One in a series on newly elected mayors across Massachusetts. WHEN PEOPLE TALK about Lynn as an immigrant-rich city, they don’t have Jared Nicholson in mind. The city’s new 36-year-old […]
Michael Jonas
Michael Jonas works with Laura in overseeing CommonWealth Beacon coverage and editing the work of reporters. His own reporting has a particular focus on politics, education, and criminal justice reform.
Posted inCriminal Justice
New Bedford Light calls out silence on health care exec story
WHEN FOUNDERS OF the New Bedford Light announced plans a year ago to launch a new nonprofit news site to cover the South Coast, they pointed to the desperate need […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC says Springfield mayor’s powers on policing have limits
SPRINGFIELD MAY BE one of the Massachusetts cities with a “strong mayor” form of government, but the mayor’s extensive powers over city government are not unlimited powers. That was the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins reforms loom over Suffolk DA race
RACHAEL ROLLINS’S name won’t be on the ballot this year, but her approach to prosecution in Suffolk County may end up being front and center. Rollins – both by personality […]
Posted inEducation
What if Boston just scrapped its school committee altogether?
TO SAY THE Boston school system is in flux would be like suggesting the city’s drivers occasionally seem a tad aggressive on the roads. The district is about to say […]
Posted inPolitics
Galvin looks to grab the reformer label
A DINOSAUR THROWBACK from an earlier era, or reformer willing to challenge the status quo? Bill Galvin has always defied simple pigeonholing, and that trait is on full display as […]
Posted inEducation
South Coast charter school proposal withdrawn
A GROUP PROPOSING to open a charter school serving New Bedford and Fall River with a focus on “early college” programs has withdrawn the application, citing “political complexities” that the […]
Posted inEducation
Charter school proposal roils South Coast
IT’S BEEN MORE than five years since the debate over charter schools in Massachusetts came front and center in the form of a high-profile ballot question that would have raised […]
Posted inPolitics
Healey’s delicate dance with labels
COULD IT BE that the heir to Republican Charlie Baker and his magic moderate recipe for political success is the state’s Trump-suing Democratic attorney general, Maura Healey? Healey might not […]
Posted inEducation
After rejection of ‘innovation’ plan, Charlestown High faces new reckoning
CALL IT THE push-me-pull-you saga of troubled Charlestown High School. One by one, teachers at Charlestown High spoke at a recent Boston School Committee hearing, railing against a proposal to […]
Posted inPolitics
Andrea Campbell announces run for attorney general
FORMER BOSTON CITY COUNCILOR Andrea Campbell is joining the Democratic race for attorney general, vowing to be “an attorney general for justice for all.” The 39-year-old Mattapan resident plans to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Hayden eschews labels, vows to ‘do the right thing’ as DA
KEVIN HAYDEN says the heightened attention in recent years to racial bias in the criminal justice system or ways that the most punitive outcome in a case isn’t always the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Michelle Wu’s vax dilemma
MICHELLE WU is signaling that she won’t back down from a fight – but also would desperately like to avoid one. As she navigates the latest of the many big […]
Posted inPolitics
In first campaign stop, Healey stays on script
IN HER FIRST public appearance as a candidate for governor, Maura Healey waved off talk that she’s the front-runner in the race – but very much acted that way, sticking […]
Posted inPolitics
Healey launches run for governor
ENDING MONTHS OF speculation, Attorney General Maura Healey announced her candidacy for governor on Thursday, declaring she’s ready to take the passion she’s brought as “the people’s lawyer” to the […]
Posted inPolitics
Sullivan frames secretary of state run as ‘unique moment for our democracy’
THE SECRETARY OF STATE position across the 50 states is not normally one that inflames deep passions or draws lots of attention when it comes to electing the person holding […]
Posted inPolitics
Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll joins surge of lieutenant governor hopefuls
RARE HAVE SO many been so eager to win an office with so few powers accorded to it. Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll announced her run for lieutenant governor yesterday, making […]
Posted inUncategorized
Report slams sheriffs over campaign money from contractors, employees
A NEW NATIONAL report says campaign contributions to county sheriffs, including in Massachusetts, are rife with potential conflicts of interest from donors who stand to benefit from contracts or other […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
How Boston escaped the national spike in homicides
IT’S BEEN A grim companion to the death toll of COVID-19: While the virus has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, homicide rates have also been soaring nationally. Homicides rose […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Tompkins to face challenge from longtime sheriff’s department official
A VETERAN OFFICIAL of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department says the correctional agency can do better and vowed that she’s ready to lead the way. Sandy Zamor Calixte, who has […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Trauma brought to life in powerful Globe essay
THE STORY COMES crashing in with all the page-turning drama of a gripping work of fiction. An opening scene of the 15-year-old protagonist pointing a gun to his mother’s face. […]
Posted inArts and Culture
CommonWealth’s most-read commentary pieces of 2021 covered the waterfront
WE ARE EAGER to have CommonWealth serve as a forum for healthy debate and the exchange of strongly argued points of view from a range of voices across the state. […]
Posted inPolitics
Auchincloss reflects on a first year in Congress unlike most any other
REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS, the newest member of the state’s congressional delegation, is finishing his first year in the House. To say it’s been a tumultuous initiation to Congress would be […]
Posted inPolitics
With new vax rules, Wu shows her regional stripes
WHEN MAYOR MICHELLE WU convened a press conference on Monday to announce a new vaccine mandate for Boston restaurants and other indoor locations it looked more like a mini gathering […]