A new report estimates about 40,000 adults in Greater Boston could face stricter work rules that now extend to age 65 and narrow exemptions for parents.
SNAP changes will affect an estimated 40,000 in Greater Boston
Posted inThe Codcast
After ruling on consumer protection violations, BlueHub digs in its heels
This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Elyse Cherry, CEO of BlueHub Capital, to discuss the recent court decision that BlueHub violated consumer protection statutes around lending. Where does the case go next, and why did lawmakers push for new rules tailored to BlueHub’s controversial lending practices?
Posted inOpinion
‘Junk fees’ unfairly rob consumers. New regulations banning them go into effect today.
Americans spend tens of billions of dollars on hidden or surprise “junk fees” that deceptively raise costs beyond advertised prices.
Posted inOpinion
Trump rejects data he doesn’t like. Boston faces troubling facts head-on to craft solutions to problems.
In an era when facts are contested and expertise is under siege, it’s worth remembering that data not only informs policy—it can transform lives.
Posted inHousing
Over 10 years in the making: Fitchburg cuts the ribbon on affordable housing project for artists
The city of Fitchburg has finally cut the ribbon on a nearly 13-year affordable housing project for artists. The post-industrial era city that suffered from the long-term decline of manufacturing has embraced arts and culture as a way to restore its standing as a vibrant hub of North-Central Massachusetts.
Posted inOpinion
It’s time to open up our notoriously opaque Legislature
This isn’t about ideology. It’s about the process. It’s about democracy. And right now, Massachusetts residents — Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike — are being cheated.
Posted inState Government
Mass. could join states that ban concealed license plates
Motorists would be banned from installing tinted license plate covers on their cars that distort or block key information under a bill that secured initial approval in the House this week.
Posted inOpinion
Yes, the MBTA operating budget has increased significantly – and that’s a good thing
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 troubling about this.
Posted inCourts
Flexible financing or illegal reverse mortgage? Court allows suit over home equity investments to move forward
Though states including Massachusetts are considering possible rules for this novel product, which exchanges a lump sum for a share in home equity, HEI companies operate largely without regulation.
Posted inOpinion
Massachusetts can’t afford to overlook the power of its Hispanic/Latino workforce
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 Commonwealth’s economic resilience.
Posted inMarijuana
Back for another term: Bruce Stebbins on his reappointment to the cannabis commission and his vision for the coming five years
“We continue to be a place that people want to come and work,” said Bruce Stebbins, acting chair of the Cannabis Control Commission in a Q&A about his reappointment to the board.
Posted inThe Codcast
Restoring blighted properties is easier said than done in Western Mass.
This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon editor Laura Colarusso sits down with Gateway Cities reporter Hallie Claflin to talk about her recent reporting in Holyoke – where city leaders and housing developers have struggled to restore vacant mills and blighted industrial buildings.
Posted inOpinion
Without a watchdog, T operating costs spiral
But making T finances more sustainable by bringing them in line with other large urban transit agencies takes more than just capital improvements. It will require legislative leaders and Gov. Healey to reinstate and empower an entity like the Fiscal and Management Control Board to explicitly focus on operating cost control.
Posted inEnergy
Cuts to federal solar tax credits send Mass. farmers ‘scrambling’
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 farmland in production.
Posted inHousing
The new Seaport District? Restoration of Lynn’s waterfront has developers closing in on city’s South Harbor
The waterfront is one of Lynn’s major attractions and has been a key part of the city’s ongoing growth and economic revitalization plans. But affordable housing advocates have raised concerns about the kind of development that Harbor Park has attracted – comparing the South Harbor to Boston’s wealthy Seaport District.
Posted inEnvironment
“They’re in everything:” Massachusetts lawmakers explore solutions to forever chemicals
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, at least 45% of the nation’s tap drinking water is estimated to have one or more types of PFAS. State data show that at least 171 public water systems in 96 cities in Massachusetts have contaminated water that exceeds the state’s limit.
Posted inEconomy
Tax change lifts plans for “hyperscale” data center campus in Westfield
The increasingly digital world — in which people and businesses are constantly searching the Internet, turning to AI for help, or storing information in the cloud — has led to a growing need for data centers to support online activity.
Posted inOpinion
At a moment of crisis, Boston’s top two public media leaders argue that building community is the way forward. They’re right.
Boston’s two leading public media executives say that rebuilding trust and community are the keys to survival in the face of the loss of $1.1 billion in federal funds for public broadcasting over the next two years.
Posted inHousing
Rent control measure triggers ballot eligibility debate
The months ahead could feature court battles, a hefty signature-gathering effort and a bruising campaign to sway voters.
Posted inOpinion
The Fair Share Amendment is delivering
Nearly three years after its passage, it’s becoming clear that the millionaires tax has been a total success, and an incredible benefit for our state’s businesses.
Posted inOpinion
Legacy admissions must go
Some argue that the practice builds alumni tradition and a culture of financial giving, but it remains an affront to equity in education.
Posted inEnergy
Massachusetts signals new gas customers may soon have to pay full hookup costs
Line extension allowances – which allow gas companies to charge the cost of hooking up new customers to existing ones – may be on their way out in Massachusetts.
Posted inOpinion
Don’t let public access TV go dark
In communities across the Commonwealth, these stations have kept the lights on in meeting halls and school auditoriums, ensuring that local democracy happens in the open.