Joe Kriesberg
@jkriesberg.bsky.social
CEO, Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC) and Publisher of CommonWealth Beacon, a statewide civic news organization serving the people of Massachusetts.
How incoming mayor Robert Van Campen will write Everett’s next chapter commonwealthbeacon.org/politics/how...
How incoming mayor Robert Van Campen will write Everett’s next chapter - CommonWealth Beacon
In a closely watched upset, City Councilor Robert Van Campen beat DeMaria by 9 percentage points. His promise to restore trust and accountability in City Hall wasn’t hard to sell. But Van Campen has a...
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 24, 2025 at 6:25 PM
How incoming mayor Robert Van Campen will write Everett’s next chapter commonwealthbeacon.org/politics/how...
I hear from people all the time that they value CW Beacon and its original, non-partisan journalism. As we approach the end of the year, we need our readers to help us unlock matching funds so we can continue to bring this reporting to you every day. giving.classy.org/campaign/635...
Donate to CWB NewsMatch
CommonWealth Beacon Membership https://give.classy.org/campaign/591230/donate
giving.classy.org
November 22, 2025 at 4:45 PM
I hear from people all the time that they value CW Beacon and its original, non-partisan journalism. As we approach the end of the year, we need our readers to help us unlock matching funds so we can continue to bring this reporting to you every day. giving.classy.org/campaign/635...
If you believe Massachusetts needs original, non-partisan public service journalism, then please support CommonWealth Beacon. Donations of $5 or $500 or $5000 can all help us produce the news and information you need and deserve: giving.classy.org/campaign/635...
Donate to CWB NewsMatch
CommonWealth Beacon Membership https://give.classy.org/campaign/591230/donate
giving.classy.org
November 18, 2025 at 3:19 PM
If you believe Massachusetts needs original, non-partisan public service journalism, then please support CommonWealth Beacon. Donations of $5 or $500 or $5000 can all help us produce the news and information you need and deserve: giving.classy.org/campaign/635...
Half of Holyoke’s middle school students started the year at a new school. The other half were ‘left behind.’ commonwealthbeacon.org/education/ha...
Half of Holyoke’s middle school students started the year at a new school. The other half were ‘left behind.’ - CommonWealth Beacon
In 2019, Holyoke set out to build two new middle schools. But after months of heated debate, the ballot measure to fund the project was voted down by the community. Some say the outcome is a testament...
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 8, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Half of Holyoke’s middle school students started the year at a new school. The other half were ‘left behind.’ commonwealthbeacon.org/education/ha...
CommonWealth Beacon dives into an important and complex regulation that has major implications for solar adoption in Massachusetts. commonwealthbeacon.org/energy/munic...
Municipalities warn Beacon Hill they’ll need to slow down solar projects due to state limit - CommonWealth Beacon
The issue threatens to undermine Gov. Maura Healey’s “all-of-the-above” energy strategy as she seeks to thread an increasingly tighter needle to drive down costs, grow power supply, and meet climate c...
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 6, 2025 at 2:04 AM
CommonWealth Beacon dives into an important and complex regulation that has major implications for solar adoption in Massachusetts. commonwealthbeacon.org/energy/munic...
A good take by our executive editor, Michael Jonas! commonwealthbeacon.org/politics/com...
Competitive mayoral races abound, just not in Boston - CommonWealth Beacon
For the real bare-knuckle action in mayoral contests these days, you need to look outside the state’s capital city, where incumbents don’t just often face serious challenges, but lose with some regula...
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 6, 2025 at 1:55 AM
A good take by our executive editor, Michael Jonas! commonwealthbeacon.org/politics/com...
Colleges need an experiential learning revolution commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/coll...
Colleges need an experiential learning revolution - CommonWealth Beacon
We need fundamentally new models for teaching and learning, new models that need to break the monopoly of “sage on the stage” teaching and lean into an experiential learning revolution – a dramatic in...
commonwealthbeacon.org
November 3, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Colleges need an experiential learning revolution commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/coll...
Boston missed its own deadline for applying to a FEMA program. Residents are footing the bill. commonwealthbeacon.org/environment/...
Boston missed its own deadline for applying to a FEMA program. Residents are footing the bill. - CommonWealth Beacon
Across Massachusetts, more than 300 communities – including Boston – aren’t reaping the benefits of the FEMA program, known as Community Rating System. It’s led to residents in some municipalities col...
commonwealthbeacon.org
October 30, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Boston missed its own deadline for applying to a FEMA program. Residents are footing the bill. commonwealthbeacon.org/environment/...
Mass. faces grim reality of fewer international students commonwealthbeacon.org/education/ma...
Mass. faces grim reality of fewer international students - CommonWealth Beacon
Massachusetts’s schools have recruited higher proportions of international students than colleges and universities almost anywhere else because of a demographic decline and the comparatively high cost...
commonwealthbeacon.org
October 20, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Mass. faces grim reality of fewer international students commonwealthbeacon.org/education/ma...
Funding was the start – now we need to build out systems to help our immigrant workforce learn English commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/fund...
Funding was the start – now we need to build out systems to help our immigrant workforce learn English - CommonWealth Beacon
IN POLITICS, timing can be everything. When the Boston Foundation’s Latino Equity Fund released "The ROI of ESOL," documenting the economic returns of
commonwealthbeacon.org
October 15, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Funding was the start – now we need to build out systems to help our immigrant workforce learn English commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/fund...
‘Serious questions’ prompt lawmakers to hit the brakes on funding for sheriffs commonwealthbeacon.org/government/s...
‘Serious questions’ prompt lawmakers to hit the brakes on funding for sheriffs - CommonWealth Beacon
At a time of intense scrutiny on sheriffs’ offices, the Legislature moved to withhold more than $130 million Gov. Maura Healey proposed for the county law enforcement offices, in the process handing a...
commonwealthbeacon.org
October 15, 2025 at 12:36 PM
‘Serious questions’ prompt lawmakers to hit the brakes on funding for sheriffs commonwealthbeacon.org/government/s...
This year, renewable energy and batteries will make up around 93 percent of the capacity added to U.S. grids, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/b...
Renewable Energy Is Booming Despite Trump’s Efforts to Slow It
www.nytimes.com
October 14, 2025 at 5:57 PM
This year, renewable energy and batteries will make up around 93 percent of the capacity added to U.S. grids, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/b...
Two years after the closure of Leominster’s maternity unit, a region is struggling commonwealthbeacon.org/health-care/...
Two years after the closure of Leominster’s maternity unit, a region is struggling - CommonWealth Beacon
It's been two years since Clinton Hospital's maternity unit closed. The fallout of the closure paints a complicated picture in a state without maternity care deserts. But experts and advocates say rec...
commonwealthbeacon.org
September 24, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Two years after the closure of Leominster’s maternity unit, a region is struggling commonwealthbeacon.org/health-care/...
Congrats to CommonWealth Beacon's newest reporter Chris Lisinski on his first published article. He takes a look at who is spending how much to lobby our legislature. Check it out: commonwealthbeacon.org/government/s...
Beacon Hill lobbying still buoyed by health care interests - CommonWealth Beacon
New data shows that lobbying remained a lucrative industry in the first half of 2025, especially for firms that count health care companies among their clients.
commonwealthbeacon.org
September 17, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Congrats to CommonWealth Beacon's newest reporter Chris Lisinski on his first published article. He takes a look at who is spending how much to lobby our legislature. Check it out: commonwealthbeacon.org/government/s...
Report highlights persistent challenges in early child care workforce commonwealthbeacon.org/education/re...
Report highlights persistent challenges in early child care workforce - CommonWealth Beacon
Despite “fragile progress,” the Commonwealth’s early child care system continues to suffer from a workforce problem, according to a new analysis published by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Th...
commonwealthbeacon.org
September 17, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Report highlights persistent challenges in early child care workforce commonwealthbeacon.org/education/re...
New poll shows high satisfaction with health insurance in Mass., even as residents delay or skip care for cost reasons commonwealthbeacon.org/health-care/...
New poll shows high satisfaction with health insurance in Mass., even as residents delay or skip care for cost reasons - CommonWealth Beacon
New polling for CommonWealth Beacon conducted by the MassINC Polling Group paints a picture of Massachusetts residents mostly happy with their health care coverage, especially when compared with other...
commonwealthbeacon.org
September 12, 2025 at 3:16 PM
New poll shows high satisfaction with health insurance in Mass., even as residents delay or skip care for cost reasons commonwealthbeacon.org/health-care/...
Western Mass. cities working to prevent sewer overflows amid funding challenges and intensifying rain commonwealthbeacon.org/environment/...
Western Mass. cities working to prevent sewer overflows amid funding challenges and intensifying rain - CommonWealth Beacon
All three cities have made multi-million-dollar efforts in recent years to prevent sewer overflows, but as climate change continues to worsen heavy rain events, inevitable overflow events are working ...
commonwealthbeacon.org
September 11, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Western Mass. cities working to prevent sewer overflows amid funding challenges and intensifying rain commonwealthbeacon.org/environment/...
Healey holds her head above water in new poll commonwealthbeacon.org/by-the-numbe...
Healey holds her head above water in new poll - CommonWealth Beacon
Asked how they thought Healey is doing as governor, 20 percent of residents said they strongly approve of her performance, 36 percent say they somewhat approve, 15 percent somewhat disapprove, 18 perc...
commonwealthbeacon.org
September 10, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Healey holds her head above water in new poll commonwealthbeacon.org/by-the-numbe...
Blocking and tackling with Massport CEO Rich Davey commonwealthbeacon.org/the-codcast/...
Blocking and tackling with Massport CEO Rich Davey - CommonWealth Beacon
This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Rich Davey, who just finished his first year as CEO of Massport. They talk about his long history of ground transportat...
commonwealthbeacon.org
September 8, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Blocking and tackling with Massport CEO Rich Davey commonwealthbeacon.org/the-codcast/...
Red lights on the way to health care commonwealthbeacon.org/health-care/...
Red lights on the way to health care - CommonWealth Beacon
When hospitals close, communities reel. Even in well-covered Massachusetts, some regions of the state still struggle to access its nation-leading health care. And after decades of hospital consolidati...
commonwealthbeacon.org
September 5, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Red lights on the way to health care commonwealthbeacon.org/health-care/...
A mother’s plea: Fix the broken continuum of care for brain injury patients commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/a-mo...
A mother’s plea: Fix the broken continuum of care for brain injury patients - CommonWealth Beacon
As if the agony of his horrific injury weren't enough, I’ve also been forced to wage another relentless battle—this one against a cold, indifferent private health insurance industry that treats my son...
commonwealthbeacon.org
September 3, 2025 at 3:45 PM
A mother’s plea: Fix the broken continuum of care for brain injury patients commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/a-mo...
‘Junk fees’ unfairly rob consumers. New regulations banning them go into effect today. commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/junk...
‘Junk fees’ unfairly rob consumers. New regulations banning them go into effect today. - CommonWealth Beacon
Americans spend tens of billions of dollars on hidden or surprise “junk fees” that deceptively raise costs beyond advertised prices.
commonwealthbeacon.org
September 2, 2025 at 3:47 PM
‘Junk fees’ unfairly rob consumers. New regulations banning them go into effect today. commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/junk...
Yes, the MBTA operating budget has increased significantly – and that’s a good thing commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/yes-...
Yes, the MBTA operating budget has increased significantly – and that’s a good thing - CommonWealth Beacon
To provide the services we need, want, and expect from our public transit system, the T needs to do more things and hire more people and pay them competitively. There’s nothing controversial or troubl...
commonwealthbeacon.org
August 28, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Yes, the MBTA operating budget has increased significantly – and that’s a good thing commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/yes-...
Massachusetts can’t afford to overlook the power of its Hispanic/Latino workforce commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/mass...
Massachusetts can’t afford to overlook the power of its Hispanic/Latino workforce - CommonWealth Beacon
Hispanics/Latinos represent more than one in eight workers in Massachusetts, yet persistent gaps in education, workforce access, and wealth threaten to limit both Hispanic/Latino progress and the Comm...
commonwealthbeacon.org
August 28, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Massachusetts can’t afford to overlook the power of its Hispanic/Latino workforce commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/mass...
Cuts to federal solar tax credits send Mass. farmers ‘scrambling’ commonwealthbeacon.org/energy/cuts-...
Cuts to federal solar tax credits send Mass. farmers ‘scrambling’ - CommonWealth Beacon
Federal solar tax credits that once covered 30 percent of project costs are being phased out. For farmers, that can mean fewer opportunities to use agrivoltaics to offset rising costs and keep farmlan...
commonwealthbeacon.org
August 25, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Cuts to federal solar tax credits send Mass. farmers ‘scrambling’ commonwealthbeacon.org/energy/cuts-...