AFTER A SHARP SPIKE in opioid-related overdose deaths during the COVID pandemic, the numbers appear to be leveling off this year, but they still remain higher than before COVID hit, […]
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 inCriminal Justice
Baker withdraws Amirault pardon recommendations
IN A STUNNING REVERSAL of a controversial policy recommendation, Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday withdrew his recommendation to pardon Gerald Amirault and Cheryl Amirault LeFave, who were convicted in a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Governor’s Councilors skeptical of Amirault pardons
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER recommended pardoning Gerald Amirault and Cheryl Amirault Lefave, who were convicted in a high-profile child sexual abuse case. But members of the Governor’s Council on Tuesday suggested […]
Posted inState Government
Healey taps Matthew Gorzkowicz for state budget chief
GOV.-ELECT MAURA HEALEY made her first cabinet pick Tuesday, announcing that longtime government finance expert Matthew Gorzkowicz will serve as her secretary of administration and finance. Gorzkowicz, a Democrat, was […]
Posted inMarijuana
Boston marijuana shop opens with construction workers unpaid
ON ITS WEBSITE, Newbury Street marijuana retailer Rooted In touts its commitment to social justice, equity, and the Boston area community. It boasts of profit sharing with employees and a […]
Posted inHealth Care
Health care leaders identify problems, solutions for Healey
IT’S THAT TIME of year again, when advocates gearing up for a shift in state administrations are laying out their policy goals. The latest report, released Thursday, comes from interviews […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC judges pose dismissal of 27,000 tainted drunk driving convictions
THERE IS NO QUESTION that for years, state breathalyzer tests were not certified correctly, and Massachusetts’ Office of Alcohol Testing acted egregiously when it withheld evidence about failed calibrations of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker issues three more pardons
AFTER FAILING TO issue a single pardon or commutation in his first seven years in office, Gov. Charlie Baker continued to use his final months in office to wield his […]
Posted inEducation
Foster care mentoring turns into 20-year relationship
MIKE SMITH was 5 years old when he met Justin Pasquariello and Vanessa Fazio. Pasquariello, then 22, had started a Boston-based mentoring program for kids in foster care, and Fazio was […]
Posted inPolitics
Race heating up for Mass. GOP chair
AFTER THE CLOBBERING taken by Massachusetts Republicans in the 2022 election, as many as three candidates could be posing challenges to state Republican Party chairman Jim Lyons. The January election […]
Posted inEducation
Poll finds Boston teachers open to lessons on race, sexism
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL teachers believe issues of race and racism should be taught in public schools, particularly in the older grades, according to a survey conducted by Educators For Excellence, […]
Posted inMarijuana
Dairy farmers losing out in O’Brien pot licensing flap
A MONTH AGO, the Cannabis Control Commission deferred consideration of a license for a marijuana farm that Cannabis Control Commission chair Shannon O’Brien was previously involved with, to avoid concerns […]
Posted inPolitics
In-person Election Day voting boosted turnout to 2.5m
THERE WERE 2.5 million Massachusetts residents who cast ballots in the November 8 midterm election, and despite the availability of vote-by-mail, more than half of them returned to the tried-and-true […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
Breathalyzer scandal could reopen 27,000 drunk driving cases
IN A CASE that has echoes of the notorious drug lab scandals, the state’s highest court will consider whether to make up to 27,000 defendants in drunk driving cases eligible for […]
Posted inHealth Care
Hoping to deliver at a Massachusetts birth center? Good luck.
KATHERINE RUSHFIRTH, who lives in Lynn, had her first child three years ago with care from the North Shore Birth Center in Beverly, cared for by the same midwives who […]
Posted inCourts
Baker pardons Amiraults in controversial daycare sex abuse case
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Friday pardoned Gerald Amirault and Cheryl Amirault Lefave, who were convicted of sexually abusing children in a day care center in the 1980s, in a famous […]
Posted inHousing
Mass. housing market cooling off, leveling out
REMEMBER THE DAYS of crazy bidding wars and waived inspections, with homebuyers desperate to close a sale? It’s looking like those days are over, with a rapidly cooling Massachusetts housing […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Mass. police surveillance case could go to Supreme Court
THE ACLU is asking the US Supreme Court to consider a Massachusetts case that could set limits on the police’s ability to conduct long-term camera surveillance without obtaining a search […]
Posted inMarijuana
Congress starts considering marijuana legalization
IN EARLY OCTOBER, President Biden called for a review of whether marijuana should continue to be classified federally among the most dangerous drugs. That review heightened calls for Congress to […]
Posted inState Government
Baker again clashes with lawmakers on abortion-related law
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday signed a $3.76 billion economic development bill. But Baker, a Republican, once again entered into a controversy with the Democratic-led Legislature over reproductive rights by […]
Posted inGovernment, State Government
Baker, Healey pledge smooth transition of power
REPUBLICAN GOV. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito on Wednesday stood side by side in the governor’s office with Democratic Gov.-elect Maura Healey and Lt. Gov.-elect Kim Driscoll and […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Election winners and losers
GO TO CommonWealth’s homepage for stories on the big races, including Maura Healey’s historic victory in the race for governor. What else did we learn from Tuesday’s election about the […]
Posted inPolitics
Healey elected first female, gay Massachusetts governor
MAURA HEALEY shattered a glass ceiling on Tuesday in a landslide, becoming the first woman ever elected governor in Massachusetts. She topped a Democratic ticket that elected three new women […]
Posted inCourts, State Government
Lawsuit seeks to recoup stolen food benefits
PUBLIC ASSISTANCE RECIPIENTS who have had their food benefits stolen filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to require the state to repay the lost aid money. The suit filed by the Massachusetts […]