THESE FACTS ARE clear, according to the police: David Almond, a 14-year-old autistic boy, and his twin brother Michael, also autistic, were horribly neglected in the home where Almond’s father […]
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
Justice Department says Mass. violating prisoners’ rights to mental health care
THE US DEPARTMENT of Justice has concluded in a scathing report that the state Department of Correction is violating its constitutional obligations by failing to provide adequate mental health services to prisoners. The 28-page investigation is […]
Posted inTransportation
Senate still not taking up transportation revenues
BACK IN FEBRUARY, the Massachusetts House passed a major transportation revenue bill centered on raising the gas tax. The Senate never took up the bill. Nine months later amid a […]
Posted inGambling
Tribe chairman arrested for extortion related to Taunton casino
THE CHAIRMAN of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and the owner of an architecture firm that the tribe contracted with to help build a casino in Taunton have been arrested on […]
Posted inPolitics
Bickford reelected to lead Mass. Democratic Party
GUS BICKFORD was overwhelmingly reelected to a second term as chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party in a Thursday night vote of the Democratic State Committee. Despite a scandal related […]
Posted inUncategorized
Senate spending plan hews close to House version
THE SENATE WAYS and Means Committee on Thursday released its own nearly $46 billion budget proposal for fiscal 2021, a 5.5 percent spending increase over the current year, which is […]
Posted inEducation
House budget addresses COVID-related education dilemmas
THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic created – and exposed – multiple problems with the state’s education system, from preschool through high school. Now, lawmakers appear poised to use the must-pass vehicle of […]
Posted inUncategorized
House rejects tax amendment as budget debate opens
AS THE HOUSE began its first day of debate on the state budget on Tuesday, progressives were defeated in their attempt to add new revenue. But some progressives remain hopeful […]
Posted inHealth Care
Overturning Affordable Care Act could cost Massachusetts billions
THE US SUPREME COURT heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could overturn the Affordable Care Act – with major economic and health insurance implications for Massachusetts. Two key justices – Chief […]
Posted inEconomy
Hotel workers hoping for pandemic job protections
MARYANN SILVA HAS worked for 19 years as a full-time banquet server at the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Boston Common. The 63-year-old Lynn resident sets up and serves food to guests for weddings, […]
Posted inPolitics
Mass. Democratic Party chair candidates look toward 2022
WITH THE 2020 election in the rearview mirror, the Massachusetts Democratic Party is gearing up for its next fight: to retake the governorship in two years. Speaking on the Codcast, […]
Posted inPolitics
Supporting player or power broker?
AN EXPLOSIVE REPORT into how the Massachusetts Democratic Party leadership handled sexual misconduct allegations involving former congressional candidate Alex Morse and his relationship with college students is bringing fresh controversy to an […]
Posted inPolitics
The case for Donald Trump
A Boston Globe news analysis of the presidential election posed the question that’s on the mind of many blue-state activists right now: Are we really that disconnected from the rest […]
Posted inPolitics
Report faults Democratic Party staff for handling of Morse allegations
A REPORT ON the state Democratic Party’s response to allegations of sexual misconduct against former congressional candidate Alex Morse faulted top officials for their handling of the situation and for […]
Posted inUncategorized
House budget: No new taxes, more eviction protections
MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE budget writers on Thursday released a $46 billion spending proposal for the rest of the fiscal year, which includes no sweeping changes to tax or fiscal policy and […]
Posted inPolitics
Despite $10m campaign, ranked-choice voting defeated
MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS on Tuesday decided not to adopt a ranked-choice voting system, a massive defeat for a nearly $10 million campaign that drew little organized opposition. “Voters like a fair […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Politics
Right to repair ballot question passes, but implementation a concern
MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS on Tuesday voted to expand the state’s Right to Repair law and require car manufacturers to provide more information to independent repair shops. The passage of the ballot […]
Posted inPolitics
Trump or Biden? Big impact looms on state budget, health care, immigration
AS VOTERS ACROSS the nation wait eagerly for the results of Tuesday’s presidential election, here in Massachusetts the race could have major trickle-down effects. In addition to the question […]
Posted inPolitics
Mail-in voting may be here to stay
BECAUSE OF THE coronavirus pandemic, Massachusetts allowed no-excuse mail-in voting for the first time this year as well as expanded early voting – and millions of voters took advantage. By […]
Posted inRace/Racism
Op-ed on union power decried as ‘racist’
A FOUR-MONTH-OLD opinion piece published in CommonWealth is igniting fresh controversy. On Friday, a group of minority, union, and liberal organizing groups – including the Boston chapter of the NAACP, Neighbor […]
Posted inHealth Care
Holyoke Soldiers’ Home staffers tell their stories
A UNION OFFICIAL who represents nurses at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home on Tuesday described a continuing culture of fear among employees, which has resulted in an unwillingness to speak out […]
Posted inUncategorized
SJC: Insurers don’t have to cover medical marijuana
MASSACHUSETTS INSURERS cannot be required to cover medical marijuana expenses, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday. The SJC upheld the ruling of a Department of Industrial Accidents’ board, which found […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Historic homes struggle to reopen in COVID-compliant way
THE YEAR 2020 was shaping up to be a banner year for the Orchard House in Concord, the home where Louisa May Alcott lived and wrote the classic book Little […]
Posted inHealth Care
Problems are persisting at Holyoke Soldiers’ Home
THIS PAST Sunday, Erin Schadel got a call from the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, where she planned to visit her father, cancelling the visit. Her father, Frances Hennessy, had a mild […]
