THE ORGANIZATION HAS operated quietly for three decades, headquartered today in a nondescript brick storefront along Revere’s main street. “Your Options Medical” advertises the sign on the clinic, a faith-based […]
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 inCourts, Immigration, Politics
Judge denies Mass GOP request for restraining order against state senator
A MIDDLESEX SUPERIOR COURT judge on Friday declined to issue a restraining order sought by Massachusetts Republican Party chairman Jim Lyons against state Sen. Jamie Eldridge. Lyons wanted to keep […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker vetoes prison moratorium
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday vetoed a five-year moratorium on new prison construction, citing concerns that it would constrain the state from moving forward with several planned prison improvement projects. […]
Posted inEconomy
After 2020 ballot question, Right to Repair still tied up in court
IN NOVEMBER 2020, Massachusetts voters passed a ballot question that would expand the state’s Right to Repair law. Three-quarters of voters agreed that car manufacturers need to give telematic data […]
Posted inState Government, Transportation
Baker announces 30-day Orange Line shutdown
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER announced Wednesday that the MBTA’s entire Orange Line will shut down for 30 days in order to accelerate repairs. It will be the longest shutdown of an […]
Posted inCourts, Drugs, Guns, Marijuana, State Government
Here’s what passed in marathon all-night legislative session
IN A MARATHON all night session, the Massachusetts Legislature finally finished many of their key priorities of the 2021-2022 legislative session, even as one key priority – tax reform – […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC rules consent required for blood alcohol test
THE POLICE CANNOT test a person’s blood to determine blood alcohol content without that person’s consent, even if the person authorized the blood draw itself, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled […]
Posted inHealth Care
Budget notes: Disability Law Center questions veto
THE DISABILITY LAW CENTER on Friday released its latest report criticizing the state’s management of Bridgewater State Hospital, a day after Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed money for the center to […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker signs abortion rights bill
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Friday signed into law a sweeping abortion rights bill that protects health care providers from prosecutions by other states, requires insurers to fully cover abortion services, […]
Posted inCourts
Biden nominates reproductive rights lawyer Julie Rikelman as federal appeals court judge
PRESIDENT BIDEN will nominate prominent reproductive rights attorney Julie Rikelman, who argued in favor of abortion rights before the US Supreme Court in the Dobbs case, to be a US […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Courts
SJC quickly dismisses lawsuit over dental ballot question
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL Court quickly dismissed a lawsuit brought by opponents of a ballot question regulating dental insurance that sought to change the ballot question summary submitted by proponents. With […]
Posted inState Government
Baker says he’s leaving state in good shape financially
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday signed into law a $52.7 billion state budget for fiscal 2023, representing an unusually high 9.3 percent growth in spending over the prior year. The […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker won’t sign no-cost prison calls without dangerousness bill
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is making another go at passing elements of his criminal dangerousness bill, this time with a bit of high-stakes legislative horse trading. Baker, in signing the fiscal […]
Posted inHealth Care
Lawmakers reach agreement on Soldiers’ Home governance
LEGISLATIVE NEGOTIATORS have come to an agreement on how to overhaul the governance of the state’s two Soldiers’ Homes in Holyoke and Chelsea. A bill released Wednesday evening lays out […]
Posted inHealth, State Government
With time short, lawmakers seek to reshape local public health
THE LEGISLATURE is poised to dramatically reshape Massachusetts’ local public health landscape, after the COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted just how inadequate it is. “I’ve been doing this work for almost 25 […]
Posted inEconomy
SJC sides with Grubhub, allows arbitration requirements for drivers
GRUBHUB MAY REQUIRE its drivers to submit employment disputes to arbitration, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday. The ruling essentially codifies the status quo. But because of its potentially […]
Posted inRace/Racism
Baker signs law banning hairstyle discrimination
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Tuesday signed the CROWN Act into law, making Massachusetts the 18th state to ban discrimination based on “natural hairstyles.” The governor held a joyous bill signing […]
Posted inPolitics
Dental ballot question summary challenged on ‘false statements’
THE OPPONENTS of a ballot question that would regulate dental insurance are asking the Supreme Judicial Court to force Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin to change the wording of […]
Posted inPolitics
Groups seek to keep Trump off 2024 ballot due to insurrection
AMID A NATIONAL progressive campaign to keep former president Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot, should he choose to run again, Massachusetts’s top elections official says it’s not so simple […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker not giving up on dangerousness bill, despite study order
THE WOMAN, who survived domestic violence, said she risked her safety, allowed herself to be vulnerable, and emotionally relived her abuse to advocate on behalf of Gov. Charlie Baker’s bill […]
Posted inGovernment
Sen. Markey seeks to pack ‘illegitimate’ Supreme Court
US SEN. ED MARKEY has emerged as one of the most forceful critics of the US Supreme Court after recent decisions on abortion, gun licensing, and environmental protection. Markey has […]
Posted inCourts
Judiciary seeks to join modern era with $164m bond bill
WHEN I RECENTLY sought a public document from a state court, the clerk asked me to request it by fax. In 2022, who operates via fax? Reporters are not alone […]
Posted inGuns
House passes gun bill as amendment to bond legislation
THE MASSACHUSETTS House on Thursday quickly introduced and passed provisions tightening gun licensing standards in response to a recent US Supreme Court decision. With just 10 days to go before […]
Posted inEducation
Free $50 for college going unclaimed in poorer communities
IN THE TONY Boston suburb of Newton, with some of the best schools and highest high school graduation rates in the state, more than a quarter of the babies born […]