THE HOUSE BUDGET proposal includes an outside section requiring the state’s commissioner of public health to launch a public information campaign promoting the availability of 12-month prescriptions for birth control. […]
House budget calls for publicizing 2017 law
Posted inArts and Culture
Tax breaks not on House budget chief’s radar
THE HOUSE’S TOP budget official said his spending plan for fiscal 2022 doesn’t address outdated or ineffective tax breaks highlighted in a recent commission report and he doesn’t plan to […]
Posted inUncategorized
House budget boosts spending, keeps fed funds in reserve
HAPPY DAYS are here again. That may not be the case for most Massachusetts residents, still in the grip of the COVID pandemic, but it appears to be the case […]
Posted inOpinion
Why racial oversamples in polling make sense
A RECENT AND SUDDEN change to polling approaches has greatly expanded what we know about public opinion here in Massachusetts. The rapid expansion of “oversampling” happened during the nationwide upheaval […]
Posted inEnvironment
Now is the time to invest in climate resilience
GOV. BAKER’S RECENT signing of a sweeping climate bill into law codifies emissions reduction targets, expands clean energy, improves the efficiency of new building stock, and uplifts environmental justice communities. […]
Posted inThe Download
Defund the police, or defang the gangs?
THE “DEFUND THE POLICE” slogan, born out of anguish and anger over police killing of unarmed black men, has existed uneasily alongside another painful reality: the predominantly black neighborhoods that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Defund the police, or defang the gangs?
The “defund the police” slogan, born out of anguish and anger over police killing of unarmed black men, has existed uneasily alongside another painful reality: the predominantly black neighborhoods that […]
Posted inEducation
State proposes sweeping change to vocational school admissions
FOUR YEARS AFTER elected officials and advocates began calling for changes to state regulations governing admission to vocational-technical high schools, Education Commissioner Jeff Riley is proposing a sweeping update to […]
Posted inOpinion
Spilka backs ‘moonshot’ to address caregiving crisis
What follows is an excerpt of Senate President Karen Spilka’s speech on Tuesday to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. I have been particularly struck by the statistics on the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Angry Somerset residents elect ally to select board
SOMERSET VOTERS, angry about noisy and dirty businesses operating out of an industrial site that was supposed to be a staging ground for the state’s offshore wind industry, elected an […]
Posted inUncategorized
What you need to know about COVID-19 variants
MASSACHUSETTS HAS some of the highest numbers of COVID-19 variants of any state in the country. Some of the variants that exist today are more contagious and may cause more […]
Posted inThe Download
Brownie bites and espresso chocolate, with a kick
If you see a red raspberry hard lozenge in distinctive red and yellow packaging, it was likely sold at a NETA marijuana store and is infused with 50 mg of […]
Posted inUncategorized
Brownie bites and espresso chocolate, with a kick
IF YOU SEE a red raspberry hard lozenge in distinctive red and yellow packaging, it was likely sold at a NETA marijuana store and is infused with 50 mg of […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Blood clots in 6 people prompt pause of Johnson & Johnson vaccinations
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FEDERAL OFFICIALS expect their recommended pause on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines will likely last “a matter of days,” the head of the US Food and […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: Scrambling for electric trains
THE MBTA’S Fiscal and Management Control Board pressed agency officials on Monday to accelerate the rollout of commuter rail trains that run on electricity instead of diesel fuel, but it […]
Posted inTransportation
T board gives boost to means-tested fares
SEVERAL MEMBERS of the MBTA’s oversight board called for a major overhaul of the transit system’s fare structure, including a much more serious look at the implementation of charging customers […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Janey says internal records on officer to be released
ACTING BOSTON Mayor Kim Janey said late Monday afternoon that she has ordered the city’s law department to review “as quickly as possible” internal affairs records related to former police officer Patrick Rose […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
City councilors call on Janey to release records on former police officer
THREE BOSTON CITY COUNCILORS on Monday called on the city’s new acting mayor and the Boston Police Department to release records of internal investigations related to former police officer Patrick […]
Posted inUncategorized
Half of Mass. adults have received first vaccine dose
MASSACHUSETTS HAS BECOME the first state of its size to give a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to at least half its adult population. According to CDC statistics, Massachusetts […]
Posted inThe Codcast
New Bedford mayor calls offshore wind ‘generational opportunity’
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell is of two minds about Vineyard Wind, which after lengthy regulatory delays seems poised to finally get underway. CommonWealth Magazine · New Bedford mayor calls […]
Posted inEducation
My students will soon all return, and I’m thrilled
ON THURSDAY, I will have a full class in my classroom for the first time in 13 months. Though I know the risk of COVID spreading in our schools is […]
Posted inThe Download
New Bedford mayor calls offshore wind ‘generational opportunity’
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell is of two minds about Vineyard Wind, which after lengthy regulatory delays seems poised to finally get underway. The mayor is excited about the potential […]
Posted inUncategorized
New Bedford mayor calls offshore wind ‘generational opportunity’
NEW BEDFORD MAYOR Jon Mitchell is of two minds about Vineyard Wind, which after lengthy regulatory delays seems poised to finally get underway. The mayor is excited about the potential […]
Posted inOpinion
MBTA needs to get on decarbonization train
MASSACHUSETTS IS ADVANCING its efforts to decarbonize by 2050, and the general consensus around the need to address climate change and the negative public health impacts of carbon emissions is […]