Shira Schoenberg
CW Magazine
Boston, MA, United States
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Past articles by Shira:
Lawsuit alleges racial discrimination in tenant screening tool
TWO BLACK WOMEN from Massachusetts are at the center of what could become a landmark federal case about whether software that screens potential tenants is illegally biased against Black and Hispanic applicants. Rachael Rollins, the US attorney for Massachusetts, weighed in on the case, Louis vs. SafeRent Solutions, in a court brief this week, arguing(...) → Read More
Here’s what Baker signed, amended, and vetoed
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday took a slew of legislative actions, clearing his desk of many of the major bills that were sent to him in the final days of the legislative session. Baker signed an $11.37 billion transportation infrastructure bond bill, with some vetoes, and signed a $164 million bond bill to modernize technology(...) → Read More
Mass. tops child welfare rankings, lags in pediatric mental health
A NEW NATIONAL report ranked Massachusetts best in the country for child welfare, but buried in the report is one significant danger sign: Massachusetts is one of the worst in the country when it comes to rates of depression and anxiety among children and teenagers. According to the Annie E Casey Foundation’s 2022 Kids Count data(...) → Read More
Baker says he’s leaving state in good shape financially
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday signed into law a $52.7 billion state budget for fiscal 2023, representing an unusually high 9.3 percent growth in spending over the prior year. The high growth was fueled by tax revenues coming in higher than expected and an influx in federal COVID recovery money. The budget includes higher spending(...) → Read More
Groups seek to keep Trump off 2024 ballot due to insurrection
AMID A NATIONAL progressive campaign to keep former president Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot, should he choose to run again, Massachusetts’s top elections official says it’s not so simple – and the issue is in the US Department of Justice’s hands. The core of the discussion is the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution,(...) → Read More
Free $50 for college going unclaimed in poorer communities
IN THE TONY Boston suburb of Newton, with some of the best schools and highest high school graduation rates in the state, more than a quarter of the babies born the last two years already have college savings accounts in their names, seeded with $50 in public money from a program run by state Treasurer(...) → Read More
Homeschooling gains remain even as pandemic wanes
NORTH STAR in Sunderland offers classes, social opportunities, help designing study plans, and other opportunities for homeschooled teenagers. It started this year with 45 members and got 15 new teens mid-year. The program is now being deluged with inquiries about the fall. “A lot of teens were looking forward to going back to school in(...) → Read More
Congressional candidate Dean Tran indicted for theft
REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL candidate and former Fitchburg state senator Dean Tran was indicted Friday on charges that he stole a firearm from an elderly constituent, then misled investigators about the incident. CommonWealth first reported on the allegations in April 2020 and said the attorney general’s office and the Fitchburg police were investigating Tran over an incident(...) → Read More
Mary Skipper selected as new Boston school superintendent
HOURS AFTER SHE was selected as Boston’s next school superintendent, Mary Skipper pledged to focus on improving special education and English language instruction in the district. “That’s one out of every two students in our district,” Skipper said, referring to special education students and English language learners. “There is no greater priority that has to(...) → Read More
Andrea Campbell wants to cap gun purchases, expand assault weapons ban
DEMOCRATIC ATTORNEY general candidate Andrea Campbell will release her first in-depth policy plan on Thursday – a gun violence prevention plan that includes a mix of enforcement of current laws and advocacy for new rules. The plan involves working with lawmakers to revise the state’s assault weapons ban to cover additional guns, imposing caps on(...) → Read More
Attorney accused of bribery in seeking Medford marijuana license
SOMERVILLE ATTORNEY Sean O’Donovan was arrested Friday and charged with trying to bribe a family member of the Medford police chief to convince the chief to help a marijuana company he represented obtain a license. The marijuana company, which was not named in the indictment but which CommonWealth confirmed is Theory Wellness, has not been(...) → Read More
Hoffman’s abrupt exit at cannabis commission remains a mystery
THE CANNABIS CONTROL COMMISSION is at an inflection point, with all five of the state’s original marijuana regulators having moved on. “Today marks a significant moment for all of us as the five inaugural commissioners have now departed the CCC,” said Commissioner Ava Concepcion at the start of a virtual public commission meeting on Thursday.(...) → Read More
Nantucket voters send short-term rental regs back for more work
AFTER CONTENTIOUS months of debate, Nantucket voters at town meeting Monday night passed basic regulations for short-term rentals, but declined to take any action on dueling proposals that would have either dramatically curtailed who can offer short-term rentals or largely given the green light for them across the island. “The best way to think(...) → Read More
Lesser says ‘broad consensus’ explains sports betting voice vote
IN A HIGHLY UNUSUAL MOVE, the Massachusetts Senate on Thursday voted for a bill legalizing sports betting by voice vote – sparing individual senators the need to record their position through a roll call vote and denying constituents the opportunity to know where each senator stands. Eric Lesser, the Senate chair of the Committee on(...) → Read More
SJC case could upend franchise laws
QUESTIONS ABOUT how to classify workers have been lingering for years over industries as diverse as ride-hailing and construction. Now, add franchise convenience stores to the list. The Supreme Judicial Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case that could upend the way state labor laws apply to franchise business owners. Get the Daily Download(...) → Read More
Marijuana prices show signs of leveling out
ARE POT PRICES in Massachusetts finally dropping? Since Massachusetts allowed the first legal marijuana sales in November 2018, prices for legal cannabis have remained high. High prices are one factor cannabis consumers have cited in explaining why they continued to buy illegally, from friends or dealers. Get the Daily Download Our news roundup delivered every(...) → Read More
Add paper to the list of things in short supply
BEFORE BOSTON’S preliminary mayoral election, the city sent information about mail-in voting to every voter. For a time, the city considered doing a second mailing, but Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin, whose office coordinated the mailings, said a second mailing simply wasn’t possible. “When we went shopping for cardstock, they didn’t have enough,” Galvin(...) → Read More
Patient advocates push for curbs on ‘step therapy’
JENNA GREEN, of Mansfield, was 31, active, and running a small business when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. A neurologist prescribed a medication, but the day she scheduled an infusion, her insurance denied coverage. The insurer wanted her to try another drug first, and only if that failed to use the newer, more expensive(...) → Read More
Fearing egg shortages, Legislature updates ballot question
A HIGH-STAKES game of chicken between national interests may threaten Massachusetts’s supply of eggs and pork. The Legislature is attempting to resolve the dilemma through some Beacon Hill sausage-making, by updating a 2016 ballot question regulating the treatment of hens, calves, and pigs. The ballot question, approved by voters five years ago and set to go into(...) → Read More
Auditor Suzanne Bump chronicles dire state of infrastructure in Western Mass
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS have long bemoaned their standing in “a tale of two Commonwealths.” The urban, eastern part of the state, they say, sucks up most of the attention – and funding — on Beacon Hill, while wide swaths of Western Massachusetts, which deal with far different concerns, are often overlooked. The economic boom that(...) → Read More