CommonWealth Beacon
LightNews LightNews
cwbeacon.bsky.social
CommonWealth Beacon
@cwbeacon.bsky.social
2.3K followers 390 following 1.8K posts
Politics, ideas, & civic life in MA. CommonWealth Beacon's in-depth coverage is a primary news & information source for policymakers, civic leaders & citizens. www.commonwealthbeacon.org
Posts Replies Media Videos
cwbeacon.bsky.social
New on the Codcast: When health care access is a legal puzzle

Listen now: commonwealthbeacon.org/the-codcast/...
When health care access is a legal puzzle - CommonWealth Beacon
On the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk with Matt Selig, the executive director...
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 17, 2025 at 2:14 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
☀️ Good morning, Massachusetts! Here are today's most popular stories:

1. Suspension of maternity services at Mercy Medical Center sparks fears of permanent closure commonwealthbeacon.org/health-care/...
Suspension of maternity services at Mercy Medical Center sparks fears of permanent closure - CommonWealth Beacon
Mercy Medical Center in Springfield announced last week that it plans to temporarily halt maternity and newborn services at its Family Life Center starting December 8, sparking fears the hospital will...
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 17, 2025 at 1:36 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
☀️ Good morning, Massachusetts! Here are today's most popular stories:

1. House moves forward with bill to weaken 2030 climate goals commonwealthbeacon.org/energy/house...
House moves forward with bill to weaken 2030 climate goals  - CommonWealth Beacon
The plan reverberating around Beacon Hill, as first reported by CommonWealth Beacon last week, is sure to put lawmakers in a politically difficult position and test their willingness to defend the climate...
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 17, 2025 at 10:47 AM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
☀️ Good morning, Massachusetts! Here are today's most popular stories:

1. Suspension of maternity services at Mercy Medical Center sparks fears of permanent closure commonwealthbeacon.org/health-care/...
Suspension of maternity services at Mercy Medical Center sparks fears of permanent closure - CommonWealth Beacon
Mercy Medical Center in Springfield announced last week that it plans to temporarily halt maternity and newborn services at its Family Life Center starting December 8, sparking fears the hospital will...
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 17, 2025 at 10:31 AM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
ICYMI: Suspension of maternity services at Mercy Medical Center sparks fears of permanent closure
Suspension of maternity services at Mercy Medical Center sparks fears of permanent closure - CommonWealth Beacon
Mercy Medical Center in Springfield announced last week that it plans to temporarily halt maternity and newborn services at its Family Life Center starting December 8, sparking fears the hospital will...
buff.ly
November 16, 2025 at 2:30 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
☀️ Good morning, Massachusetts! Here are today's most popular stories:

1. New state coastal resilience plan proposes voluntary buyout program commonwealthbeacon.org/environment/...
New state coastal resilience plan proposes voluntary buyout program  - CommonWealth Beacon
The state’s final ResilientCoasts plan, unveiled on Thursday, calls for such a program to be stood up within three to five years, once a study currently underway is completed.
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 16, 2025 at 10:36 AM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
ICYMI: What if AI tells us how to vote? #OPINION
What if AI tells us how to vote? - CommonWealth Beacon
With a little coaxing, ChatGPT chose my candidates. This feels like the next disinformation front in politics.
buff.ly
November 15, 2025 at 11:05 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
HEALTH CARE: Suspension of maternity services at Mercy Medical Center sparks fears of permanent closure
Suspension of maternity services at Mercy Medical Center sparks fears of permanent closure - CommonWealth Beacon
Mercy Medical Center in Springfield announced last week that it plans to temporarily halt maternity and newborn services at its Family Life Center starting December 8, sparking fears the hospital will...
buff.ly
November 15, 2025 at 11:01 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
ICYMI: Energy industry pads key lawmaker’s campaign coffers as major bill advances
Energy industry pads key lawmaker’s campaign coffers as major bill advances  - CommonWealth Beacon
Cusack's legislation would lower the amount of renewable energy the utilities would be required to purchase and cut the state’s energy efficiency initiative, which is funded through the utilities’...
buff.ly
November 15, 2025 at 9:59 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
New in OPINION: House climate bill is a big step backward

commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/hous...
House climate bill is a big step backward   - CommonWealth Beacon
At a moment when President Trump is dismantling federal climate policy, this bill would do the work for him. It would abandon our 2030 emissions targets, gut our most effective programs, and lock Massachusetts...
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 15, 2025 at 9:02 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
ICYMI: DiZoglio’s effort to audit the Legislature remains stalled. So she wants voters to change the law, again.
DiZoglio’s effort to audit the Legislature remains stalled. So she wants voters to change the law, again. - CommonWealth Beacon
The nascent ballot question campaign seeking to subject the Legislature and the governor’s office to the public records law has a new leader: Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who views the measure as a way to...
buff.ly
November 15, 2025 at 8:02 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
ICYMI: Report: Affordability gap grows for those seeking starter homes
Report: Affordability gap grows for those seeking starter homes - CommonWealth Beacon
Home prices and rents have flattened in 2025 but are still “historically” high, according to a report released by The Boston Foundation and Boston Indicators.
buff.ly
November 15, 2025 at 7:11 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
OPINION: With a little coaxing, ChatGPT chose my candidates. This feels like the next disinformation front in politics.
What if AI tells us how to vote? - CommonWealth Beacon
With a little coaxing, ChatGPT chose my candidates. This feels like the next disinformation front in politics.
buff.ly
November 15, 2025 at 4:41 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
ICYMI: Massachusetts EV charging plans continue to take hit
Massachusetts EV charging plans continue to take hit  - CommonWealth Beacon
The delays underscore the challenges facing the state in cutting pollution from the transportation sector, which accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts at 37 percent.
buff.ly
November 15, 2025 at 2:28 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
ENERGY: Energy industry pads key lawmaker’s campaign coffers as major bill advances
Energy industry pads key lawmaker’s campaign coffers as major bill advances  - CommonWealth Beacon
Cusack's legislation would lower the amount of renewable energy the utilities would be required to purchase and cut the state’s energy efficiency initiative, which is funded through the utilities’...
buff.ly
November 15, 2025 at 12:37 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
☀️ Good morning, Massachusetts! Here are today's most popular stories:

1. DiZoglio’s effort to audit the Legislature remains stalled. So she wants voters to change the law, again. commonwealthbeacon.org/politics/pub...
DiZoglio’s effort to audit the Legislature remains stalled. So she wants voters to change the law, again. - CommonWealth Beacon
The nascent ballot question campaign seeking to subject the Legislature and the governor’s office to the public records law has a new leader: Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who views the measure as a way to...
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 15, 2025 at 10:47 AM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
ICYMI: Are the 2030 Massachusetts emissions mandates out of reach? #OPINION
Are the 2030 Massachusetts emissions mandates out of reach?  - CommonWealth Beacon
Massachusetts isn’t the only progressive state reassessing this challenge. States like New York and Vermont have also taken a hard look at their emissions mandates in light of clean energy shortfalls.
buff.ly
November 15, 2025 at 1:41 AM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
GOVERNMENT: DiZoglio’s effort to audit the Legislature remains stalled. So she wants voters to change the law, again.
DiZoglio’s effort to audit the Legislature remains stalled. So she wants voters to change the law, again. - CommonWealth Beacon
The nascent ballot question campaign seeking to subject the Legislature and the governor’s office to the public records law has a new leader: Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who views the measure as a way to...
buff.ly
November 14, 2025 at 11:02 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
ICYMI: Sweeping energy bill to weaken 2030 climate goals clears key House committee
Sweeping energy bill to weaken 2030 climate goals clears key House committee   - CommonWealth Beacon
The measure is ushering in an unexpected — and messy — debate over the state’s overall policy push to meet its 2030 climate commitments as Gov. Maura Healey’s energy affordability package filed...
buff.ly
November 14, 2025 at 10:28 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
ICYMI: State council approves Leicester hospital, nursing home sale
State council approves Leicester hospital, nursing home sale - CommonWealth Beacon
By a 10-2 vote, the council backed the $9 million transfer of Vibra Hospital of Western Massachusetts and the Meadows nursing home in Leicester, along with the property they occupy.
buff.ly
November 14, 2025 at 10:02 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
ICYMI: ‘Potential devastation’: At health industry’s annual checkup, federal changes shift the diagnosis from bad to worse
‘Potential devastation’: At health industry’s annual checkup, federal changes shift the diagnosis from bad to worse - CommonWealth Beacon
It’s been nine months since a top senator warned that the state’s health care system is “falling apart,” and the slew of federal policy changes since then have only made the outlook darker —...
buff.ly
November 14, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Reposted by CommonWealth Beacon
chrisoates.bsky.social
My piece on the next big threat to American democracy was published yesterday by @cwbeacon.bsky.social

Fingers crossed I’m being a Chicken Little but I don’t think I am

commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/what...
What if AI tells us how to vote? - CommonWealth Beacon
With a little coaxing, ChatGPT chose my candidates. This feels like the next disinformation front in politics.
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:16 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
HOUSING: Report: Affordability gap grows for those seeking starter homes
Report: Affordability gap grows for those seeking starter homes - CommonWealth Beacon
Home prices and rents have flattened in 2025 but are still “historically” high, according to a report released by The Boston Foundation and Boston Indicators.
buff.ly
November 14, 2025 at 4:41 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
NEW: Suspension of maternity services at Mercy Medical Center sparks fears of permanent closure

commonwealthbeacon.org/health-care/...
Suspension of maternity services at Mercy Medical Center sparks fears of permanent closure - CommonWealth Beacon
Mercy Medical Center in Springfield announced last week that it plans to temporarily halt maternity and newborn services at its Family Life Center starting December 8, sparking fears the hospital will...
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:29 PM
cwbeacon.bsky.social
ENERGY: Massachusetts EV charging plans continue to take hit
Massachusetts EV charging plans continue to take hit  - CommonWealth Beacon
The delays underscore the challenges facing the state in cutting pollution from the transportation sector, which accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts at 37 percent.
buff.ly
November 14, 2025 at 12:37 PM