It’s hard to escape the sense that we’re in a crisis and that the best outcome would be for egg prices to drop back to normal as soon as possible. But what if “normal” is actually part of a bigger problem?
Why we can’t think straight about the price of eggs
Posted inHousing
Faced with a housing crunch, a local move to ‘do something’
A resolution passed Wednesday is both a symbolic gesture and an earnest effort to contribute something to the housing crisis hitting the beachy southern Massachusetts region especially hard.
Posted inHousing
The urgent need for an agenda to preserve ‘naturally occurring’ affordable housing
A big driver of the housing crisis is the disappearance of “naturally occurring affordable housing — older units with rents low enough to be affordable to lower-income households, but generally with no public subsidy.
Posted inEnvironment
Massport hires first climate chief
The Massachusetts Port Authority, which owns and operates high emissions-producing Logan International Airport, has hired its first chief climate and resilience officer.
Posted inEnvironment
Betting (on) the farm
The latest data from the US Agricultural Census show more than 100,000 acres of farmland in Massachusetts have been lost since 1997. That’s an average of losing just under 15 acres of farmland a day, roughly double the rate of farmland loss nationwide.
Posted inOpinion
Filling the teacher gap
With an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 teacher vacancies in Massachusetts, I am heartened to see our elected leaders beginning to take critical steps to attract more people to the profession
Posted inTransportation
‘Trying to do more with less’: Massachusetts prepares for inflation with proposed road funding bill
A bill proposed by Gov. Maura Healey would borrow $1.5 billion over the next five years to fund reconstruction and repairs to municipally-owned roads and bridges.
Posted inEnvironment
Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s big question on climate
“It’s a transition, but we all have to be more thoughtful,” she said recently.
Posted inEducation
House leader looks to put brakes on vocational school admission changes
A top House leader is looking to upend the years-long process to adopt new admissions policies governing the state’s vocational high schools.
Posted inEducation
Higher ed board approves new guidelines for students with disabilities
A 2022 law was passed to create more higher education opportunities for students with “severe intellectual disabilities, severe autism spectrum disorders and other severe developmental disabilities.”
Posted inThe Codcast
Managed retreat: not if, but when?
CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith is joined by Kristin Uiterwyk, director of the Urban Harbors Institute at UMass Boston, and Chris Krahforst, Director of Climate Adaptation and Conservation for the town of Hull, to discuss managed retreat in Massachusetts coastal communities threatened by rising waters and shrinking sands.
Posted inOpinion
In the fight for a more sustainable future, we can’t afford to leave underserved communities behind
Since Massachusetts wants to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, we can’t afford to leave any homeowners behind in pursuing clean energy improvements.
Posted inOpinion
Should Massachusetts implement a program providing universal basic income?
The difference of opinion over UBI generally comes down to what’s valued most by either side of the argument: reducing the effects of poverty now or increasing self-sufficiency in the future.
Posted inEnvironment
FEMA quietly removes access to New England coastal erosion hazard tool
FEMA has not explained why some climate products have been hidden from view, but the New England regional director told Nantucket that it is “to ensure the alignment” of FEMA actions with Trump directives.
Posted inState Government
Opponents knock Healey’s youth mental health plan
With three state-funded youth mental health programs at risk of closing, lawmakers and providers ramped up their opposition this week to Gov. Healey’s proposed budget cuts.
Posted inOpinion
Why I’ll always remember my Parker House breakfast with Phil Johnston
Phil understood that young people aren’t just the future of the party or the nation, they’re a vital part of our present.
Posted inMarijuana
Legislators consider 8 bills to increase cap on cannabis dispensary ownership
Eight bills in this legislative session seek to increase the number of dispensaries or cannabis establishments that any one business can own, but nearly 60 cannabis industry leaders and business owners have come together to oppose the push to increase the cap.