MASSACHUSETTS’ TOP health official is warning that nursing home closures could accelerate due to the pandemic – but she said those that survive may be the better ones. “I’d expect […]
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
Are we changed forever by the pandemic?
WHAT IF our lives are never the same again? It took a blunt cabinet secretary at a dry state budget hearing to voice the fears of millions. For Transportation Secretary […]
Posted inHealth Care
MassHealth enrollment surges during pandemic
THE STATE’S MEDICAID program is experiencing a big increase enrollment, with officials worried about its long-term impact on state finances. MassHealth, the state Medicaid program, is meant to cover the lowest income individuals in Massachusetts […]
Posted inUncategorized
Marijuana regulators agree to license home delivery
DESPITE CONCERNS BY marijuana shops, municipal officials, and some lawmakers, Massachusetts marijuana regulators voted Tuesday to go ahead with licensing marijuana delivery companies. But the Cannabis Control Commission did make […]
Posted inHealth Care
Families of Holyoke Soldiers’ Home vets tell heartbreaking tales
SUSAN KENNEY heard about the COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home and the rising veteran death toll on the news. Her father, Charles Lowell, lived at the home, yet […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Lawsuit over civil commitments targets Hampden sheriff’s program
A LAWSUIT TO end the practice of confining civilly committed men with substance use disorders in prisons has been expanded to directly target a substance use program at the Hampden County House […]
Posted inUncategorized
Municipal leaders oppose new marijuana delivery licenses
PROPOSED NEW STATE REGULATIONS that would authorize marijuana delivery companies to sell directly to consumers were already drawing fire from marijuana retail stores worried that they will lose business to the […]
Posted inPolitics
The two sides of ranked-choice voting
MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS will decide on the November ballot whether to overhaul the state’s system of voting by switching to ranked-choice voting for most non-presidential elections. Under ranked-choice voting, as envisioned […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Museums refocus and reinvent to survive COVID
JANE PARKER LIVES in Harvard, and over the years, she has visited the neighboring Fruitlands Museum for big events, like February’s Winterfest. In early October, Parker returned to Fruitlands to hike for the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
US attorney establishes new civil rights task force
US ATTORNEY ANDREW LELLING said Friday that he is establishing a new Civil Rights Task Force to help local and state law enforcement prevent, investigate, and prosecute civil rights violations in Massachusetts. The […]
Posted inEconomy
Pandemic forcing exodus of women from workforce
LAUREN SONALKAR was working as a part-time science teacher in the Lincoln Public Schools before the pandemic. A week before school started this year, the district offered Sonalkar a job […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker budget packed with policy proposals
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said Wednesday he understands why lawmakers are taking a long time to negotiate the bills currently pending in conference committees, covering topics from police reform to economic […]
Posted inPolitics
Galvin settles lawsuit over voting access for people with disabilities
SECRETARY OF STATE William Galvin has settled a lawsuit filed by disability rights groups in a way that will make it easier for voters with disabilities to request an electronic […]
Posted inEconomy
Despite pandemic, Baker proposes higher spending
Despite the pandemic-related recession and high unemployment rates, and an expected drop in state tax revenues, Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday released a budget proposal for the current fiscal year […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker unveils $171m in eviction assistance
WITH THE STATE’S eviction moratorium set to expire at the end of the week, the Baker administration on Monday unveiled a $171 million initiative that includes new aid for landlords […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Is menthol cigarette ban still a smart move?
LAST NOVEMBER, amid a national outbreak of vaping-related illnesses, Massachusetts became the first state in the country to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including mint and menthol […]
Posted inEconomy
Economists offer dire projections for state revenues
STATE TAX REVENUES are likely to tank by between $1.2 and $3.6 billion this year compared to last year, amid significant uncertainty generated by the COVID-19 pandemic and by federal inaction, […]
Posted inHealth Care
Colleges facing ‘astronomical’ COVID costs
MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGES AND universities are so far doing relatively well in opening their doors while keeping COVID-19 cases contained – but top education officials warn that their ability to successfully […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Medical parole for prisoners doesn’t mean immediate release
RAYMOND VINNIE, serving a life sentence for murder but incapacitated by colon cancer and a stroke, was granted medical parole from MCI-Norfolk. But weeks passed, and Vinnie was not released. […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker seeks to lift ban on surge pricing during COVID emergency
WHEN GOV. CHARLIE BAKER signed a bill in the summer of 2016 banning Uber and Lyft from charging surge prices during a state of emergency, it seemed like a sensible […]
Posted inUncategorized
Where is the state’s $1.1b in federal funds going?
THE LEGISLATURE may control the purse strings – but Gov. Charlie Baker holds the purse. That Beacon Hill truism was on display clearly in a report Secretary of Administration and […]
Posted inEconomy
Massachusetts ends fiscal 2020 with $700 million budget hole
MASSACHUSETTS ENDED 2020 with a nearly $700 million budget gap, Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday, as he filed a proposed closeout budget with the Legislature. Baker, in his filing letter, wrote […]
Posted inEducation
Pilot program will offer early morning childcare in Boston
CHRISTINA MORRIS AND her partner, Boston residents who are both union carpenters, are raising four children ages two to 10. On the days they have to be at work by 7 […]
Posted inHealth Care
COVID notes: New rapid tests to go to schools
MASSACHUSETTS EXPECTS to receive a limited number of new, rapid COVID-19 tests from the federal government, which state officials will use to support school reopenings, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday. […]
