The Download

New from CommonWealth Beacon NEW CODCAST: CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with 1199SEIU Executive Vice President Cari Medina and Anestine Bentick, lead medical assistant at South Boston Community Health. […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon PRISON POLITICS: The governor appoints a corrections professional to oversee state prisons. So why do we elect people who are essentially regional correctional commissioners, with voters […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon DATA CRACKDOWN: Chris Lisinski reports that the state Senate is moving to crack down on what Senate President Karen Spilka called the “Wild West” of data […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon MONEY TALKS: Health care interests continue to dominate spending on lobbying Massachusetts policymakers in the first half of 2025, according to newly released data. Chris Lisinski, […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon GAPS IN COVERAGE: Despite “fragile progress,” the Commonwealth’s early child care system continues to suffer from a workforce problem, according to a new analysis published by […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon FUNDING INJECTION: A new legislative accord will direct $234 million to hospitals and community health centers in Massachusetts as part of an upcoming spending bill vote, […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon HEALTH POLL: New polling for CommonWealth Beacon conducted by the MassINC Polling Group paints a picture of Massachusetts residents mostly happy with their health care coverage, […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon OVERFLOWED: Cities like Holyoke, Springfield, and Chicopee have made multi-million-dollar efforts in recent years to prevent wastewater and stormwater overflows, Hallie Claflin reports. But as climate […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon HEAD ABOVE WATER: In a new poll for CommonWealth Beacon conducted by the MassINC Polling Group, just over half of Massachusetts residents say they approve of Gov. Maura […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon RAPID EXPANSION: The Committee for Public Counsel Services has hired 22 new attorneys, moving forward with “the largest staffing expansion in the agency’s history.” Michael Norton […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon NEW CODCAST: On the latest episode of The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith interviews Rich Davey about his first year as Massport CEO. They talk […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon CARE CHASMS: When hospitals close, communities reel. Even in well-covered Massachusetts, some regions of the state still struggle to access its nation-leading health care. And after […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon A CRAP DEAL: Despite major progress, more than 40 combined sewer overflow sites along the Charles, Mystic, Alewife Brook, and Boston Harbor persist – discharging wastewater […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon OPINION: Kendra Winner’s son Aidan suffered multiple brain injuries during a car accident. After watching Aiden go through 10 surgeries and almost 80 days in intensive […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon CONSUMER PROTECTION RULING: This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith sits down with Elyse Cherry, CEO of BlueHub Capital, to discuss the recent […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon ARTIST HOUSING: The city of Fitchburg officially cut the ribbon on an affordable housing project for artists that’s been more than a decade in the making […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon PLATE PLAN: The House gave initial approval to a bill that would ban tinted license plate coverings that could distort or block plate information. Alison Kuznitz […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon MOTION DENIED: A lawsuit leveled by the state attorney general against a Boston-based financial technology company for allegedly predatory loan practices is allowed to move forward, […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon CANNABIS CONTINUITY: Cannabis Control Commission Acting Chair Bruce Stebbins, reappointed for a five-year term in mid-August, talks to reporter Bhaamati Borkhetaria about his experience on the […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon NEW CODCAST: This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon editor Laura Colarusso sits down with Gateway Cities reporter Hallie Claflin to talk about her recent reporting […]

On The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon editor Laura Colarusso and Gateway Cities reporter Hallie Claflin discuss why Eastern Massachusetts cities like Lowell and Lawrence have found success in their renovation efforts, with almost no former industrial buildings left to restore.

New from CommonWealth Beacon NO GAS ALLOWANCES: As part of Massachusetts’s push to meet its climate targets, the state’s utilities regulator says new gas customers may soon need to pay the full hookup […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon BALLOT QUESTION: Secretary of State Bill Galvin is pursuing a ballot question to allow same-day voter registration after the policy has stalled multiple times in the […]

New from CommonWealth Beacon NEW BARR PRESIDENT: Ali Noorani, a longtime nonprofit and philanthropic leader who previously led the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy coalition, was named the new president […]