“Even today as we speak we have not had funding turned back on for a number of areas,” said Gov. Maura Healey. “And that is very disruptive. It’s harmful to our state, our residents, to our businesses, and to our economy.”
Three federal grants targeting diesel fuel emissions are now unavailable to Massachusetts
Posted inHealth
Eight Massachusetts communities crack down on youth tobacco use
Nicotine-free generation policy spreads to more communities as legislators push a statewide ban for people born after the year 2005.
Posted inGovernment
The pandemic led to more access to local town meetings. Beacon Hill will decide what comes next.
If local officials weren’t livestreaming democracy before the pandemic, Massachusetts officials smoothed the path to the new paradigm by creating new provisions under the state’s Open Meeting Law.
Posted inOpinion
Ensuring equity after MCAS vote
We strongly encourage state leaders to get to work developing policies that promote academic equity and improve outcomes for all students. They must keep in mind the students who we know are the most likely to be “passed along” and receive a diploma without attaining the basic level of education that the MCAS assured.
Posted inEconomy
AG Campbell: Medical research change could ‘undermine our economy’
Attorney General Andrea Campbell and nearly two dozen of her peers sued the Trump administration and federal health care agencies Monday, alleging that they unlawfully moved to cut crucial federal dollars for research.
Posted inCourts
Is Harvard responsible for the alleged sale of body parts from its medical school morgue?
It remains still unclear if the behavior of a Harvard morgue manager who allegedly ran a multi-state human remains scheme – “ghoulish” in the words of a Supreme Judicial Court justice considering the case – means that the Ivy League school is also on the hook.
Posted inThe Codcast
Josh Kraft enters Boston mayoral race
CommonWealth Beacon editor Laura Colarusso is joined by fellow reporter Gintautas Dumcius to discuss Josh Kraft’s candidacy, Mayor Wu’s response, and top issues in this race.
Posted inOpinion
Unlocking the code to literacy for all
While much of the country is embracing the science of reading, Massachusetts is still fighting the “Reading Wars.”
Posted inPolitics
Healey plans to seek reelection in 2026
“And I feel like we’ve done all those things, and there’s a heck of a lot more to do. And so I plan to run for reelection, because there’s a lot more to do.”
Posted inOpinion
We need to confront the state’s long decline in student achievement
Massachusetts NAEP scores are down to where they were 20 years ago. The deterioration in the quality of public education in the state had been underway for nearly a decade by the time the pandemic hit.
Posted inEnvironment
Republican and Democratic lawmakers push for a statewide water conservation strategy
After a record fire and drought season in Massachusetts, legislation in the new legislative session aims to empower the state to conserve water during severe drought.
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook: The tensions and tangles over federal funding
The saying about New England’s fluid weather – wait a minute, and it’ll change – could also apply these days to the pronouncements coming out of Washington.
Posted inOpinion
Here’s how to combat Trump’s coup
As this coup unfolds, the most crucial thing people need to combat it is reliable, centralized information. Consider this an appeal to those of our elected leaders who recognize these events for what they are: We need you to develop a communications strategy with the utmost urgency.
Posted inEducation
National scores show Mass. students leading – with big asterisks
Massachusetts 4th and 8th grade students placed first in the nation in math and reading, but that doesn’t change the fact that our scores have been sliding for years.
Posted inOpinion
Small businesses should not pay for Massachusetts’s $2.1 billion unemployment insurance mistake
The real question is, will state elected officials return to their default settings by expecting job creators to shoulder the burden through higher taxes, or will they learn from past UI missteps and seek meaningful reforms?
Posted inState Government
House Dems restrict shelter eligibility in $425 million bill
Th bill adopts the administration’s recommendation around so-called presumptive eligibility by allowing the state to verify eligibility for shelter benefits during the application process.
Posted inHealth Care
Push continues for brain injury treatment coverage
Sen. Paul Feeney and Rep. Kimberly Ferguson urged survivors Tuesday to share personal stories with lawmakers to help get their brain injury treatment legislation over the finish line in the new session.