COVID LINGERED this year, but the virus remained mostly in the rear-view mirror as transportation was the topic that drove readers to CommonWealth.

Three of the most-read stories from CommonWealth, which rebranded as CommonWealth Beacon in November, related to transportation, and the top story, about a Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation study, focused on transportation and the fallout from COVID and remote work on the downtown Boston office market.

The top story, coming in at 53,000 pageviews, focused on the Massachusetts Taxpayers report arguing that urban economies are “on the precipice” due to high office vacancy rates and low public transit ridership. The rise in remote work and the poor state of the MBTA were partly to blame.

The other transportation stories covered the massive Allston I-90 project, the demographic shift in who rides the MBTA, and the expansion of commuter rail service through additional late-night departures from Boston and trains at peak periods, an adjustment meant to meet demand and unconventional work schedules.

Other stories were about legislation to open up access to menstrual products and the owners of a cannabis retail company coming up with a unique way to recycle plastic.

All of 2023’s top 10 stories, plus a pair of honorable mentions, are available below, in reverse order. 

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10. T’s commuter rail adding late night, peak service
Several lines to offer 30-40 minute headways to meet demand
By Bruce Mohl
September 11

“The MBTA’s commuter rail service operator is preparing to expand service this fall, adding late-night departures from Boston and more trains during peak periods on select lines to meet increased demand.”

9. Survey indicates dramatic demographic shift among T riders
58% of T riders now minorities, 48% low-income
By Bruce Mohl
March 23

“The number of riders taking the MBTA declined significantly during COVID, but their demographic makeup also changed, shifting far more toward minorities and people with lower incomes.”

8. Is Massachusetts becoming the state of emergency?
Boston city councilors call comes on heels of Healey declaration
By Michael Jonas
September 6

“In government, as in life, what gets the most attention is often a matter of priorities. It’s hard to focus on too much at once, so the most important things get pushed to the top of the to-do list.”

7. Avangrid agrees to pay $48m to terminate offshore wind deal
Developer expected to rebid its project at a higher price in 2024
By Bruce Mohl
July 17

“The $48 million termination payment will be paid in three installments to the utilities — $25,900,800 to Eversource, $21,619,200 to National Grid, and $480,000 to Unitil – and the money will be reimbursed to ratepayers, according to filings with the Department of Public Utilities.”

6. Tree House incentivizing recycling of cannabis plastic containers
Offers a $4 joint to those who return plastic packaging
By Bhaamati Borkhetaria
December 3

“In the heavily regulated cannabis industry, nearly every product is required to come in child-resistant packaging that is typically made of plastic. Most of that plastic is not recyclable and ends up in the trash or tossed on the ground.”

5. State braces for MassHealth dislocation
300,000 residents expected to lose health coverage
By Jennifer Smith
March 28

“When the COVID-19 pandemic emergency hit, Massachusetts hit pause on the annual process of figuring out who continues to qualify for the state’s Medicaid program for low-income and disabled residents and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).”

4. Boston, Harvard, BU negotiating I-90 Allston funding
State transportation officials optimistic on financing plan
By Bruce Mohl
April 20

The state’s “Highway Commissioner Jonathan Gulliver said the chief reason a federal grant application for the project failed to go anywhere last year was because the finance plan lacked firm funding commitments.”

3. Senate passes menstrual period equity bill
Legislation would give those in public schools, prisons, and homeless shelters access to menstrual products
By Bhaamati Borkhetaria
October 26

“I don’t say that very often for bills coming through the Legislature, but this one is simple,” said Senate President Karen Spilka after the vote. “If we truly believe in equality for women and menstruating people, then making period products accessible is something that we absolutely need to do.” 

2. New study calls WooSox stadium a bad deal for Worcester
City officials say new development is paying off loan
By Michael Jonas
May 11

“The WooSox may have hit a home run with huge attendance numbers at their new home in Worcester, but a study says the city has whiffed when it comes to shelling out public dollars to fund the team’s new stadium.”

1. Report says Boston region teetering on ‘the precipice’
Pandemic disruption heightens urgency of housing and transit fixes, it says
By Michael Jonas
September 27

“The good news is the Boston area is hardly alone in facing serious headwinds from the pandemic’s upending of work patterns and the uncertainty it’s introduced about our economic future. The bad news: simply having plenty of company in our misery does not mean we can sit back and wait to ride some broad trend that will eventually pull us out of the hole we’re in.”

A couple of other stories fell just short of the top 10, but they are worth mentioning. The first is, like the others on the list, a transportation story. But it’s also a media story, as shrapnel hit both senior officials at the MBTA and the Boston Globe. The second is an in-depth look at the separation of church and state, and what it means for cities and towns seeking to preserve historic religious sites.

Why did MassDOT hang T employees out to dry?
MBTA spokesman was told to ignore Globe’s questions
By Bruce Mohl
November 12

“It was the latest eye-catching story suggesting dysfunction at the troubled transit agency. Over the next several days, however, the newspaper published a series of corrections saying its information was incorrect about four of the people.”

Massachusetts cities and towns have spent millions restoring historic religious sites. They don’t know if it was constitutional.
History and religion at an uneasy impasse in preservation funding debates
By Jennifer Smith
August 20

“In 2018, the SJC concluded that there is no total bar on using public dollars to preserve historic religious sites, but it said funding projects to restore explicitly religious iconography – such as the stained glass windows of the Acton church – almost certainly crosses the line and should not be permitted. But it’s unclear exactly where that line is.”