FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER Sal DiMasi is a convicted felon. But can he become a lobbyist? State law prohibits someone convicted of a felony under certain state laws from lobbying for […]
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
Hayden wins Suffolk DA race in tough night for reformers
SUFFOLK COUNTY’S interim District Attorney Kevin Hayden fended off a strong challenge from Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo in Tuesday’s acrimony-filled Democratic primary for district attorney, in a tough night […]
Posted inPolitics
In DA, sheriff races, reformers seek change from inside
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS and sheriffs are traditional “law and order” positions, inhabited by officials often viewed as tough on crime. These jobs are elected, but incumbents, particularly DAs, have often sailed […]
Posted inMarijuana, State Government
New CCC chair consulted for cannabis companies
SHANNON O’BRIEN, the former state treasurer and newly appointed chair of the Cannabis Control Commission, is not a novice to cannabis. O’Brien worked as a consultant for two marijuana companies […]
Posted inPolitics
Galvin predicts high voter turnout in primary
FIVE DAYS BEFORE state primary Election Day, nearly 375,000 ballots have already been cast, a figure Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin said likely predicts high voter turnout. The Legislature just […]
Posted inEconomy
Report says low-paid care work relic of racism, sexism
BEFORE THE Industrial Revolution, the work of caregiving fell almost exclusively to women – wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters. White women were seen as nurturing and domestic, and acted as […]
Posted inMarijuana, State Government
Former treasurer Shannon O’Brien picked to lead cannabis board
FORMER STATE TREASURER Shannon O’Brien, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2002, will be the next chair of the Cannabis Control Commission. Treasurer Deborah Goldberg announced the appointment Tuesday. […]
Posted inPolitics
Palfrey quits AG’s race, endorses Campbell
IN A MOVE that scrambles the Democratic primary for attorney general one week before the election, Quentin Palfrey announced he is ending his campaign and throwing his support behind Andrea […]
Posted inState Government
SJC says Legislature has broad powers on voting
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT on Tuesday dismissed the major constitutional challenge that has been levied against the new state law allowing voting by mail, formally addressing a legal question that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Housing
A new home for recently incarcerated transgender people
THE APARTMENT LOOKS like so many other Cambridge dwellings, occupying one floor of a slightly worn two-family house. It has two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, living room, and small […]
Posted inGambling
Casinos ready to go on sports betting
AT A MEETING a meeting of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday, the message from the state’s three casinos was clear: We’re ready to roll. To roll out sports betting, […]
Posted inDrugs, Marijuana, Politics
Healey says her prior cannabis concerns may have been ‘unnecessary’
IT WAS NOVEMBER 2016, days before Massachusetts voters would legalize recreational marijuana. Attorney General Maura Healey stood in front of the State House at a rally with health care professionals […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Quentin Palfrey platform is wish-list of progressive policies
FORMER SUFFOLK DISTRICT ATTORNEY Rachael Rollins, now the US attorney for Massachusetts, made headlines for her pledge not to prosecute certain non-violent offenses. Now, Quentin Palfrey, a Democrat running for […]
Posted inPolitics
GOP lieutenant governor candidates split on Trump
IN THEIR FIRST public debate, the Republican candidates for lieutenant governor – Kate Campanale and Leah Cole Allen – both laid out visions for a state with lower taxes and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
New public data sheds light on prison population decline
THE NUMBER OF people incarcerated in Massachusetts has dropped significantly over the last five years, from more than 17,000 in 2017 to 11,200 this year. That’s just one a many […]
Posted inEconomy
Is Massachusetts losing its competitive economic edge?
THE MASSACHUSETTS Taxpayers Foundation released a dire warning Friday that the state’s competitive economic edge is being jeopardized by the high cost of living and working in Massachusetts. The core […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker signs bill bringing equity to cannabis industry
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday signed a bill aimed at giving minority cannabis entrepreneurs easier access into the industry, and also paving the way for municipalities to allow marijuana cafes. […]
Posted inPolitics, State Government
Here’s what Baker signed, amended, and vetoed
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday took a slew of legislative actions, clearing his desk of many of the major bills that were sent to him in the final days of […]
Posted inGambling
Let the betting begin – in a number of months
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday signed a law legalizing sports betting in Massachusetts, joining more than 30 other states that have authorized sports betting since the US Supreme Court overturned […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
AG candidates fight over fundraising, credentials
IN AN HOUR-LONG DEBATE on Wednesday, the three Democrats running for attorney general issued sharp barbs over each other’s credentials and fundraising but largely agreed on many of the substantive […]
Posted inHealth
Mass. tops child welfare rankings, lags in pediatric mental health
A NEW NATIONAL report ranked Massachusetts best in the country for child welfare, but buried in the report is one significant danger sign: Massachusetts is one of the worst in the […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawmakers, advocates hit Baker’s opt-in approach to public health
A BILL OVERHAULING the state’s fractured public health system appears to have become a casualty of the last-minute legislative rush to pass bills in the final days of the legislative […]
Posted inHealth, State Government
Baker returns public health bill unsigned
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Monday refused to sign a bill overhauling the state’s public health system, instead returning it to the Legislature with an amendment. The intention of the bill […]
Posted inPolitics, Public Records, State Government
Tanisha Sullivan, Bill Galvin go head to head in testy debate
THE TWO DEMOCRATS running for secretary of the Commonwealth met in a testy debate Monday, which highlighted a fundamental disagreement over the nature of the job itself. Tanisha Sullivan, the […]