A FLURRY OF last-minute lawmaking left a slew of bills on Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk on Wednesday, but lawmakers denied the outgoing governor a final legislative win when they failed to agree on a bill regarding the dissemination of explicit images, which has been one of Baker’s priorities for years. Baker first filed legislation in […]
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, State Government
Baker bids farewell
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER, who often called the “blocking and tackling” of state government the centerpiece of his approach in office, on Tuesday began a two-day process of saying a public goodbye with a brief address that leaned into the prosaic details of his eight-year tenure while dispensing with the sort of sweeping oratory that was […]
Posted inMedia, State House News Service
COVID dominates CommonWealth’s 2022 most-read news stories
The COVID-19 pandemic may no longer be in its most acute stage, but its aftereffects continue to be felt in the Bay State and interest in the disease remains high. Three of this year’s most-read stories in CommonWealth related to COVID policies. The most popular story was about a recent study, which found that vaccine […]
Posted inState Government
Bump says DiZoglio is being ‘well-schooled’ on auditor’s duties
STATE AUDITOR Suzanne Bump will leave office in January after 12 years on the job. In an interview on this week’s Codcast, she reflected on her time in office and said it was simply time to move on. “I’m aging, which should come as no surprise to anyone,” the 62-year-old Bump said. “I love what […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
Berkshire County study tracks use of plea deals
AN UNPRECEDENTED look into how criminal cases get disposed of in Berkshire County reveals a trove of data, shedding a light on racial disparities, disparities based on lawyer type, and the impact of mandatory minimum sentences on plea deals, among other issues. Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington, who finishes her term in office next month, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Campuses report 901 cases of sexual misconduct
IN 2020, there were 901 reports of sexual misconduct on Massachusetts college campuses, of which two-thirds involved allegations between students, according to a new report released by the Department of Higher Education. In January 2021, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a law aimed at addressing sexual violence on college campuses. The law required campuses to provide […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Governor’s councilors seem supportive of Jubinville nomination
THE GOVERNOR’S COUNCIL on Wednesday considered one of their own – Councilor Robert Jubinville – as a nominee for a clerk magistrate’s job. The half-hour hearing was mainly a lovefest, although one councilor, Marilyn Devaney, raised concerns about the apparent conflict of interest posed by Jubinville’s nomination. Councilor Chris Iannella, who chaired the hearing, echoed the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DOC accepts sweeping settlement on mental health care for prisoners
THE MASSACHUSETTS Department of Correction will have to completely transform the mental health care it provides to inmates, under a settlement the department reached with the US Department of Justice on Tuesday. More than two years ago, the Justice Department issued a scathing report finding that the Department of Correction violated its constitutional obligations by […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker officials slammed for criminal justice reform compliance
LEADERS OF THE Legislature’s Judiciary Committee and prisoners’ advocates at a hearing Tuesday slammed the outgoing administration of Gov. Charlie Baker for failing to properly implement the 2018 criminal justice reform law and failing to answer questions about implementation. The committee requested detailed information from Baker officials and county sheriffs about how they are implementing […]
Posted inCourts, Health, Health Care
SJC rules physician-assisted suicide is illegal
THE MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTION does not protect a right to physician-assisted suicide, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Monday, leaving it up to the Legislature to decide a controversial end-of-life issue that has spawned more than a decade of impassioned debate and years of litigation. “Although we recognize the paramount importance and profound significance of all […]