I SPENT A GOOD portion of my professional life, nearly 30 years, working hard to rescue the Charles River. When I started the job directing Charles River Watershed Association in […]
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Posted inBy The Numbers, State House News Service, Uncategorized
Survey finds low use of facial recognition tech
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS A LEGISLATIVE commission works toward recommendations to regulate government use of facial recognition technology in Massachusetts, more than 20 law enforcement agencies that submitted information […]
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Mass. rainy day fund hits highest level ever
Lots of attention has been paid to Massachusetts’ unprecedented spending, made possible by once-in-a-lifetime federal largesse to pay for COVID-19-related needs. Behind the scenes, Massachusetts has also been saving. The […]
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Mass. rainy day fund hits highest level ever
LOTS OF ATTENTION has been paid to Massachusetts’ unprecedented spending, made possible by once-in-a-lifetime federal largesse to pay for COVID-19-related needs. Behind the scenes, Massachusetts has also been saving. The […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
ARPA spending bill finally heads to Baker
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IT LOOKS A LOT DIFFERENT from the bill he proposed, but Gov. Charlie Baker finally has on his desk a version of legislation doling out billions […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Negotiators reach ARPA spending bill deal
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOUSE AND SENATE leaders said Tuesday night that they had struck a deal to spend $4 billion in American Rescue Plan Act and state tax surplus […]
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Lawmakers don’t get ARPA spending bill done
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE HOUSE AND SENATE will go into their mid-session recess without finalizing a plan to spend close to $4 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funding and […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Senate passes ARPA spending bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER WADING THROUGH hours of debate and considering hundreds of amendments, the Senate late Wednesday night unanimously approved a $3.82 billion package to steer special federal relief […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
State tax collections keep up surprising growth
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A THIRD OF THE WAY into fiscal 2022, state tax collections are trending about 20 percent ahead of the pace that led to a roughly $5 […]
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House add $174m to ARPA bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A MAJOR SPENDING bill allocating federal COVID-19 relief funds and surplus state tax revenues cleared the House on Friday evening by a vote of 159-0 after […]
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2 key hurdles face Mass. power line to Quebec
A PROPOSED power line bringing hydroelectricity from Quebec into New England via Maine faces two key hurdles in the coming months that could make or break climate change efforts in […]
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No more Band-Aids on broken public health system
WE KNOW MASSACHUSETTS has a broken local public health system because our organizations represent the thousands of health directors, board of health members, public health nurses, and other staff and […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker not worried about staff shortages due to vaccine mandate
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH LESS THAN A MONTH until his vaccination mandate for state employees takes effect, Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday he was not worried about creating staffing […]
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2 offshore wind developers submit bids
THE HEADLINES detailing the emergence of a US offshore wind supply chain in its infancy are starting to pop up in all sorts of places – a $250 million monopile […]
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SJC was right on Baker’s emergency orders
AT THIS WRITING, many Massachusetts communities are imposing new mask rules to address the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, while public and private sector leaders are debating the merits of […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker investigating vaccine passes
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IT WILL BE IMPORTANT for people to have a simple way to prove that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday as he […]
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Death at closed, rusted staircase a mystery
BOSTON UNIVERSITY professor David K. Jones was found dead on Saturday beneath a closed-off, rusted-out staircase near the MBTA’s JFK/UMass Station in Dorchester, but how he got there remains a […]
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Mayoral debate more talking points than testy
SOME WERE EXPECTING fireworks, but what we saw was more often a display of sparklers. The five major candidates for mayor of Boston squared off Wednesday night in a televised debate […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Marijuana sales averaging nearly $106m per month
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THROUGH EIGHT MONTHS of 2021, recreational marijuana retailers in Massachusetts have sold more than $140 million more in products than they did throughout the entirety of […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Boston issues temporary eviction moratorium
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LANDLORDS AND PROPERTY owners will be barred from seeking to evict tenants in Boston under a new city-level moratorium acting Mayor Kim Janey announced Tuesday afternoon. […]
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Spilka lays out vaccine mandate
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE SENATORS and Senate employees will need to show proof they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 15, a new requirement Senate President Karen Spilka […]
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In another shift, Baker favors mask mandate in schools
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE’S education commissioner is seeking authority to mandate that students ages 5 and up and staff and educators in public K-12 schools wear masks indoors […]
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Baker orders state employees to be vaccinated
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER ordered all state employees to be fully vaccinated by October 17 or face disciplinary action or dismissal, with exceptions only for those with medical disabilities or sincerely […]
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Baker backs $1b to reduce business UI costs
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE EMPLOYERS WOULD SEE their long-term obligation to replenish the state’s unemployment insurance fund cut by $1 billion under a proposal Gov. Charlie Baker made on Wednesday, […]
