LT. GOV. KARYN POLITO and her husband have jumped on the pandemic-induced second home craze, paying nearly $1.8 million for a large house in Dartmouth. According to assessing records, Polito […]
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
Remote work looks like it’s here to stay
EASTERN BANK USED to be a typical employer. Be in the office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with an hour break for lunch. Its employees in Lynn, Boston, and […]
Posted inHealth Care
All Mass. adults eligible for vaccines April 19
ALL ADULTS LIVING in Massachusetts will become eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine beginning on April 19, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday. That does not mean, however, that everyone will […]
Posted inEducation
Riley says feds won’t let Massachusetts skip MCAS
AS SCHOOL OFFICIALS have been pressuring the state to cancel this year’s MCAS tests, state education commissioner Jeff Riley said the decision is not his – it belongs to the federal […]
Posted inUncategorized
Unemployment insurance bill kicks the can
A BILL BEING CONSIDERED by the state Legislature to freeze businesses’ unemployment insurance payments may be a short-term fix, but it does not solve the longer-term problem of how to […]
Posted inUncategorized
Magic mushroom advocates following cannabis playbook
ALEXANDER KARASIK, a 31-year-old engineer living in Somerville, first tried using “magic mushrooms” while traveling in Thailand. He said his experience with the illicit hallucinogenic drug opened him up to […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker rips teachers’ unions over vaccine stance
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION and the state’s teachers’ unions are engaging in an increasingly bitter fight over plans for vaccinating educators, with Gov. Charlie Baker accusing the unions of wanting to strip vaccines from the state’s most vulnerable residents in […]
Posted inUncategorized
Mass. governments could get $8.1b from fed stimulus
WITH THE PASSAGE of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, a federal COVID recovery bill that passed Congress on Wednesday and that President Joe Biden is expected to sign, Massachusetts […]
Posted inUncategorized
Why is the state’s technology so bad?
“THE…DISASTER WAS completely avoidable, as administrators knew the system was not ready, yet decided to launch it anyway… Investigations cannot undo the taxpayer dollars wasted and the disruption of families’ […]
Posted inUncategorized
Details released on $75m emergency sick leave program
THE HOUSE WAYS and Means Committee Tuesday evening released a bill that would create a $75 million program to expand emergency paid sick leave during the pandemic and would reduce […]
Posted inEconomy
Legislature plans to expand paid sick leave
THE LEADERS OF the Democratic-led Senate and House have reached an agreement on a bill that would provide major financial relief to businesses for the next two years, while also giving workers […]
Posted inUncategorized
House passes DCF transparency bill
LOOKING TO ADDRESS longstanding concerns about the state’s child welfare system, the Massachusetts House on Monday passed a wide-ranging bill to improve operations at the Department of Children and Families, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Religious school faculty not exempt from anti-discrimination laws
A CHRISTIAN COLLEGE cannot classify all its faculty as “ministers” if they do not have explicitly religious duties, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Friday, in a decision that could have a […]
Posted inUncategorized
Partisan battle brewing over vote-by-mail
A PARTISAN BATTLE is brewing in the Legislature over vote-by-mail – with the first salvo coming on a seemingly innocuous bill to extend municipal voting by mail for another three […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Audit faults data system used by DAs
IN AN AUDIT of the Cape and Islands district attorney’s office this week, state Auditor Suzanne Bump flagged the case management system used by all 11 Massachusetts district attorneys as outdated, citing in particular its information on juvenile defendants. If […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker continues to cite constraints in vaccine supply
ARE YOU A Massachusetts resident frustrated to be still waiting for your COVID shot? Gov. Charlie Baker has a message: blame the feds. “I think it’s unfair that I can’t […]
Posted inHealth Care
Teachers become eligible for COVID vaccines March 11
AFTER WEEKS OF pressure from Massachusetts teachers — and one day after President Biden urged giving educators priority for vaccines — Gov. Charlie Baker said teachers, school staff, and early educators will be […]
Posted inEconomy
State eyeing hybrid telework model for half of workforce
CLOSE TO HALF of the state’s executive branch employees could continue some form of telework even once the pandemic ends, Secretary of Administration and Finance Michael Heffernan said Tuesday. Speaking […]
Posted inUncategorized
Catching up with Majority Leader Claire Cronin
HOUSE MAJORITY Leader Claire Cronin, a Democrat from Easton, has become a key player in the House this session as the newly elevated majority leader – the number two job […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mass. will start getting limited Johnson & Johnson vaccine
MASSACHUSETTS WILL BEGIN getting a small supply of one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines next week, but is unlikely to get a significant shipment of the shots until the end […]
Posted inUncategorized
Pandemic leads to rethinking of childcare
THE SHUTTERING of daycares last spring made apparent to workers and employers alike the importance of childcare to a functioning economy. Now, experts hope that one silver lining of the […]
Posted inPolitics
Commission backs use of campaign funds for childcare
UNTIL SHE RAN for Congress, Liuba Grechen Shirley of New York worked from home as a consultant while caring for her children. In order to campaign, she had to hire […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Former rep David Nangle pleads guilty to misusing campaign funds
FORMER STATE REPRESENTATIVE David Nangle pleaded guilty on Wednesday in federal court to using his campaign funds to pay for extensive personal expenses, then crafting schemes to cover up his spending. Nangle […]
Posted inUncategorized
On joint rules, House takes different approach than Senate
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE will vote Wednesday on joint rules that take a small step toward increased transparency regarding committee votes but do not go as far as the Senate does, […]