GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Friday signed into law a $47.6 billion state budget for fiscal 2022, which began two weeks ago. While he let most of the budget become law, Baker, who has line-item veto […]
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 inState House News Service, Uncategorized
In Beacon Hill Twitter battle, State House News Service beats Gov. Baker
SORRY, GOV. Charlie Baker. You may hold the corner office, but you’re only the second most influential voice on Beacon Hill Twitter. First prize goes to the press. In particular, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Berkshire district attorney aims to open ‘black box’ of plea negotiations
MOST CRIMINAL CASES never make it to trial. Nationally, around 90 to 95 percent of cases are resolved through a guilty plea, where the prosecutor and defendant reach a negotiated […]
Posted inUncategorized
Budget provision improves tax break for parents, caregivers
WHILE AN EXPANSION of the federal child tax credit is grabbing headlines, a provision giving low-income parents more of a break on their state taxes is sitting on Gov. Charlie […]
Posted inUncategorized
Advocacy groups sue DCF over language services
TWO ADVOCACY GROUPS and a mother who speaks limited English have filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Department of Children and Families, seeking to force DCF to improve […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Board of Bar Overseers finds misconduct in Farak case
THE BOARD OF BAR Overseers has found that three assistant attorneys general engaged in numerous acts of misconduct related to the Attorney General’s prosecution of drug lab chemist Sonja Farak. In […]
Posted inUncategorized
PR guru offering free media services to tragedy survivors
WHEN A HIGH-PROFILE tragedy occurs, the survivors are often barraged by requests for comment from the media. Reporters may struggle to figure out how to contact the surviving family. Public […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker seeks $100m for offshore wind port infrastructure
AS THE OFFSHORE wind business is ramping up in Massachusetts and along the East Coast, Gov. Charlie Baker is proposing spending $100 million in federal money on marine port infrastructure to support the emerging industry. […]
Posted inTransportation
Can Massachusetts avoid the return of horrible congestion?
IF YOU THOUGHT traffic was bad before the pandemic, wait until this fall. “I don’t think anyone wants to take the T,” said Emily, who has driven to work since […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Sackler family members to pay $4.3b settlement — $90m to Mass.
MEMBERS OF THE Sackler family who own Purdue Pharma will pay $4.3 billion to settle a lawsuit over Purdue’s role in perpetuating the opioid addiction epidemic, a lawsuit first initiated […]
Posted inEducation
DCF-involved students attended school 90% of the time last year
WHEN FALL RIVER teen David Almond, who was under Department of Children and Families supervision, was found dead, allegedly due to abuse and neglect by his father and girlfriend, one […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DYS worker assaulted, suffers life-threatening injuries
AN EMPLOYEE at a Department of Youth Services facility in Springfield suffered life-threatening injuries after being assaulted by a juvenile housed there. The victim, who has not been identified, is hospitalized […]
Posted inUncategorized
Jockeying starts over how to spend $5b in federal aid
CHRIS CARLOZZI, state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, wants at least $1 billion. That’s what he thinks government should spend to help replenish the unemployment insurance trust […]
Posted inEducation
Community colleges see steep drop in Black, Latinx enrollment
AT ROXBURY COMMUNITY COLLEGE – where attendees are predominantly low-income students of color – enrollment was down by 20 to 25 percent last year. The college’s president, Valerie Roberson, wasn’t […]
Posted inUncategorized
House rules proposal suggests permanent hybrid hearings
THE MASSACHUSETTS House is considering making several changes to its rules that would make the legislative branch’s proceedings more accessible permanently – including for those outside the building. A draft memo on […]
Posted inHealth Care
Health Equity task force report goes far beyond health care
A HEALTH EQUITY TASK FORCE formed by legislation during the COVID-19 pandemic went beyond its charge of examining COVID-related health disparities and issued a sweeping report Thursday that digs into […]
Posted inRace/Racism
Why child abuse commission got stuck
IN A VERY rare occurrence in state government, a special commission appointed by the Legislature spent 16 months investigating how child abuse should be reported and couldn’t come to agreement […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Department of Correction moves to end solitary confinement
THE MASSACHUSETTS Department of Correction on Tuesday announced its intention to end solitary confinement as currently constituted within three years, based on the recommendations of an independent consultant. “This comprehensive […]
Posted inHealth Care
Plan pitched to lower consumer health care costs
WHEN ADAM SCOTTO of Brookline left his job as a software engineer in 2018, he bought unsubsidized health insurance through the Massachusetts Health Connector for $473 a month. Scotto has been shocked at how […]
Posted inUncategorized
Continuing an annual tradition: The late state budget
IT MAY BE an unusual year, but one annual Beacon Hill tradition is continuing: getting the state budget done late. July 1 marks the start of the 2022 fiscal year, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Commission on child abuse reporting fails to reach consensus
AFTER 16 MONTHS of work, members of a commission tasked with updating the state’s laws for reporting child abuse have failed to reach an agreement and will not make any […]
Posted inHealth Care
Prisoner advocates seek overhaul of inmate mental health treatment
SEVEN MONTHS AFTER the Department of Justice issued a scathing report about the treatment of inmates with mental illness in Massachusetts prisons, advocates for prisoners and people with mental illness […]
Posted inUncategorized
Supreme Court stays out of Mass.-N.H. tax dispute
THE US SUPREME COURT declined to take up New Hampshire’s challenge of a Massachusetts regulation requiring out-of-state residents working remotely during the pandemic to pay Massachusetts income tax. The Supreme Court announced Monday that […]
Posted inEconomy
Two-month sales tax holiday may not make economic sense
THE DEBATE OVER Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposed two-month sales tax holiday has turned into a partisan, interest-driven dispute. Baker, a Republican who has not yet announced whether he will run […]