Jennifer Smith

Reporter, CommonWealth

About Jennifer Smith

Jennifer Smith is a staff reporter at CommonWealth magazine. A California native by way of Utah, Jennifer has spent the last 12 years in Boston, covering Massachusetts news for a variety of publications. She worked breaking news in the Boston Globe’s metro section and provided courtroom coverage of the Boston Marathon trial for the international wire service Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) while completing her undergraduate journalism degree at Northeastern University in Boston. For four years, Jennifer worked as a staff writer and later news editor for the Dorchester Reporter, covering her home neighborhood and the city of Boston with a particular focus on politics and development. Her work and commentary have appeared in WBUR, GBH News, Harvard Public Health Magazine, and Politico’s Massachusetts Playbook. She has co-hosted MassINC’s Massachusetts politics and policy podcast The Horse Race since 2018, interviewing newsmakers, journalists, and elected officials across the state.

About Jennifer Smith

Jennifer Smith is a staff reporter at CommonWealth magazine. A California native by way of Utah, Jennifer has spent the last 12 years in Boston, covering Massachusetts news for a variety of publications. She worked breaking news in the Boston Globe’s metro section and provided courtroom coverage of the Boston Marathon trial for the international wire service Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) while completing her undergraduate journalism degree at Northeastern University in Boston. For four years, Jennifer worked as a staff writer and later news editor for the Dorchester Reporter, covering her home neighborhood and the city of Boston with a particular focus on politics and development. Her work and commentary have appeared in WBUR, GBH News, Harvard Public Health Magazine, and Politico’s Massachusetts Playbook. She has co-hosted MassINC’s Massachusetts politics and policy podcast The Horse Race since 2018, interviewing newsmakers, journalists, and elected officials across the state.

Stories by Jennifer Smith

State braces for MassHealth dislocation 

300,000 residents expected to lose health coverage 

Should Massachusetts legalize teachers’ strikes?

Scott and Rausch clash on whether to give green light to walkouts 

Santiago vows to ‘rebuild trust’ in veterans’ services 

Lawsuits pile up around 2020 COVID deaths and illnesses 

Mass., California moving in different directions on gig worker issue

Ruling resurrects voter law out west; battleground here is Beacon Hill

Campbell warns municipalities MBTA zoning law not optional

Attorney general says law 'requires all of us do our part'

Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse could impact Mass. affordable housing

Anxious moments as fate of Boston Private Bank subsidiary remains unclear

Online sports betting launches in Massachusetts 

Tightened regulations on advertising likely after AG’s office sounds alarms

SJC says it’s OK to be ‘rude’ at public meetings 

Even calling someone a Hitler is protected speech, court says

Wu wins two victories at Boston City Council

Rent stabilization, development reform headed to Beacon Hill

DiZoglio plans to audit the Legislature

Says historically the House, Senate have been a ‘closed-door operation’

The curious state of Massachusetts’ rent control debate

Opposing sides agree we have a problem, but disagree on how to deal with it

SJC to weigh wrongful death restrictions in cigarette suits

A question of 'irrationality' and 'unfairness' rises to the state’s high court

Administration not waiting for a ‘housing hero,’ says LG

New housing cabinet post proposed, but Driscoll says the work is already underway

State board approves controversial Worcester charter school proposal

New school plans to team with museums to provide community-based learning

A renewed push to legalize ‘medical aid in dying’

Supreme Judicial Court ruling puts issue in hands of Legislature

Team Wu pushes back on rent control alarms

Administration officials challenge real estate industry claims 

Can a housing secretary make a difference?

Healey banks on new cabinet position to help address dire shortage

Report says millions from new tax on high earners could be lost to loophole 

Couples could avoid 'millionaires tax' by filing separate returns