WHEN IT COMES to political fundraising this cycle, Democratic attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Maura Healey continues to far outpace absolutely everyone. Healey raised $2.3 million between January and June […]
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 inArts and Culture
Street mural artists explain their craft
ARTISTS, SAID PERCY FORTINI-WRIGHT, are “documenters” of history. “Without artists, you wouldn’t know what went on in the past,” he said. “Art is what man has created up until now…It’s the […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Murals: An emerging form of community development
THE WALLS OF the affordable housing buildings in The Point neighborhood of Salem have been painted for as long as 15-year-old Bunny Spodick can remember. For a long time, they […]
Posted inImmigration, Transportation
Baker vetoes driver’s license bill for undocumented immigrants
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Friday vetoed a bill that would have allowed immigrants without legal status to obtain a Massachusetts driver’s license, a day after the bill reached his desk. […]
Posted inHealth
State drops quarantine for close COVID contacts in schools, childcare
IN A SIGN of the continually evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Public Health on Wednesday quietly updated its guidelines for educational settings to no longer require […]
Posted inState Government
Senate, Somerville eye protections for abortion, gender-affirming care
THE STATE SENATE on Wednesday adopted an amendment to the state budget protecting anyone who receives or provides gender-affirming care or abortion care against other states’ attempts to prosecute them. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
House will vote on sexting, revenge porn bill
FIVE YEARS AFTER Gov. Charlie Baker first proposed new laws addressing sexting and revenge porn, the Legislature is prepared to consider the legislation. The House plans to vote Thursday on […]
Posted inEnvironment
Healey sues PFAS manufacturers
ATTORNEY GENERAL Maura Healey has filed a lawsuit against 13 manufacturers of PFAS chemicals, arguing that they deceptively marketed and sold chemicals that were dangerous to the environment and to […]
Posted inEnergy
As blades get longer, Charlestown testing center seeks to expand
WHEN THE WIND Technology Testing Center in Charlestown was built in 2011, the longest wind turbine blades in the world were around 65 meters long, or 215 feet. So the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Hospital profits pick up in 2021, mostly on asset values
AFTER PANDEMIC-RELATED financial struggles, Massachusetts’ hospitals are again turning a profit, despite reduced levels of federal aid. A preliminary report by the Center for Health Information and Analysis on fiscal […]
Posted inMarijuana
Lawmakers move closer to addressing nagging cannabis questions
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE took a major step Wednesday toward improving equity in the cannabis industry, passing a bill similar to one previously passed by the Senate that would create a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
House plans vote on prison construction moratorium
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE is set to vote on language this Thursday that would impose a five-year moratorium on new prison construction. The language is tucked into a large government bond […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC says sheriffs can charge commissions for prison phone calls
MASSACHUSETTS SHERIFFS HAVE the legal authority to raise revenue from contracts for inmate phone calls, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday. Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, whose office was at […]
Posted inState Government
State workforce shrinks to 2012 levels
MASSACHUSETTS STATE GOVERNMENT lost the equivalent of 1,409 full-time employees in one year during the pandemic, the steepest drop in state government employment since the Baker administration intentionally cut the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker urges speedy FDA review of Moderna COVID vaccine for kids
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER wrote a letter to President Biden urging the US Food and Drug Administration to quickly consider approving Moderna’s application for a COVID-19 vaccine for children. The state’s […]
Posted inUncategorized
Hoffman’s abrupt exit at cannabis commission remains a mystery
THE CANNABIS CONTROL COMMISSION is at an inflection point, with all five of the state’s original marijuana regulators having moved on. “Today marks a significant moment for all of us […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mass. agrees to pay $56m to settle Holyoke Soldiers’ Home lawsuit
THE STATE HAS AGREED to pay $56 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by veterans who contracted COVID-19 and the families of veterans who died at the Holyoke […]
Posted inUncategorized
Budget amendment would create Harmony Montgomery Commission
A WEEK AFTER the state Office of the Child Advocate issued a report about the failure of the child welfare system to protect missing 4-year-old Harmony Montgomery, a state senator […]
Posted inUncategorized
Senate budget focuses on early education, mental health, local aid
THE STATE budget proposal released by the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday largely hews to the same ideology as the plan adopted by House budget writers: Avoid tax […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker, Polito press hard for economic development bill
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito made a strong political push on Monday for their administration’s $3.5 billion economic development bill, warning that time is running short to […]
Posted inEducation
DeLeo feels ‘right at home’ in new academic life
WHEN ROBERT DELEO resigned as speaker of the Massachusetts House a year and a half ago and took an academic position at Northeastern University, his life changed dramatically. At the […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Meth use poses rising threat in Massachusetts
THE SCOURGE of opioid addiction has made headlines for years, as state policymakers aim to reduce the epidemic of overdose deaths. Less noticed – but still highly dangerous – is […]
Posted inUncategorized
Report says DCF needs to incorporate family input into policies
EVA LIVES in Central Massachusetts with her four children, ages seven to 11. About a year after her youngest was born, she was in her mid-20s and struggling with postpartum […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Child Advocate says ‘system failed’ Harmony Montgomery
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES and the court system valued the rights of Harmony Montgomery’s parents more than Harmony’s wellbeing, according to a damning 101-page report issued Wednesday by […]