SNAP is not a wasteful program – it is our nation’s first line of defense against hunger. It is a trusted and proven program to support our most disadvantaged residents in putting nutritious food on the table.
SNAP cuts are an abdication of our shared moral responsibility
Posted inThe Codcast
The good, the bad, and the uncertain in Trump’s tax bill
CommonWealth Beacon executive editor Michael Jonas talks with reporter Jennifer Smith about a series of stories parsing the sprawling Trump tax and spending bill. They discuss why it’s so hard to know if Opportunity Zones have been effective, and why affordable housing advocates are mixed on the administration’s approach to low-income renters.
Posted inOpinion
A nation of immigrants imperiled
In both of his terms in office, Donald Trump has taken aim at each of the principal ways that people from other countries can become naturalized United States citizens.
Posted inEnergy
Boston struggles to find takers for green roof grants
The Boston Water and Sewer Commission has had a hard time persuading residents to take them up on their offer to help subsidize green roofs to reduce stormwater runoff.
Posted inState Government
Deal to raise bar advocate pay panned as ‘a slap in the face’
Legislative leaders on Wednesday rolled out a take-it-or-leave-it proposal that some dissatisfied attorneys quickly slammed as insufficient.
Posted inHousing
Trump policies offer mixed messages on affordable housing
“There is just no way to subsidize housing development processes enough” to be affordable to the lowest income residents, said Matt Noyes of CHAPA, “without affordable rental assistance.”
Posted inOpinion
Nicotine bans are tired ‘nanny state’ politics
In an era where transparency, government accountability and personal freedoms are in peril every day, it is rather stunning that state legislators want to impose bans on tobacco and nicotine products that will forever prohibit anyone born after January 1, 2006, from being able to purchase legal adult products.
Posted inState Government
Despite widespread support, ‘menstrual equity’ bill has stalled for two sessions in the House
Despite seeming widespread support and no public opposition, Massachusetts’s menstrual equity bill has stalled over two sessions in the House Ways and Means.
Posted inEnvironment
Lynn, Swampscott team up to clean Greater Boston’s dirtiest beach
A three-month pilot program is working to tackle the century-old problem of pollution at King’s Beach using ultraviolet light. The initial results have been promising, but between the high cost projected for a long-term fix and cuts to federal funding, whether the system could be permanently implemented remains to be seen.
Posted inOpinion
The arc still has time to bend
Dr. King believed in a nation that could transform from the inside out. So the choice remains as urgent now as it was then.
Posted inThe Codcast
Rebalancing broker’s fees
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith and Todd Kaplan, senior attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services, set the stage for a new law changing the way broker’s fees in Massachusetts have been handled for the past decade. Starting August 1, the balance is meant to shift away from the renters and towards landlords when the property owner insists on a broker’s services.
Posted inOpinion
The urgency of tackling health care affordability
We need to ensure our system is as strong and resilient as possible today, before federal government and market forces exert even more pressure tomorrow.
Posted inHealth
‘We are terrified’: Gateway City leaders prepare for federal cuts, changes to Medicaid
The Trump administration’s tax bill will likely hit hardest in the state’s Gateway Cities as work requirements and Medicaid eligibility checks ramp up.
Posted inOpinion
Should Massachusetts repeal its 2024 gun control law?
Gun rights advocates believe that gun ownership is essential for personal safety, individual liberty, and a free society, while gun control activists hold that widespread gun ownership leads inevitably to disorder and deadly violence on a mass scale.
Posted inMarijuana
Mass. lawmakers weigh competing bills on cannabis advertising requirements
Those in the cannabis industry are saying that the strict advertising laws on cannabis hurt their businesses while those on the other side say that the laws need to be more stringent.
Posted inGovernment
The enigma of ‘Opportunity Zones’
“Opportunity Zones” – now a permanent policy – offered major breaks to investors who pursued projects in low-income communities. But in Massachusetts and across the country, whether the program delivered much on its promise is still up for debate.
Posted inTransportation
US Customs detains 8 Red Line subway cars in Philadelphia
MBTA officials said US Customs is trying to verify CRRC, the Chinese rail car manufacturer, is complying with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
Posted inHealth Care
Insurance regulators OK steep increases, reject two as too large
Two of the largest health insurance carriers must either appeal or go back to the drawing board after state regulators on Monday rejected their proposed rate hikes as excessive.
Posted inEnergy
Could Canadian offshore wind help Mass. meet climate goals?
With federal roadblocks to clean energy, Massachusetts is eyeing Canadian offshore wind to meet climate goals and make the grid more affordable. But the switch could mean fewer local jobs and potential transmission infrastructure hurdles ahead.
Posted inOpinion
A full plate for new education commissioner Pedro Martinez
Martinez arrived with an impressive record of change in Chicago and an opportunity to tackle numerous stubborn issues that have plagued our public education system for decades.
Posted inCourts
Lawyer work stoppage crisis hits the juvenile justice system
As the bar advocate work stoppage crisis ramps up in the courts, public defenders argue say an already “untenable” problem securing counsel for young offenders is hitting a breaking point.