The Supreme Judicial Court hears a challenge to a Brookline law that restricts access to smoking products by birth date rather than age. By siding with Brookline, the SJC could boost anti-smoking efforts.
Health
Posted inOpinion
A victory for toxic-free communities and cancer-free childhoods
After nearly 45 years, the US Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to ban trichloroethylene (TCE), the chemical linked to a cluster of childhood cancers in Woburn.
Posted inHealth Care
Senate passes menstrual period equity billÂ
IN A STEP toward menstrual equity, the Senate unanimously passed a bill on Wednesday that would make disposable menstrual products available at no cost in prisons, homeless shelters, and public schools. […]
Posted inOpinion
Follow the sun, push for permanent Standard Time
ON NOVEMBERÂ 5, residents of Massachusetts and most other states will return to a behavior that offers them better health outcomes, better sleep, better school performance, and increased workplace safety […]
Posted inHealth, Media
Campbell leads legal challenge to Meta’s Facebook, Instagram
ATTORNEY GENERAL Andrea Campbell filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Meta Platforms, alleging that the company’s Facebook and Instagram platforms violated Massachusetts consumer protection laws by knowingly utilizing methods to hook […]
Posted inOpinion
Advice from 2 mothers whose children died from meningitis
AS MOTHERS who have both lost a child, we often say we’re in a club that we want no one else to ever join. We started our individual foundations and […]
Posted inCourts, Education, Health, Health Care
Court says social worker, school district not liable in student suicideÂ
IF SOMETHING IS going wrong in a child’s life – slipping grades, anxiety, depression, injury, or worse – their school community can see warning signs that may not always show […]
Posted inEducation
Board approves first updated sex ed standards in decades
IT IS, LITERALLY, not your father’s — or mother’s — sex ed standards. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted unanimously on Tuesday to update the curriculum framework for […]
Posted inHealth
A food co-op returns to Boston
IT’S BEEN A LONG and winding 11-year road for the Dorchester Food Co-op, which will be opening its doors to the public this month. It marks the return of community […]
Posted inOpinion
A sweep through Mass. and Cass will do irreparable harm
AS A LICENSED clinical social worker who has conducted outreach at Mass. and Cass and worked in the city-run men’s shelter on Atkinson Street, I am disappointed in Mayor Wu’s […]
Posted inPolitics
Is Massachusetts becoming the state of emergency?Â
IN GOVERNMENT, as in life, what gets the most attention is often a matter of priorities. It’s hard to focus on too much at once, so the most important things […]
Posted inHealth, State Government, State House News Service
State Police union claims victory over ‘tyranny’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE PRESIDENT of the State Police union took a victory lap on Monday after an arbitrator ruled in favor of seven troopers who had remained on […]
Posted inOpinion
Drugs extending my life, but Boston institute disagrees
WHEN I WAS diagnosed 6 years ago with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis—ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease as most people know it—it was a shock to my system, both figuratively and literally. […]
Posted inHealth, Health Care, Opinion
House budget plan would make Mass. health care more affordable
MASSACHUSETTS’ HEALTH CARE is the best in the nation, yet care is still out of reach for too many residents. From doctors visits to life-saving medications, too many people can’t access […]
Posted inOpinion
Looking at 911 mental health calls in a new way
A SPOUSE, A SISTER, or a brother suffers an acute mental health crisis. Family members call 911 as a last resort. A Boston Globe analysis reports that these calls—there are a […]
Posted inOpinion
Incorporate mental health education into phys ed curriculum
GROWING UP IN MASSACHUSETTS, I witnessed the devastating impact of mental illness on individuals, families, and communities. After the death of a close friend to suicide, I sought to advocate […]
Posted inEducation
State moves to bring sex education out of the ‘90s
MASSACHUSETTS’ SEXUAL HEALTH curriculum remains stuck, at least on paper, in the Wild West educational landscape of 1999. But after some 24 years, and with more than a decade of […]
Posted inHealth, Health Care, State House News Service
Healey gives life science firms $24.4m in tax breaks
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. MAURA HEALEY and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center announced $24.4 million in tax incentive awards Tuesday that they expect will help 43 life sciences companies […]
Posted inEnvironment
Proposed Cape Cod machine gun range draws fire
CAPE COD may be known for ocean breezes, waterbirds, and maybe some raucous seaside vacationers rolling through. But along one stretch, that could include the sound of more than a […]
Posted inTransportation
Barriers going up on bridge to prevent suicide jumps
THE FRENCH KING Bridge spans a pastoral stretch of the Connecticut River valley between the tiny towns of Gill and Erving along Route 2 in western Massachusetts. Since its construction […]
Posted inHealth, State House News Service
Poll: Abortion restrictions affect college decisions in Northeast
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE COMPETITION among colleges for students is intensifying, and state laws banning abortion are among the new considerations for students and families. A recent poll of […]
Posted inHealth, Health Care, Opinion
Mass. can do a better job on sexual and relationship education
MASSACHUSETTS TEENS deserve to live healthy lives free from violence, but our public schools are failing them. As pediatricians, we see how the inadequacy of sex and relationship education in […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Juul to pay Mass. $41 million in multi-state settlement
MASSACHUSETTS WILL RECEIVE $41 million as part of a $462 million settlement between e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. and six states plus the District of Columbia for the company’s role […]
Posted inHealth
Bringing the abortion pill litigation into focus
Late Friday afternoon, two whiplash-inducing rulings out of Texas and Washington State threw the status of a commonly used abortion medication into limbo. Here’s why these cases matter in Massachusetts […]
