CommonWealth Beacon

What Norway’s dominance at the Winter Olympics can teach us about youth sports American sports culture clings to the belief that early competition builds champions—that competition produces toughness, and that lowering the stakes makes kids soft. Norway offers the most compelling...

New in OPINION: What Norway’s dominance at the Winter Olympics can teach us about youth sports

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Were MBTA Communities costs unfair, or a self-imposed expense? DID THE controversial MBTA Communities housing law force towns to shell out money to devise carefully crafted multifamily zoning plans, or were any

UNCATEGORIZED: Were MBTA Communities costs unfair, or a self-imposed expense?

Were MBTA Communities costs unfair, or a self-imposed expense? DID THE controversial MBTA Communities housing law force towns to shell out money to devise carefully crafted multifamily zoning plans, or were any

NEW: Were MBTA Communities costs unfair, or a self-imposed expense?

commonwealthbeacon.org/uncategorize...

Lawmakers and DIZoglio clash again – this time over public records reform Auditor Diana DiZoglio showed up ready to fight, and some lawmakers indulged her, at a hearing about a ballot question that would subject the Legislature and governor’s office to the public records...

BALLOT QUESTIONS: Lawmakers and DIZoglio clash again – this time over public records reform

DiZoglio’s right to hire a lawyer to push audit case should be clear-cut  It’s one thing for Campbell to take lawmakers’ position in the matter and for her office to represent them; it's another for her to take the extreme view that the auditor cannot hire her...

ICYMI: DiZoglio’s right to hire a lawyer to push audit case should be clear-cut #OPINION

Lawmakers and DIZoglio clash again – this time over public records reform Auditor Diana DiZoglio showed up ready to fight, and some lawmakers indulged her, at a hearing about a ballot question that would subject the Legislature and governor’s office to the public records...

NEW: Lawmakers and DIZoglio clash again – this time over public records reform

commonwealthbeacon.org/ballot-quest...

‘You want to put me back on the street?’: Advocates brace for deep cuts to ‘Housing First’ programs One resident of 5 Franklin Street, a boxy gray building with a flat top and a long wheelchair ramp, has lost his legs and his hands. Two were paralyzed in

ICYMI: ‘You want to put me back on the street?’: Advocates brace for deep cuts to ‘Housing First’ programs

Housatonic Valley residents grapple with a PCB disposal site planned for construction this spring People and wildlife in the Housatonic River Valley have been living among PCBs since the 1930s, when GE began disposing of them improperly during the manufacture of electrical transformers.

ENVIRONMENT: Housatonic Valley residents grapple with a PCB disposal site planned for construction this spring

Housatonic Valley residents grapple with a PCB disposal site planned for construction this spring People and wildlife in the Housatonic River Valley have been living among PCBs since the 1930s, when GE began disposing of them improperly during the manufacture of electrical transformers.

NEW: Housatonic Valley residents grapple with a PCB disposal site planned for construction this spring

commonwealthbeacon.org/environment/...

Massachusetts has an elder care crisis – and it’s about to get a lot worse A dangerous demographic cliff lies just ahead: There’s been a lot of chatter about the vast demographic bulge that we call “baby boomers” passing 65; but the real news is that the oldest baby boomers...

ICYMI: Massachusetts has an elder care crisis – and it’s about to get a lot worse #OPINION

DiZoglio’s right to hire a lawyer to push audit case should be clear-cut  It’s one thing for Campbell to take lawmakers’ position in the matter and for her office to represent them; it's another for her to take the extreme view that the auditor cannot hire her...

OPINION: It’s one thing for Campbell to take lawmakers’ position in the matter and for her office to represent them; it's another for her to take the extreme view that the auditor cannot hire her own attorney.

How 'universal' is universal pre-K? This week on The Codcast, we dive into Gov. Maura Healey's "Gateway to Pre-K" agenda. By the end of 2026, her administration declared that every family of a 4-year-old in the state’s 26 Gateway Cities...

On this week's Codcast: How ‘universal’ is universal pre-K?

Listen now.

DiZoglio’s right to hire a lawyer to push audit case should be clear-cut  It’s one thing for Campbell to take lawmakers’ position in the matter and for her office to represent them; it's another for her to take the extreme view that the auditor cannot hire her...

New in OPINION: DiZoglio’s right to hire a lawyer to push audit case should be clear-cut

commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/dizo...

How 'universal' is universal pre-K? This week on The Codcast, we dive into Gov. Maura Healey's "Gateway to Pre-K" agenda. By the end of 2026, her administration declared that every family of a 4-year-old in the state’s 26 Gateway Cities...

New on the Codcast: How ‘universal’ is universal pre-K?

commonwealthbeacon.org/the-codcast/...

‘You want to put me back on the street?’: Advocates brace for deep cuts to ‘Housing First’ programs One resident of 5 Franklin Street, a boxy gray building with a flat top and a long wheelchair ramp, has lost his legs and his hands. Two were paralyzed in

HOUSING: ‘You want to put me back on the street?’: Advocates brace for deep cuts to ‘Housing First’ programs

‘You want to put me back on the street?’: Advocates brace for deep cuts to ‘Housing First’ programs One resident of 5 Franklin Street, a boxy gray building with a flat top and a long wheelchair ramp, has lost his legs and his hands. Two were paralyzed in

NEW: ‘You want to put me back on the street?’: Advocates brace for deep cuts to ‘Housing First’ programs

commonwealthbeacon.org/housing/you-...

House passes landmark energy bill with deep cuts to Mass Save, sending it to Senate The legislation reflects the larger tradeoffs around energy policy as Beacon Hill grapples with rising power demand, soaring costs, and quickly approaching climate commitments.

ICYMI: House passes landmark energy bill with deep cuts to Mass Save, sending it to Senate

Massachusetts has an elder care crisis – and it’s about to get a lot worse A dangerous demographic cliff lies just ahead: There’s been a lot of chatter about the vast demographic bulge that we call “baby boomers” passing 65; but the real news is that the oldest baby boomers...

New in OPINION: Massachusetts has an elder care crisis – and it’s about to get a lot worse

commonwealthbeacon.org/government/s...

Often at odds, Mariano and Spilka united by ballot question frustration As the Legislature prepares to review 11 ballot questions with major policymaking implications, the top two Democrats came together to complain that the process is “fraught with peril.”

ICYMI: Often at odds, Mariano and Spilka united by ballot question frustration

Behind closed doors, big decisions loom on health care affordability The rationale for closed-door talks is that it allows participants to take real risks. Without that courage, privacy becomes insulation rather than incubation.

ICYMI: Behind closed doors, big decisions loom on health care affordability #OPINION

‘Couldn’t come at a better time’: Six Gateway Cities to get economic boost in downtown districts Malden, Holyoke, Fitchburg, Chelsea, Peabody, and Lowell were selected for the latest round of support last week. Each city will receive a three-year economic development fellow who will provide on-the-ground...

NEW: ‘Couldn’t come at a better time’: Six Gateway Cities to get economic boost in downtown districts

commonwealthbeacon.org/gateway-citi...

House passes landmark energy bill with deep cuts to Mass Save, sending it to Senate The legislation reflects the larger tradeoffs around energy policy as Beacon Hill grapples with rising power demand, soaring costs, and quickly approaching climate commitments.

ENERGY: House passes landmark energy bill with deep cuts to Mass Save, sending it to Senate

House passes landmark energy bill with deep cuts to Mass Save, sending it to Senate The legislation reflects the larger tradeoffs around energy policy as Beacon Hill grapples with rising power demand, soaring costs, and quickly approaching climate commitments.

NEW: House passes landmark energy bill with deep cuts to Mass Save, sending it to Senate

commonwealthbeacon.org/energy/house...

Often at odds, Mariano and Spilka united by ballot question frustration As the Legislature prepares to review 11 ballot questions with major policymaking implications, the top two Democrats came together to complain that the process is “fraught with peril.”

BALLOT QUESTIONS: Often at odds, Mariano and Spilka united by ballot question frustration

Massachusetts is poised to shake up literacy instruction — and some educators don’t like it The Bay State is poised to enact what its supporters call some of the strongest reading legislation in the nation — and some educators worry it goes too far in imposing new standards that override teacher...

ICYMI: Massachusetts is poised to shake up literacy instruction — and some educators don’t like it

Behind closed doors, big decisions loom on health care affordability The rationale for closed-door talks is that it allows participants to take real risks. Without that courage, privacy becomes insulation rather than incubation.

OPINION: The rationale for closed-door talks is that it allows participants to take real risks. Without that courage, privacy becomes insulation rather than incubation.

House tees up sprawling energy package that would cut $1B from Mass Save The legislation thrust Beacon Hill’s Democratic supermajority into a fierce debate when an earlier version of the bill that would have weakened the state’s 2030 climate targets advanced out of...

ICYMI: House tees up sprawling energy package that would cut $1B from Mass Save

Often at odds, Mariano and Spilka united by ballot question frustration As the Legislature prepares to review 11 ballot questions with major policymaking implications, the top two Democrats came together to complain that the process is “fraught with peril.”

NEW: Often at odds, Mariano and Spilka united by ballot question frustration

commonwealthbeacon.org/politics/oft...

Behind closed doors, big decisions loom on health care affordability The rationale for closed-door talks is that it allows participants to take real risks. Without that courage, privacy becomes insulation rather than incubation.

New in OPINION: Behind closed doors, big decisions loom on health care affordability

commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/behi...

DiZoglio strikes back, but is she firing blanks? Absent extraordinary circumstances, it is not for unelected judges to decide whenand how litigation should be pursued in the name of the Commonwealth's citizens.

ICYMI: DiZoglio strikes back, but is she firing blanks? #OPINION