MASSACHUSETTS IS ROLLING out a new system that will allow survivors of sexual assault to track online the processing of evidence collected from them at hospitals following an assault. A survivor will now be able to see if their so-called rape kit has been sent from a hospital to a police agency to a crime […]
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 inDrug Addiction
Suit says civilly committed man denied medical care
VERNON FERREIRA, JR. was 27 years old with a baby on the way when he decided it was time to finally kick the drug addiction that had plagued him for years. Ferreira was living with his father at his grandfather’s house in Carver, working with his dad in construction, and fixing and selling cars. “He […]
Posted inUncategorized
Bill would help vets get medical pot
AMID NEW RESEARCH on how veterans are using cannabis to treat pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, a Republican representative from Bellingham is pushing legislation that would make it easier for vets to access medical marijuana. The bill, H.4274, sponsored by Republican Rep. Michael Soter, would let someone buy medical marijuana based on paperwork from the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC voids medical parole regulations
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT issued a ruling Tuesday that will make it easier for Massachusetts prisoners to request medical parole, which is sometimes called compassionate release. The court held that several regulations issued by the Department of Correction dealing with medical parole are void because they are onerous and conflict with the intent of state […]
Posted inUncategorized
Ex-Fox News host joins State House battle on nondisclosure agreements
WHEN GRETCHEN CARLSON filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes in a scandal that ultimately led to his firing, she said she had no idea that her complaint would help ignite the #MeToo movement, a cultural shift that has empowered women to go public with complaints about workplace sexual harassment. […]
Posted inEducation
As expected, new ed funding helps Gateway Cities
MASSACHUSETTS’S POOREST CITIES will receive the most new money under the first year of implementation of a new education funding formula, but even wealthy communities will see their funding increase. Gov. Charlie Baker’s fiscal 2021 budget proposal, released Wednesday, offers the first look at how the Student Opportunity Act, a landmark education funding bill signed […]
Posted inUncategorized
Priority-status pot entrepreneurs feeling frustrated
MARCUS WILLIAMS is a black man who grew up and is raising his family in Dorchester. He is passionate about the genetics of cannabis and wants to grow, manufacture, and sell on the legal market. In other words, Williams is the type of entrepreneur that the state’s marijuana law seeks to entice into the legal […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker proposes all-new MBTA board
A correction has been added to this story. GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is proposing to replace the existing five-member Fiscal and Management Control Board with a new seven-member board that would include the secretary of transportation and a representative of the municipalities that contribute revenue to the T. The governor is also proposing that the new […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker proposes $1 fee per ride-hailing trip
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER wants to increase funding for the MBTA by $134.8 million in the coming fiscal year, and cover part of the cost by raising fees on ride-hailing trips from 20 cents to $1 per ride. Baker said ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft account for 100 million rides annually. “It’s very important, it’s […]