THE FIRST TIME a bill was proposed in Massachusetts to let immigrants without legal status obtain a driver’s license was in 2003. Since then, bills have regularly been introduced, languished […]
Shira Schoenberg
Shira Schoenberg is a reporter at CommonWealth magazine. Shira previously worked for more than seven years at the Springfield Republican/MassLive.com where she covered state politics and elections, covering topics as diverse as the launch of the legal marijuana industry, problems with the state's foster care system and the elections of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Gov. Charlie Baker. Shira won the Massachusetts Bar Association's 2018 award for Excellence in Legal Journalism and has had several stories win awards from the New England Newspaper and Press Association. Shira covered the 2012 New Hampshire presidential primary for the Boston Globe. Before that, she worked for the Concord (N.H.) Monitor, where she wrote about state government, City Hall and Barack Obama's 2008 New Hampshire primary campaign. Shira holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
Posted inEconomy
Nantucket voters send short-term rental regs back for more work
AFTER CONTENTIOUS months of debate, Nantucket voters at town meeting Monday night passed basic regulations for short-term rentals, but declined to take any action on dueling proposals that would have […]
Posted inUncategorized
SJC dismisses challenge to state mask mandate
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT on Monday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the statewide mask mandate, agreeing with state and local officials that the case is moot because the mandate has been […]
Posted inGambling
Lesser says ‘broad consensus’ explains sports betting voice vote
IN A HIGHLY UNUSUAL MOVE, the Massachusetts Senate on Thursday voted for a bill legalizing sports betting by voice vote – sparing individual senators the need to record their position […]
Posted inPolitics
SJC will consider challenges to all four ballot questions
STATE LAW lays out the steps needed to file an initiative petition to put a question before voters on the state ballot: get certified by the attorney general, collect signatures, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Representative apologizes after drunk driving arrest
THE STATE REPRESENTATIVE arrested Tuesday for drunk driving apologized on Thursday and pledged to seek treatment for his addiction. Rep. David LeBoeuf, a Worcester Democrat, wrote in a public statement on […]
Posted inHealth Care
South Coast residents struggle to get health care, insurance
IT IS BY now an axiom that Massachusetts residents have access to some of the best health care in the country. But actually getting that health care and being able […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
State Rep. David LeBoeuf arrested for drunken driving
STATE REP. DAVID LEBOEUF was arrested Tuesday night and charged with drunken driving, after he was caught driving with a blood alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit. […]
Posted inHealth Care
House floats UMass health sciences school at Mount Ida campus
FACED WITH a staffing crisis throughout the health care industry, the House’s leading policymaker on health care has an idea: build a new public school for health sciences education, located […]
Posted inRace/Racism
No easy glide path for Black marijuana CEOs
BLACK AND LATINO men were disproportionately incarcerated for decades for drug-related offenses. But when it comes to participating in the emerging legal marijuana industry, only 4 percent of cannabis company […]
Posted inEconomy
Climate, downtowns, housing focus of Baker spending bill
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday filed a $3.5 billion economic development bill that focuses on climate-related projects, downtown revitalization, and housing. The bill is chock-full of specific local projects, a […]
Posted inUncategorized
Private pay childcare providers say they’re being forgotten
WHEN THE STATE required most daycares to close in the early days of the COVID pandemic, Gov. Charlie Baker reassured providers that they would continue getting state subsidies during the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
William Allen granted parole after 28 years in jail
THE PAROLD BOARD on Wednesday granted parole to William Allen, one of two men to have his first-degree murder sentence commuted by Gov. Charlie Baker earlier this year. After spending […]
Posted inUncategorized
Task force seeks to phase out use of “forever chemicals”
A SPECIAL TASK FORCE is recommending that Massachusetts regulate and gradually phase out the sale of consumer products that use PFAS chemicals, one of a series of recommendations aimed at […]
Posted inEconomy
Baker, with business backing, renews push for tax relief
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is using tax filing day to publicly urge lawmakers to adopt his $700 million tax break plan – a call House leaders have so far ignored. “There’s […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Demolition redo: Petersham must vote again on fate of Nichewaug Inn
A DECADES-LONG battle over whether and how to preserve the historic Nichewaug Inn in Petersham appeared to come to an end last December, when voters at a special town meeting […]
Posted inEconomy
Short-term rental battle riles Nantucket
THE REAL ESTATE listing for the four-bedroom home on Nantucket portrays an idyllic setting for a summer vacation, a mile from the beach. There’s a deck overlooking a large yard; […]
Posted inHealth Care
State seeks $600m in Robin Hood Medicaid plan
EVEN AS DEBATE continues in the Legislature over how best to help community hospitals in the long term, a technical provision included in Gov. Charlie Baker’s state budget proposal could […]
Posted inUncategorized
House spending plan prioritizes investments, ignores tax relief
HOUSE LEADERS ON Wednesday laid out a budget proposal that would spend significantly more than Gov. Charlie Baker proposed, swapping out Baker’s tax cut plan in favor of more investments […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Koonce murder sentence commuted after 31 years in jail
AFTER SPENDING 31 years in jail for murder, Thomas Koonce will soon be a free man. Gov. Charlie Baker commuted Koonce’s sentence in January and on Tuesday the Parole Board […]
Posted inUncategorized
House not looking to budget for tax reform
THE CENTERPIECE OF Gov. Charlie Baker’s budget proposal in January was a bill to give Massachusetts taxpayers $700 million in tax breaks – with breaks for seniors, renters, low-income taxpayers, […]
Posted inEducation
House budget increases spending on subsidized childcare
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE budget, which will be released from the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, will include major new investments in early childhood education targeted at expanding the workforce […]
Posted inUncategorized
Runner attempts 24-hour run to raise mental health awareness
BILL WELLS has run marathons, ultramarathons, and even a 100-kilometer race. On Saturday, April 23, he will try to achieve a new milestone: he plans to run for 24 hours […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Changing incarceration trends lead to prison closure
THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT of Correction on Thursday made a surprising announcement: MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole will stop housing prisoners over the next two years. The reason the department gave was […]