The Download: Push for the ‘right to read’ landing at State House
Push for the ‘right to read’ landing at State House
Just 42 percent of 3rd grade students were proficient in English on the 2024 MCAS. The numbers are far worse for student groups on the bottom end of the state’s yawning achievement gap. Only 24 percent of low-income 3rd graders are proficient in reading, and only 27 percent of Black students and 22 percent of Latinos are reading at grade level.
MBTA caught in tariff crossfire between Trump and China
The MBTA is “actively assessing the impacts — potential or otherwise — on existing and future contracts,” after the news that President Trump will hike tariffs on Chinese goods to 104 percent.
Trump is making the challenges facing nonprofits even tougher
Society expects nonprofit staff—who make up 17 percent of the Massachusetts workforce—to sacrifice wages for the opportunity to advance altruistic causes.
Former Baker deputy Mike Kennealy launches campaign for governor
A former private equity manager, who spent four years as state housing and economic development secretary under Gov. Charlie Baker, declared his candidacy for governor.
Sec. Santiago on improving veterans services
CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith is joined by Jon Santiago, Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans Services, to discuss how the now two-year-old office is progressing, advances at the Commonwealth’s Veterans Homes, how it is responding to threats from Washington, and what work he’s excited about for the future.
‘We have time to reverse this. We have time to step up’
The Trump administration has begun to pull back on key environmental protections designed to transition the country off of fossil fuels.
Our towns in Western Mass. are getting shortchanged under the reimbursement formula for state-owned land
The report “Pursuing Equitable State-Owned Land Reimbursements for Municipalities” recommends a funding floor to address systemic inequity in the PILOT formula.
Federal nutrition budget cuts will cause real pain in Western Mass.
These cuts would deepen food insecurity across Western Massachusetts and further strain our already overburdened food assistance network.
Troubled Boston nursing home could face $5 million deficit by end of year
Reviewing financial documents in court, Superior Court Judge Christopher Belezos said the future viability of the Benjamin Healthcare Center must be determined soon.
Tariffs on Canada threaten our energy future and economic growth
THE IMPOSITION OF tariffs on energy imports from Canada jeopardizes both our climate targets and the economic security of millions of residents and businesses across New England and New York. […]
Massachusetts Democrats want delegation to fight Trump. The rest of the state? Not so much.
Given that Massachusetts is one of the deepest blue states, it makes sense that it would be firmly in the vanguard of the resistance to Trump. The challenge for the state’s all-Democratic congressional delegation is that the overall Massachusetts electorate is not exactly mounting the barricades.
Super PAC aligned with Mayor Wu receives six-figure donation
AN OUTSIDE GROUP that worked to help Boston Mayor Michelle Wu elect a slate of City Council candidates two years ago has received a six-figure infusion of cash as she […]
Gov. Healey seeks $756 million for ‘time-sensitive deficiencies’
Healey’s office pitched the $190 million the bill includes for a child care financial assistance program as a way to “support Massachusetts residents at a time of rising costs.”
Kerry Healey was right: We should talk about ‘overhoused’ seniors
As a new state commission recommends policies, programs, and investments to expand the supply of housing for seniors, devising strategies to help older adults move into smaller homes should also be on their agenda.
DiZoglio misses chance to make her case by opting to tweet, not testify, on her quest to audit the Legislature
The Senate subcommittee hearing offers the auditor the opportunity to make the case that her demand of the Legislature is consistent with constitutional principles, but it seems that she has declined to take it.
In downtown Boston rezoning, let’s not repeat mistakes of the past
IN JANUARY, Boston planning officials unveiled a new zoning proposal for a large area of the city’s downtown, a proposal that would dramatically alter the size and scale of permissible […]
‘Water doesn’t know property lines’: Where Massachusetts’s climate and housing crises meet
“The state rules have to catch up with the reality of climate change,” said Matthew Fee, a Nantucket select board member. “A town road can’t be abandoned if someone’s [living] on it, but what happens when the road goes into the ocean?”