MASSACHUSETTS HAS another million-dollar winner. Donna McNulty of Billerica, a longtime employee of a small publishing and software company, is the second winner of a $1 million prize from the state’s VaxMillions lottery. According […]
Latest VaxMillions winners named
Posted inThe Download
Baker’s course on virus draws fire from left and right
When it comes to mask mandates, you can’t please everyone. Gov. Charlie Baker last week announced that he will “strongly recommend” that elementary school students wear face coverings, but he […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker’s course on virus draws fire from left and right
WHEN IT COMES to mask mandates, you can’t please everyone. Gov. Charlie Baker last week announced that he will “strongly recommend” that elementary school students wear face coverings, but he […]
Posted inOpinion
Getting 911 right for mental health emergencies
IF YOU’VE EVER called 911 for a medical crisis, you likely received the response you expected and needed. An ambulance with trained emergency medical technicians arrived to assist, with competence […]
Posted inPolitics
From gig economy to TCI, 30 ballot questions filed
PROPONENTS FILED 30 ballot questions with the attorney general’s office on Wednesday in an attempt to circumvent Beacon Hill and win approval directly from voters in 2022 for laws dealing with […]
Posted inUncategorized
Contact tracing ramping up yet again
THE STATE’S CONTACT tracing effort is ramping up again in the midst of a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. The program was scheduled to shut down in September but instead the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker order requires nursing home staff to be vaccinated
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER announced Wednesday that the state will require all nursing home and long-term care facility staff to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by October 10. The decision marks an evolution […]
Posted inThe Download
Janey invokes slavery, birtherism in rejecting vax mandates
RULES RELATED TO the ever-changing pandemic, where the light at the end of the tunnel seemed to quickly shift to a picture of dark days ahead, can be hard to […]
Posted inPolitics, Race/Racism
Janey invokes slavery, birtherism in rejecting vax mandates
RULES RELATED TO the ever-changing pandemic, where the light at the end of the tunnel seemed to quickly shift to a picture of dark days ahead, can be hard to […]
Posted inOpinion
Lessons from early days of EV charging
ELECTRIC VEHICLES are crucial to reducing carbon emissions and fighting climate change. That’s why governors from coast to coast have announced that they will ban the sale of new gas-powered […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
State pension fund achieves record gain
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FISCAL YEAR 2021 was a record year for the Massachusetts state pension fund, which closed the one-year period ending June 30 with the highest return in […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Ombudsman position at Correction Dept. still unfilled
AS THE COVID-19 pandemic spread through the prison system, lawmakers inserted an item into last year’s budget bill creating a new position of ombudsman at the Department of Correction. The ombudsman was […]
Posted inThe Download
Environmental justice designation coming under scrutiny
Environmental justice communities, marginalized areas of the state overburdened with pollution from power plants, industrial facilities, and highways, are turning out to be more commonplace in Massachusetts than you might […]
Posted inEnvironment
Environmental justice designation coming under scrutiny
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE communities, marginalized areas of the state overburdened with pollution from power plants, industrial facilities, and highways, are turning out to be more commonplace in Massachusetts than you might […]
Posted inOpinion
Students returning to campus will carry trauma
IF EVER THERE was to be a naturalistic study of the outcome of prolonged emotional arousal, social isolation, secondary trauma, and learned helplessness on human beings, it is COVID-19. Symptoms […]
Posted inUncategorized
Biden urges states to adopt eviction moratoriums
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION on Monday called on states without bans, such as Massachusetts, to put in place eviction moratoriums for at the least August and September. The state law blocking […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Home where youth worker was killed saw recent rise in assaults
THE SPRINGFIELD HOME for court-involved juveniles where youth worker James Hillman was fatally assaulted on June 30 was no stranger to violent altercations – and in fact, the number of […]
Posted inThe Codcast
Spilka defends deliberative approach on fed aid
Senate President Karen Spilka believes there is “wisdom in waiting” to spend federal COVID-19 recovery money. CommonWealth Magazine · Spilka defends deliberative approach on fed aid“We are no longer in […]
Posted inThe Download
Senate leaders cite ‘wisdom in waiting’ to spend ARPA money
Senate President Karen Spilka believes there is “wisdom in waiting” to spend federal COVID-19 recovery money. “We are no longer in the state of emergency, the major state of emergency […]
Posted inUncategorized
Senate leaders cite ‘wisdom in waiting’ to spend ARPA money
SENATE PRESIDENT Karen Spilka believes there is “wisdom in waiting” to spend federal COVID-19 recovery money. “We are no longer in the state of emergency, the major state of emergency […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins received severance agreement from Massport
SUFFOLK COUNTY District Attorney Rachael Rollins, who was nominated last week by President Biden to become the next US attorney for the District of Massachusetts, has a very strong resume, […]
Posted inOpinion
A sensible state response to the Britney Spears case
THE BRITNEY SPEARS case has called attention to what can go wrong under legal guardianship or conservatorship. For example, we cannot know exactly why it took so long to let […]
Posted inEconomy
End of eviction moratorium brings worry
ANXIETY IS HIGH among tenants, landlords, and housing advocates as the midnight Saturday expiration date for the federal eviction moratorium looms, but what the end of the tenant protection will […]
Posted inOpinion
Pasta shop rethinks its role in the community
OVER THE PAST YEAR and a half, we all have been focused on a singular mission: survival. Now, as restrictions lift and we begin to venture out, we turn to […]