The Download

New from CommonWealth Beacon STICKER SHOCK: Health insurers collectively want to increase small business rates nearly 13 percent in 2027 – an opening salvo in a process that will stretch […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon FRANKLY SPEAKING: Barney Frank, the longtime Massachusetts congressman who passed away this week, was consistently accessible, ever quotable, always on the record, and honest to a […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon WILD WINDS: New Bedford and Salem were banking on new residents and major infrastructure projects as they committed to the offshore wind industry. But after the […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon HOUSING: Last May, legislation was passed allowing tenants to petition to have their past eviction cases sealed from public view, but advocates say few people know […]

Editor’s Note To mark the 30th anniversary of CommonWealth Beacon, editor Laura Colarusso and publisher Joe Kriesberg appeared on the What Works podcast about the future of local news with […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon MIDDLE CLASS: Entrepreneurship in Gateway Cities is a valuable opportunity, and sometimes the only option, for lower-income people to build wealth and chart a course into […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon CLIMATE POLITICS: Gov. Maura Healey’s drift toward the political center as she campaigns for a second term in the middle of an energy affordability crisis has […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon EDUCATION: At least four Massachusetts school districts have cut diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives or positions in the face of shrinking student enrollments and funding cuts, […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon MIDDLE CLASS: Take a journey down Heritage Road in Billerica, where Chris Lisinski unspools how the community has changed over CommonWealth Beacon’s 30-year history and stitches […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon It’s hard work making it in the middle class Thirty years ago, CommonWealth magazine launched with a cover story that dove into the challenges facing middle-class […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon ON THE BALLOT: Voters could be tasked with deciding 11 ballot measures this fall, ranging from strict rent control to an income tax cut to recriminalizing […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon MIDDLING: In a new poll on the middle class, Massachusetts residents report financial anxiety, driven by a cost of living that feels difficult to manage even […]

CommonWealth Beacon Turns 30 Dear Reader, When CommonWealth magazine published its first edition in 1996, the State House press gallery was packed with reporters from local papers around the state. […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon NEW CODCAST: Cape and Islands leaders fear that a lack of available housing for the tourism-dependent region’s workforce could hamstring its future. On the latest episode […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon COURT-TAX OVERLAP: Beacon Hill Democrats sweating the $5 billion annual hit to state revenue presented by an income tax cut ballot question will be hoping the […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon UI STUMBLES: There have been improvements in the new unemployment benefits system since last summer, but poor performance persists in some areas, and legislators say they […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon HOUSING: Beacon Hill is weighing how much to fund a program that provides low-income tenants with legal counsel in eviction cases. Jennifer Smith has more. OPINION: […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon BIDING TIME: After missing a 2021 target to join a federal program that offers insurance discounts on flood insurance in municipalities taking steps to reduce flood […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon THE CODCAST: What does the latest executive order aimed at changing how people cast their votes mean for Massachusetts? Two lawsuits are currently working their way […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon POWER UP: Sen. Michael Barrett, a Democrat who co-chairs the energy committee, is eyeing major changes to proposals in the energy affordability package approved by the […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon OPINION: Massachusetts should allow cities and towns to ban competitive electric suppliers within their communities as proposed by the House, argue D.J. Beauregard, the mayor of […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon UP IN SMOKE: The Supreme Judicial Court handed a pointed defeat to the tobacco company Philip Morris, rejecting its argument that a jury’s initial $1 billion […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon CODCAST: Should kids be allowed to use social media? That’s the question state policymakers are pondering, and it’s one of the many questions Boston College professor […]