THE STATE ETHICS COMMISSION says a former employee and a former consultant of the state auditor’s office violated Massachusetts conflict of interest laws by forming a software company that attempted […]
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 inPolitics
Race comments roil public sector workforce
MANY PUBLIC EMPLOYEES are learning the hard way: The right to free speech doesn’t extend to racist speech when you’re on a taxpayer-funded salary. Some of the recent examples are particularly […]
Posted inEconomy
Lawmakers move to pass one-month budget
LAWMAKERS ARE MAKING quick work of an interim budget filed by Gov. Charlie Baker that will fund state government through the end of July. Baker filed the $5.25 billion budget […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker has spent $350m on personal protection equipment
LEGISLATIVE BUDGET WRITERS on Monday released a $1.1 billion supplemental budget bill, giving perhaps the clearest picture yet of the extraordinary amount of money government is spending on the coronavirus […]
Posted inHealth Care
Senate bill extends telehealth, scope of practice
THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE is poised to extend the governor’s emergency order on insurance payments for telehealth, while at the same time reviving controversial proposals related to the types of services […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Juneteenth observances growing amid racial unrest
WITH PROTESTS AGAINST racial inequities roiling the country, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday issued an executive order declaring Juneteenth a paid holiday for state employees this year. Juneteenth – June […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Lawmakers considering novel budget approaches
IN A TYPICAL YEAR, it takes six months of back and forth for the House, Senate and administration to agree on a state budget. This year, could they cut a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker releases plan to decertify police for misconduct
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday filed a bill that would create a licensing system for police officers across the state and allow a board made up of members of law […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker urges protesters to get COVID-19 tests
MASSACHUSETTS WILL SET up 52 free pop-up COVID-19 testing sites this week, and Gov. Charlie Baker is urging anyone who participated in protests over the last two weeks to get […]
Posted inEconomy
Childcare provider: ‘I’m scared for my business’
AS SHE LOOKS TOWARD REOPENING, Tammy Inman, the owner and director of Little Kids childcare center in North Falmouth is scared. “I’m really scared for my business, I’m scared for my […]
Posted inEconomy
Many businesses closed by COVID are not coming back
THE GREEN BEAN in Northampton was the type of breakfast and lunch place where people would visit daily, hold work meetings, meet their future spouse, or break up with a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Time for standardized police training in Massachusetts?
IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN that Massachusetts is lacking in its standardization of police training – but there was little urgency on Beacon Hill to do anything about it. Now, the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Despite pandemic, health care jobs may be lost
IN THE MIDST OF A PANDEMIC that has narrowed the focus of the state’s health care system, use of the system overall is down and many physician practices are warning […]
Posted inEducation
State revises childcare guidelines
FACING A BACKLASH from parents and childcare providers, state early education officials revised their guidelines governing the reopening of day care centers. But while the new guidelines do help many family care providers, they do little to […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker bill mandates COVID reporting by labs, health providers
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is seeking legislative permission to fine health care providers and labs up to $2,000 a day if they do not give the state complete demographic data about […]
Posted inHealth Care
New law requires more COVID-19 data-gathering
THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH will need to publish more transparent data about the number of COVID-19 cases in individual long-term care facilities, and will also need to publish […]
Posted inEducation
Petition seeks changes in child-care standards
WHEN IT COMES TO caring for children, what is safe and what is realistic may be two different things. That conflict is growing as daycares consider whether and how to reopen […]
Posted inUncategorized
House approves vote-by-mail for fall elections
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE on Thursday passed a bill that would allow any resident to vote by mail in the September and November elections. The bill is a compromise that rejects […]
Posted inPolitics
Town clerks say they can’t handle flood of mail-in ballots
EVERYONE IS IN favor making sure all voters can cast ballots this fall, even if coronavirus fears mean they don’t necessarily do so in person at a polling place. But […]
Posted inEconomy
House votes to cap food delivery fees
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE on Wednesday passed a bill that would temporarily cap the fees that delivery services can charge restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic. The provision was part of a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Healey: ‘America is burning. But that’s how forests grow’
ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY, in a passionate speech on Tuesday, suggested the protests sweeping the nation may yield long-term benefits. “Yes, America is burning. But that’s how forests grow,” she […]
Posted inUncategorized
Providers question feasibility of childcare guidelines
CHILDREN RETURNING to daycare will no longer be encouraged to play together. Caregivers will wear face coverings. Public playgrounds will be off limits. Class sizes will be smaller. Gov. Charlie […]
Posted inUncategorized
Libraries, youth sports, driving schools to reopen soon
IF YOU’VE LONG AGO finished the stack of books on your nightstand, or if you’re waiting anxiously to finish your driver training, or if your windows need washing, Gov. Charlie […]
Posted inUncategorized
Two landlords challenge eviction moratorium law
TWO LANDLORDS have filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Judicial Court challenging the state’s temporary moratorium on eviction foreclosures. In April, the Legislature passed and Gov. Charlie Baker signed […]
