WHEN THE LEGISLATURE passed a law banning the use of handheld cell phones while driving, a major concern voiced by lawmakers was that it would be enforced disproportionately against Black and Hispanic drivers. Lawmakers required the state to conduct an annual analysis of traffic stops to identify racial disparities. The first report resulted in mixed […]
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 inPolitics
Jay McMahon announces AG run in unusual fashion
REPUBLICAN JAY MCMAHON on Tuesday announced he was launching a second campaign for attorney general in an announcement made in unusual fashion – by the Massachusetts Republican Party. McMahon launched his campaign with a strong anti-drug platform, an opposition to COVID vaccine mandates for first responders, and a critique of the “wokeness” of state political […]
Posted inUncategorized
Defense lawyer dismisses Baker marijuana bill as ‘junk science’
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER has been pushing for legislation he says would give “law enforcement more tools to keep our roads safe from impaired drivers.” John Amabile, president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, used other words to describe the bill: “a classic use of nonscientific junk science to potentially cause a person […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Asian-American/Pacific Islander arts face unique challenges post-COVID
TWO YEARS AGO, Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy had 200 students learning martial arts in Malden and Quincy. Its performance team was hired to perform lion and dragon dances and martial arts demonstrations at festivals, weddings, and business openings. Then the pandemic hit. Wah Lum offered classes online. But for students used […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Hate crimes up slightly in Mass. in 2020
THE NUMBER of hate crimes in Massachusetts increased slightly in 2020, with a larger percentage related to racial and ethnic bias, according to a new report issued by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. In 2020, the report found, there were 385 incidents of hate crimes reported by police departments, up from […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Governor’s Council commutes sentences of two men convicted of murder
THE GOVERNOR’S COUNCIL on Wednesday voted unanimously to commute the sentences of two men convicted of first-degree murder, Thomas Koonce and William Allen, sealing the deal on the first commutations in Massachusetts for first-degree murder in 25 years. Koonce and Allen must still have a hearing before the Parole Board before they can be released […]
Posted inPolitics
Danielle Allen ends gubernatorial campaign
DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE Danielle Allen announced Tuesday that she will end her campaign for governor. Allen, a Harvard professor, entered the race in June of 2021, but struggled to gain traction, particularly after Attorney General Maura Healey jumped in in January. Allen exited as Democrats are holding their caucuses, events at which party activists […]
Posted inUncategorized
Cost of welfare benefits skyrockets during pandemic
USE OF VARIOUS welfare assistance programs skyrocketed amid the pandemic, particularly as federal unemployment benefits dried up, according to new data provided by the Department of Transitional Assistance. The higher spending is also driven by state policymakers’ decisions to increase the level of assistance that is available. Department of Transitional Assistance Commissioner Amy Kershaw said […]
Posted inHealth Care
124 mental health clinics report 640 job vacancies
LAST WEEK, a survey by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation reported that Massachusetts residents are having trouble accessing mental health care when they need it. A new survey released Tuesday by the Association for Behavioral Health Care sheds some light on why. The survey of the trade association’s members – reflecting 37 provider organizations […]
Posted inHealth Care
Friedman, Senate push transparency in pharmaceutical drug costs
MASSACHUSETTS HAS taken lots of steps to rein in runaway spending on healthcare, but one area has largely avoided state regulation: prescription drugs. “If we’re really going to have a complete picture of what affects health care costs and we are committed, which we are, to our cost growth benchmarks, we have to look at […]