TAKING DIRECT AIM at Massachusetts school districts and teachers unions that have been reluctant to return to in-person instruction, state education commissioner Jeff Riley said he wants to use state education regulations to push districts to bring students back to the classroom. Riley said Tuesday that he wants to see elementary grade students back in […]
Michael Jonas
Michael Jonas works with Bruce 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.
Michael has worked in journalism in Massachusetts since the early 1980s. Before joining the CommonWealth staff in 2001, he was a contributing writer for the magazine for two years. His story on Boston youth outreach workers was selected for a PASS (Prevention for a Safer Society) Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. His CommonWealth work has also won awards from Capitol Beat for state government coverage and from the New England Newspaper & Press Association for work in several areas.
Prior to coming to CommonWealth, for 15 years Michael wrote a weekly column on local politics for the Boston Globe. Michael has also worked in broadcast journalism. In the late 1980s he was a co-producer for "The AIDS Quarterly," a national PBS series produced by WGBH-TV in Boston, and in the early 1990s, he worked as a producer for a weekly news magazine program on WHDH-TV (Ch. 7) in Boston.
Posted inPolitics
For Downing, politics are personal
ON PAPER, Ben Downing looks very much like someone who might launch a run for governor while still in his 30s, which is what the 39-year-old Democrat did earlier this month, becoming the first declared candidate in the 2022 race. His dad was a popular elected official in Pittsfield where Downing grew up, elected four […]
Posted inUncategorized
Newsroom strife at Times poses bigger questions for journalism
THE NEW YORK TIMES is increasingly beholden to the views of its left-leaning subscribers. It sounds like the sort of scorched-earth screed you might hear on Fox News — or perhaps on OAN or another right-wing outlet now that Fox’s full Trumpist credentials are in question. But the claim didn’t come from any of the […]
Posted inPolitics
Janey preparing to step into office — and history
FOR SOME, the Presidents’ Day holiday was a chance to unwind over a three-day weekend. Asked whether that was the case for her, Boston City Council president Kim Janey answered with a question of her own. “What’s a weekend?” she said. “The work doesn’t end.” Janey is likely just days away from assuming the role […]
Posted inEnvironment
State environmental official resigns over climate comments
THE STATE’S UNDERSECRETARY of environmental affairs for climate change, who has come under fire for comments made to an environmental panel last month, resigned his post Wednesday night. David Ismay, in a letter dated Wednesday to Kathleen Theoharides, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs, wrote, “It is with great regret that I submit my […]
Posted inEnvironment
Did state enviro official say anything that outlandish?
STATE ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS undersecretary David Ismay has made outrageously reckless claims, and is in serious hot water. At least if you read the Boston Herald. The paper has been pummeling Ismay — and his ultimate boss, Gov. Charlie Baker — ever since the conservative Mass. Fiscal Alliance shared a video last week of Ismay speaking […]
Posted inPolitics
Smooth sailing for Walsh in confirmation hearing
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH, a former union leader who said organized labor provided his immigrant parents a pathway into the American middle class, seemed well on his way to becoming the next US labor secretary after more than two hours of largely friendly questioning from Democratic and Republican senators during his confirmation hearing on Thursday […]
Posted inEducation
Uncertainty continues to plague school reopening debate
ONE OF THE most disturbing of the shockingly wide range of symptoms experienced by people with COVID-19 is often described as “brain fog,” a lingering inability to think clearly that can extend to difficulty tackling even the most basic tasks of daily life. But the challenge of not always being able to sort things out […]
Posted inHealth Care
In vaccine rollout, cities find themselves on the front line
IN ALL THE finger-pointing over the state’s shaky COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the criticism may have been aimed at Charlie Baker, but in Revere, the phone calls went to Brian Arrigo. Local government is where people often turn first for help, and Revere’s mayor said they have looked to him and city government throughout the pandemic. […]
Posted inPolitics
Citywide elections called barrier to minority representation
NOW IT’S EVERETT’S turn in the spotlight. The community best known these days for its massive casino is also one of a handful of Massachusetts cities that still elects all municipal officeholders entirely citywide, with no district or ward representatives on the city council or school committee. It’s a recipe for shutting out the political […]