The Download

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 […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon SOCIAL MEDIA SHOWDOWN: Proponents of social media restriction bills on Beacon Hill put forward by the House and governor say these are commonsense steps to reduce […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon HEAD START: Massachusetts has lost 1,300 Head Start slots over the last three years as the state grapples with the impacts for children and families amid […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon ENVIRO VOTE: The Senate passed its version of a $3.6 billion environmental bond bill on Wednesday – a package that would shore up vulnerable infrastructure and […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon ROMNEYCARE: Twenty years after Massachusetts passed landmark health care reform legislation that gave the state the highest rate of insurance coverage in the country, the leading […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon GAS PRICES: Average gas prices in Massachusetts are nearly $4 per gallon – and are becoming a political issue in the governor’s race. Jordan Wolman explains. […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon MATERNITY: Merrimack Health’s Methuen campus will shutter its maternity unit in August, the 12th closure of maternity services in Massachusetts since 2010. Hallie Claflin looks at […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon ELECTRIC SHOCK: A Bellingham man spent months securing a loan to add solar panels and battery storage to his home only to be hit with a […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon SOLAR SHOWDOWN: The Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments in a case over the denial of a permit for a large solar power project by the rural […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon CODCAST: The Healey administration is steering into artificial intelligence, and there’s more at stake than just jobs or economic growth — all sorts of personal data […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon CONSERVATION BY BALLOT: One of the dozen potential ballot measures that could greet voters this November aims to create a dedicated fund to purchase land for […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon BRIC DELAY: A year after federal cuts to the BRIC program, an ambitious resilience project in Chelsea and Everett remains on hold. Hallie Claflin has the […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon STAFF UNIONIZATION: Barring a sudden reversal by their ostensibly pro-labor bosses, the Massachusetts legislative staffers who have long fought to form a union will once again […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon A BETTER LIFE: Hallie Claflin weaves together stories of success from Worcester’s A Better Life program, which provides families in state-subsidized public housing with case management […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon THE CODCAST: After 28 years at the helm of Massachusetts Health Quality Partners, Barbra Rabson is stepping down. Data gathered by MHQP paints a picture of […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon RETREAT: Local and state officials are looking more directly at the logistics of managed retreat – long a delicate subject for coastal residents. The state is […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon ELECTRIC BUSES: A quiet debate about how and whether the T can or even should meet an ambitious electric bus mandate is now spilling into the […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon BOTTLES: Just one-third of the eligible bottles and cans sold in Massachusetts were redeemed last year under the state’s recycling-incentivizing deposit law, a new low as […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon INSURANCE: Massachusetts insurance commissioner Michael Caljouw sat down with Jordan Wolman to for a wide-ranging conversation about the insurance industry, affordability, health care, and climate change. […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon RETIREMENT: Massachusetts House Republicans will be faced with a choice once Minority Leader Brad Jones leaves office in January: pick a new leader who carries Jones’s […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon BALLOT BATTLES: Dueling housing ballot measures, one proposing strict rent control and one looking to ease restrictive zoning, collided with frustrated lawmakers over two days of […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon POLITICS: In the Political Notebook, CommonWealth Beacon reporters take stock of the campaign significance of a House roll call vote, note the inspector general’s increasing workload, […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon ELECTRICITY: A provision in the House-approved energy affordability bill would crack down on competitive electric suppliers, third-party companies that regulators have long alleged mislead consumers with […]