STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE PARENTING RIGHTS of a mother in a same-sex relationship extend even when the couple is unmarried and the mother has no biological connection to the children, the state’s highest court ruled Tuesday. In a decision written by Justice Barbara Lenk, the Supreme Judicial Court overturned a Middlesex County family court’s […]
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Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Uncategorized
DeLeo: Policy differences could hinder budget deal
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Wednesday said policy differences between the House and Senate loom as an even larger obstacle than a revenue shortfall to a budget accord that’s due in two weeks. Talking to reporters after a closed Democratic caucus, DeLeo said the House budget (H 4201) included close to […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
A toxic mix ignites again
Vigils and makeshift memorials will dot the country today as Americans try to reckon with the worst mass shooting in the nation’s history. But such expressions of unity and concern will mean little in the end — and will be take place again and again in coming months and years — without some coming to […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Hydro-wind combo would save customers $171m
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A NEW STUDY ON THE IMPACT large-scale hydro and wind power imports could have on the Massachusetts energy market predicts significant savings for consumers, challenging the narrative put forward by critics of Gov. Charlie Baker’s energy bill that hydropower would be a costly alternative to natural gas. The economic analysis, conducted […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Kinder Morgan pulls plug on pipeline
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CITING INADEQUATE COMMITMENTS from prospective customers, Kinder Morgan on Wednesday suspended further work and spending on its Northeast Energy Direct natural gas pipeline project, which held the possibility of helping Massachusetts and the New England to meet energy and electricity cost goals. Less than a year ago, in July 2015, the […]
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Quincy dumps GateHouse marketing bid
THE CITY OF QUINCY has told GateHouse Media, which owns the local Patriot Ledger and hundreds of other newspapers, that its bid for a city marketing contract is dead. A spokesman for Mayor Thomas Koch said the GateHouse submission didn’t meet the specified criteria, and added that it was a nonstarter anyway because of the […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Solar negotiators reach a deal
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FIVE MONTHS OF NEGOTIATIONS resulted in a deal Tuesday between House and Senate leaders to raise the cap on the amount of energy that public and private solar power generators can sell back to the grid while slashing the net metering rate that those generators get paid. The compromise would also […]
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SJC: Corporal punishment excludes foster parents
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE’S HIGHEST COURT on Monday upheld the Department of Children and Families’ 2013 decision to deny the application of potential foster parents because of their use of corporal punishment as a form of discipline in their home. Gregory Magazu and his wife Melanie had appealed a Superior Court judgment that […]
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Globe moving newsroom to 53 State St.
The BOSTON GLOBE SAID ON THURSDAY it plans to shut down its sprawling offices on Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester by the end of next year and move its news and business operations to two floors of 53 State St. downtown. The Globe is already in the midst of moving its printing and delivery operations from […]
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Baker bill empowers municipalities
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE REVIVING AN EFFORT that stalled under his predecessor, Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday proposed legislation that would give local officials control over the number of liquor licenses that can be handed out to bars and restaurants in their communities. The liquor license proposal, an economic development idea that faltered in the […]