARS AFTER a 2017 audit of the Sex Offender Registry Board, the board has not made recommended changes to record and verify the current addresses of sex offenders in violation, […]
Posted inEnvironment, Immigration, State Government
Climate migration to Massachusetts ‘an urgent concern’
MASSACHUSETTS IS ALREADY struggling to keep pace with emergency housing needs for migrants, many fleeing unsafe political conditions in other countries. A new report from the state’s climate chief warns […]
Posted inHousing
Accessory dwelling units eyed as low-hanging housing win
A SMALL PART OF the solution to the state’s glaring housing shortage could be in everyone’s backyard. Gov. Maura Healey’s $4.1 billion housing bond bill, rolled out last week, includes […]
Posted inPolitics
Short takes: Retired reporter’s scoops keep people clicking
EVEN BEFORE TWITTER changed hands to its current owner, who insists on calling it by another name, the social networking site was in a state of decline. What used to […]
Posted inEconomy, Housing, State Government
Healey wades in on real estate transfer fee
GOV. MAURA HEALEY’S support for allowing municipalities to enact a real estate transfer tax could offer some cover to the cities and towns that have been agitating for the controversial […]
Posted inEducation
What MCAS can, and can’t, tell us about student achievement
THE VALUE OF using MCAS scores to determine graduation readiness and school oversight status is getting several enthusiastic tire-kicks. The state’s largest teachers union is charging away at a ballot […]
Posted inPolitics
Short takes: Echoes of Menino’s closest race in Quincy
A 16-YEAR INCUMBENT looking for another four-year term. An at-large councilor seeking to harness the votes of young progressives in a bid for the top job. The 2009 showdown between […]