THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE and Senate reached an agreement on an economic development bill on Wednesday, which makes $3.79 billion in investments but strips out tax breaks that lawmakers had previously considered. In a joint statement, House Speaker Ron Mariano, Senate President Karen Spilka, House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz, and Senate Ways and Means […]
Shira Schoenberg
Shira Schoenberg is a reporter at CommonWealth magazine. Shira previously worked for more than seven years at the Springfield Republican/MassLive.com where she covered state politics and elections, covering topics as diverse as the launch of the legal marijuana industry, problems with the state's foster care system and the elections of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Gov. Charlie Baker. Shira won the Massachusetts Bar Association's 2018 award for Excellence in Legal Journalism and has had several stories win awards from the New England Newspaper and Press Association. Shira covered the 2012 New Hampshire presidential primary for the Boston Globe. Before that, she worked for the Concord (N.H.) Monitor, where she wrote about state government, City Hall and Barack Obama's 2008 New Hampshire primary campaign. Shira holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
Posted inHealth Care
Baker signs bill curbing step therapy
A PATIENT who is stable on a medication then switches insurance plans can no longer be kicked off that medication by their insurer, under a new law Gov. Charlie Baker signed Tuesday that limits the insurance practice of “step therapy.” Patient advocacy groups have been trying for years to restrict when insurers can use step […]
Posted inRace/Racism
Why are Black teens more likely to be arrested?
THE POLICE are four times more likely to physically arrest a Black teen than a White teen for a juvenile offense. But why is that? Do Black teens commit more serious offenses, are they hurt by biased policing, or both? A new report uses state court data to not only draw attention to racial disparities […]
Posted inMarijuana, State Government
Could Massachusetts become a cannabis research hub?
WITH WORLD CLASS medical facilities and universities, and a highly educated workforce, Massachusetts is a national leader in medicine, life sciences, and biotech. Could the state leverage those assets to also become a leading light of cannabis research? As President Biden pledges to explore changing federal restrictions on cannabis, some researchers and policymakers hope to […]
Posted inHousing
Suburbs stymie new housing growth
A new report by the Boston Foundation confirmed what Boston area residents already know: There’s not enough housing in Greater Boston, and the housing is too expensive. Luc Schuster, executive director of Boston Indicators, the Boston Foundation’s research center, said a big part of the problem is there are higher income suburbs, often built near […]
Posted inHealth Care
Report says there are 19,000 unfilled hospital positions in Mass.
THERE ARE AN estimated 19,000 unfilled positions in Massachusetts acute care hospitals, according to a new report by a trade association representing the hospitals. For more than a year, health care providers have been complaining of staffing shortages. There is a generally tight labor market nationwide. Hospitals have been hit particularly hard by pandemic-related […]
Posted inEducation
On target: ed reform money reaching poorer districts
THE LOW-INCOME, HEAVILY IMMIGRANT city of Chelsea is getting over $2,600 per pupil more in state education aid than it did two years ago. That translates to nearly $19 million in additional funds each year going into the district’s $118 million budget. Mary Bourque, a former Chelsea superintendent and now director of government affairs for […]
Posted inMarijuana
An opportunity to make cannabis industry more equitable
FOR YEARS, budding marijuana entrepreneurs – particularly those of color – have complained that the legal industry is dominated by Big Pot. Now is the time for those advocates to take seats at the policy-making table. The marijuana equity law Gov. Charlie Baker signed in August created a Social Equity Trust Fund, which will offer […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
LGBTQ prison abolition group split by racism accusations
THE ADVOCACY GROUP Black and Pink Massachusetts was formed to fight on behalf of some of the most marginalized and powerless people in society – gay, lesbian, and transgender people and those living with HIV who are incarcerated or were recently released from prison. For months, however, the group has been riled by allegations of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State Government
Baker issues four more pardons
AS HE PREPARES to leave office, Gov. Charlie Baker is rolling out the pardon pen. On Wednesday, Baker pardoned four people for decades-old offenses, two weeks after he issued four other pardons. Together, these are the only pardons Baker has issued since he took office in 2015. The governor also previously commuted the sentences of […]