WITH LESS THAN two months left to the legislative session, the House’s lead lawmaker on child welfare policy is continuing work on an omnibus bill that he says would make the Office of the Child Advocate more independent, improve educational oversight at the Department of Children and Families, and establish rights for foster parents. State […]
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, Health Care, Race/Racism
Why Black women die from childbirth twice as often as white women
WHEN NNEKA HALL was pregnant with her third child, she had a symptom of preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication, but her doctor never caught it. Hall felt her daughter hiccuping and worried something was wrong, but the doctor told her she was having a recurrence of depression because of separating from her husband. “My child […]
Posted inPolitics
Maura Healey leads money chase in statewide races
WHEN IT COMES to political fundraising this cycle, Democratic attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Maura Healey continues to far outpace absolutely everyone. Healey raised $2.3 million between January and June of 2022, while no other candidate for statewide office even exceeded $1 million. A look at political contributions for statewide races between January and June, […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Street mural artists explain their craft
ARTISTS, SAID PERCY FORTINI-WRIGHT, are “documenters” of history. “Without artists, you wouldn’t know what went on in the past,” he said. “Art is what man has created up until now…It’s the most important thing and should be kind of put on a pedestal and not looked at as like art as a profession. It should be […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Murals: An emerging form of community development
THE WALLS OF the affordable housing buildings in The Point neighborhood of Salem have been painted for as long as 15-year-old Bunny Spodick can remember. For a long time, they were painted with nasty messages and graffiti, giving the neighborhood a dim, dark feel, she said. Then El Punto Urban Art Museum started in 2017, […]
Posted inImmigration, Transportation
Baker vetoes driver’s license bill for undocumented immigrants
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Friday vetoed a bill that would have allowed immigrants without legal status to obtain a Massachusetts driver’s license, a day after the bill reached his desk. In his veto letter, Baker cited concerns about identification and about unintentionally giving non-citizens the ability to vote. “I cannot sign this legislation because it […]
Posted inHealth
State drops quarantine for close COVID contacts in schools, childcare
IN A SIGN of the continually evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Public Health on Wednesday quietly updated its guidelines for educational settings to no longer require children to quarantine if they are asymptomatic but exposed to COVID, even if they are unvaccinated. The change in guidance will affect schools, camps, and […]
Posted inState Government
Senate, Somerville eye protections for abortion, gender-affirming care
THE STATE SENATE on Wednesday adopted an amendment to the state budget protecting anyone who receives or provides gender-affirming care or abortion care against other states’ attempts to prosecute them. “Whether you like the law or not, the notion that somebody from some other state can set their values on our state is very concerning,” […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
House will vote on sexting, revenge porn bill
FIVE YEARS AFTER Gov. Charlie Baker first proposed new laws addressing sexting and revenge porn, the Legislature is prepared to consider the legislation. The House plans to vote Thursday on a bill that would address the unauthorized distribution of sexually explicit material. The bill has two major pieces. One would create a diversionary framework for […]
Posted inEnvironment
Healey sues PFAS manufacturers
ATTORNEY GENERAL Maura Healey has filed a lawsuit against 13 manufacturers of PFAS chemicals, arguing that they deceptively marketed and sold chemicals that were dangerous to the environment and to individuals’ health. She also sued two companies she alleges shielded the manufacturers’ assets through corporate transactions designed to avoid legal liability. “I am suing today […]