STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS CANDIDATES START to shift into campaign mode for 2022, House Speaker Ronald Mariano said Monday that he intends to stick around for another term in […]
Mariano intends to run for speaker again
Posted inPolitics
Progressive group slams House for lack of professionalism, transparency
A GROUP OF PROGRESSIVE activists, including three former state representatives, released a 52-page report on Tuesday slamming state House leaders for perpetuating a structure that centralizes power in the speaker […]
Posted inPolitics
Revised map puts Fall River, New Bedford in separate districts
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FALL RIVER and New Bedford would remain in different Congressional districts under a revised map released on Monday by legislative leaders that disregarded the pressure being applied […]
Posted inEconomy
Business leader ‘confused’ by unemployment insurance revelations
THE PRESIDENT and CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce says the business community was caught off guard just like everyone else by the news that the state’s unemployment […]
Posted inEducation
Early investment in child care workforce may pay big dividends
THE STATE’S CHILD CARE system is operating below capacity due to workforce shortages. But Massachusetts isn’t alone. The shortage of qualified child care workers is a problem nationwide. In recent […]
Posted inThe Codcast
HPC, Stuart Altman moving to next level
Stuart Altman, the chair of the Health Policy Commission, is proud of what the agency has been able to do in Massachusetts to rein in health care costs, but now […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Bill would let Tompkins hold men solely for substance use treatment
SUFFOLK COUNTY SHERIFF Steven Tompkins could get permission to treat people civilly committed for substance use disorders in the Suffolk County jail, under a bill pending before the Legislature that […]
Posted inThe Download
Taking Health Policy Commission to next level
Stuart Altman, the chair of the Health Policy Commission, is proud of what the agency has been able to do in Massachusetts to rein in health care costs, but now […]
Posted inHealth Care
Taking Health Policy Commission to next level
STUART ALTMAN, the chair of the Health Policy Commission, is proud of what the agency has been able to do in Massachusetts to rein in health care costs, but now […]
Posted inOpinion
Canadians call for new era of power grid diplomacy
FORMER QUEBEC premier Robert Bourassa passed away 25 years ago last month. In his 1985 book, Power from the North, he presented a passionate, articulate, and convincing argument to pursue […]
Posted inUncategorized
Lawyer license application seeks gender, sex info
LAWYERS SEEKING a license to practice in Massachusetts are now being required to provide demographic data on themselves, including their race, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Margot Botsford, a retired […]
Posted inPolitics
After breaking barrier, Holyoke’s first Latino mayor ready to focus on the basics
One in a series on newly-elected mayors in the Commonwealth. WHEN JOSHUA GARCIA takes office on Monday, he will make history as Holyoke’s first Latino mayor. But he is less […]
Posted inOpinion
Unitil settlement proves Healey wrong
AFTER NEARLY THREE YEARS of asserting that utility basic service is always a better deal for residential consumers than retail choice, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey just proved herself spectacularly […]
Posted inOpinion
Reverse the curse: pedestrianize Storrow Drive
IMAGINE STORROW DRIVE transformed: quiet, soot-free, no longer a wall between the Charles River and the Back Bay and Boston University. Imagine streams of e-bikes, trikes, adaptive bikes, roller-bladers, scooters, […]
Posted inOpinion
Mariano’s health care bill shows promise
HOUSE SPEAKER Ron Mariano on Friday followed through on his pledge to put forward legislation that would subject expansion projects of major health care providers to more regulatory review. The bill, […]
Posted inOpinion
Schools need up-to-date data privacy law
NEARLY TWO DECADES ago, when Kate was a teacher in the Atlanta Public Schools, she kept her students’ records in manila folders, stored in a metal file cabinet. Each one […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t buy into the buy, buy, buy propaganda machine
IT SEEMS LIKE every time you turn on the radio, tune into the news, pick up the paper, anywhere you look or listen these days, you hear: “supply chain,” “panic […]
Posted inEconomy
Baker administration unsure of balance in unemployment insurance fund
A TOP AIDE to Gov. Charlie Baker said on Friday that the administration is still trying to determine the current balance in the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund. Rosalin Acosta, […]
Posted inThe Download
Sheffield statue to honor Mum Bett, 1st Mass. slave to sue for freedom
Before the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves, before Rosa Parks or Harriet Tubman, there was Mum Bett. A Black slave in the Sheffield home of Colonel John Ashley, a prominent […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Sheffield statue to honor Mum Bett, 1st Mass. slave to sue for freedom
BEFORE THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION freed the slaves, before Rosa Parks or Harriet Tubman, there was Mum Bett. A Black slave in the Sheffield home of Colonel John Ashley, a prominent Berkshire […]
Posted inEconomy
Baker urged to clear up unemployment insurance fund confusion
A SENIOR ANALYST at the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center who is following the debate over the solvency of the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund urged the Baker administration on […]
Posted inHealth Care
We owe our nation’s veterans top-notch health care
AS WE HONOR our nation’s veterans, there are important developments on the horizon regarding how and where Massachusetts’ veterans will access health care and medical services. In 2018, the Maintaining […]
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 inEconomy
Unemployment insurance deficit may have vanished
This story has been updated with a Baker administration response. THE DEFICIT in the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund, expected by some to run into billions of dollars eventually, has apparently […]