The Bay State boosted its rate of timely unemployment payments in November and December, but it still ranked in the bottom three states in that span, and legislative leaders are mostly silent on the issue.
Despite improvement, Mass. unemployment system remains one of the worst in the country by some measures
Posted inOpinion
Transparency in procurement can help close the racial wealth gap
Procurement transparency may sound technical. In reality, it goes to the heart of how wealth is built—or excluded—in the Commonwealth.
Posted inCourts
Was a vote to seize Northeastern University land for conservation in ‘bad faith’?
The justices grappled with when it might be necessary for them to probe the intentions of a town meeting, in this case by digging into whether Nahant is trying to make legitimate use of eminent domain power to preserve coastal land for public use or engaged in a cynical attempt to block future development.
Posted inOpinion
Canceling citizenship ceremonies at Faneuil Hall was an affront to its history
This wasn’t just a canceled ceremony; it was the quiet erasure of a tradition that once made American citizenship visible, contested, and public.
Posted inThe Codcast
Unpacking the governor’s state budget proposal
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon senior reporter Chris Lisinski hosts Viviana Abreu-Hernandez of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center and Jim Stergios of the Pioneer Institute for a discussion about Gov. Maura Healey’s fiscal year 2027 state budget proposal.
Posted inImmigration
‘The brave people of the Twin Cities made a call’
Protestors called for the state to end all collaborations with ICE, and to take further steps to protect immigrant communities.
Posted inOpinion
The MBTA Communities law was a good start. But it won’t deliver transit-oriented development – or solve our housing shortage.
The MBTA Communities law is better understood as a leveling up exercise, or a fair-share zoning law.
Posted inEnergy
Cold weather threatens to take bite out of Healey’s energy savings bid
If consistently below-average temperatures drag deeper into the winter, the average ratepayer might still wind up with comparatively higher bills as their heating systems use more energy to warm homes.
Posted inOpinion
Proposals to remove dams unleash debate over which history to honor
Across Massachusetts, communities are confronting a centuries-old legacy that is now doing more harm than good. The preservation of an obsolete dam implicitly privileges colonial and industrial history over a river’s deeper history as living infrastructure.
Posted inHousing
AG sues towns flouting MBTA Communities law
AG Andrea Campbell is seeking a court order declaring that nine communities must create zoning districts that comply with the law and submit district compliance applications to the state housing office.
Posted inState Government
Growing health care pressure drives up spending in Healey’s annual budget
MassHealth spending would increase more than 7 percent under Gov. Maura Healey’s new state budget proposal, roughly twice as much as all other state spending in a reflection of the challenge Beacon Hill faces to control health care costs.
Posted inHousing
Researchers find MBTA housing law benefits ‘modest’ so far
According to the report, 34 municipalities have projects in the pipeline, ranging in size from two to more than 500 units.
Posted inExplainer
What Mass. can and can’t do about ICE
Even as Gov. Maura Healey took aim at ICE during her State of the Commonwealth speech last week, the bottom line is that Massachusetts officials have more power to deplore federal immigration actions than to stop them.
Posted inEconomy
Sharp decline in immigration slows Mass. population growth
Like the rest of the country, Massachusetts experienced a significant decline in immigration from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, spotlighting the significant role that foreign-born workers play in the state’s economy.
Posted inOpinion
Here’s how modernizing the licensing of physician assistants will help Mass. compete for federal dollars
MASSACHUSETTS HAS LONG benefited from its reputation as a national leader in health care policy and delivery. That leadership, however, also brings fiscal exposure. Because the Commonwealth expanded Medicaid earlier […]
Posted inEnergy
House energy chair must be removed from post over his controversial climate bill, Mass. Sierra Club says
The move kicks the already-high tension around energy issues in Massachusetts up a notch and offers somewhat of a finer point on the political fallout from Cusack’s proposal last year.
Posted inOpinion
The Massachusetts data privacy bill is a threat to small business
The legislation’s aims are laudable. But several of its proposed restrictions on data collection and use are likely to hurt small businesses — which employ nearly 45 percent of the state’s workers and are critical to our economy.
Posted inLocal Government
Everett’s new mayor inherits major development projects
Few cities have experienced the kind of growth Everett has seen in the last seven years. Now, further transformation of the city’s once-blighted Lower Broadway district will be overseen by newly elected mayor Robert Van Campen, who was inaugurated on January 5.
Posted inThe Codcast
‘No doubt it may get worse before it gets better’ — Breaking down the 2026 State of the Commonwealth.
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Chris Lisinski talk about Gov. Maura Healey’s 2026 State of the Commonwealth speech. They compare her tone and policy position to earlier years, review reactions to the speech, and look ahead at what this says about Healey’s run for reelection.
Posted inOpinion
What we’re doing to treat ADHD isn’t working. Here’s what would.
There needs to be a wholesale rethinking of our approach to ADHD, one that is guided by evidence and a better understanding of the dynamic nature of attention problems.
Posted inState Government
Healey comes out swinging against Trump in election-year address
Gov. Maura Healey’s final State of the Commonwealth before she’s up for reelection featured plenty of criticism of the Trump administration, plus hints of modest new action to rein in costs of living.
Posted inTransportation
Another MBTA deficit is on the horizon. Did the state miss its chance for a more permanent fix?
The T is once again warning of a financial shortfall on the horizon, but this time around, its push for more state funding will bump up against a tighter economic environment and a series of federal cuts affecting every corner.