CAN A MASSIVE federal effort to bolster national security in the semiconductor sector also boost the tech economy in the Northeast? That’s the idea behind a sprawling, multistate partnership of 85 […]
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 inArts and Culture
In end of era, Bay State Banner sold
BIG NEWS FROM the world of local news in Boston: After almost 60 years at the helm, Mel Miller has decided it’s time for a changing of the guard at […]
Posted inEducation
Congressional support for teacher strikes at odds with state leadership
STRIKING TEACHERS IN Massachusetts have had strong support from some of the state’s heaviest political hitters. US Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey have offered full-throated endorsements of the strikes, with […]
Posted inEducation
Researcher warns of ‘fiscal cliff’ for US school districts
SCHOOL SYSTEMS HAVE been awash in millions of dollars of federal aid meant to cope with the impact of the COVID pandemic, but the gravy train will quickly turn into […]
Posted inGovernment, Housing, News Analysis
Wu’s rent control plan takes hits from both sides
WITH YESTERDAY’S FILING of a home-rule petition with the City Council to impose rent restrictions in Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu followed through on a cornerstone promise of her 2021 campaign. Now […]
Posted inEducation
Debating vocational school admissions policies
IN THE END, it comes down to a question of how to allocate a scarce public resource when the demand exceeds the supply. In this case, the scarce resource is […]
Posted inHealth, Health Care
Health care systems pricier, but not necessarily better
IT’S BEEN A common claim that integrating health care services into a consolidated system would yield better outcomes for patients and be able deliver that care more efficiently at lower […]
Posted inEconomy
Michelle Wu is ready to remake the system for remaking Boston
LOOKED AT ONE WAY, Michelle Wu concedes, it’s pretty eye-glazing stuff. “I bet if you ask most residents around the city, what are you worried about most, I don’t know […]
Posted inEducation
Vocational school admissions debate at center of New Bedford stand-off
CRITICS OF VOCATIONAL school admissions in the state are now literally making a federal case of the issue with yesterday’s filing of a civil rights complaint with the US Department […]
Posted inEducation
Advocates file federal civil rights complaint over vocational school admission policies
MORE THAN FIVE YEARS after sounding the alarm over admission policies at the state’s vocational high schools that they say are locking out students who would benefit most from hands-on […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Will Reidy be different as Healey’s public safety chief?
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM advocates may have been looking to the arrival of a new Democratic governor on Beacon Hill to turn the page on differences they had with the Baker […]
Posted inEconomy
Could Boston face an ‘urban doom loop’?
AT FIRST, the emptying out of downtown Boston office buildings looked like a seismic, but temporary, reaction to a once-in-a-hundred-year pandemic. Once we got a handle on the mysterious new […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Advocates blocked from having lawyers at police meeting about missing East Boston woman
A FURTHER EXAMPLE of the disparate treatment by law enforcement of cases involving victims of color and White people, or an innocent misunderstanding in the heat of the moment? Those […]
Posted inEducation
On education reform, Tom Birmingham stuck to his guns
EDUCATION REFORM ISSUES, and where a public official stands on them, have long defied easy categorization using the conventional yardstick of more liberal or more conservative positioning. That was on […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Ashmont Grill offered a healthy serving of community-building
IT HAS BEEN, to borrow the hackneyed line from a made-up Boston bar, a real-life place where everybody knows your name. For 18 years, the Ashmont Grill has been the […]
Posted inEducation
Summer jobs for youth pay off
WHEN THE TOPIC of the achievement gap comes up, the conversation invariably veers to all the out-of-school factors facing low-income students and students of color that are correlated with poorer […]
Posted inPolitics
Citing increasingly toxic climate, Michelle Wu turns away from Twitter
MICHELLE WU IS hitting the brakes on the wutrain. Wu, who has made regular Twitter engagement on her @wutrain account a hallmark of her millennial mayoralty and political brand, said […]
Posted inEducation
Poll shows parents not grasping scope of learning losses
MOST MASSACHUSETTS PARENTS of K-12 students think their child’s academic performance is at or above grade level – despite statewide data showing that’s not the case. That stands out as […]
Posted inCourts
SJC rejects Galvin interpretation in DiMasi lobbying case
THE LAW MEANS what it says. That’s the gist of a Supreme Judicial Court ruling Thursday that a law barring anyone convicted of a set of state corruption charges from working […]
Posted inEconomy, State Government, Technology
Healey names cabinet secretaries for economic development, technology
ONE DAY BEFORE she is slated to be sworn in as governor, Maura Healey continued to fill out her cabinet roster, naming a business veteran to helm economic development and […]
Posted inEducation
State ed board members rip slow pace of learning recovery targets
WITH SCHOOLS ACROSS the state grappling to address the learning loss tied to pandemic-related school closures and disruptions, the state education department is working to set goals for student achievement […]
Posted inPolitics
Companies are talking up politics – but is it mostly hot air?
TALK OF POLITICS seems to be everywhere these days. It fills our social media feeds and comes up frequently at gatherings with friends and family. It is also increasingly present […]
Posted inHealth Care
CommonWealth commentary pieces in 2022 poked at conventional wisdom and those in power
WE’RE EAGER TO feature thought-provoking commentary pieces in CommonWealth, which has become one of the state’s leading outlets for vigorous debate and discussion of important issues facing Massachusetts. Looking back, […]
Posted inEducation
For Southbridge schools, a long slog with some glimmers of hope
IS HE BUILDING a sand castle or something closer to a medieval castle, with a sturdy foundation that can stand for years? That’s how Jeffrey Villar framed the challenge of […]