The Download: State graduation requirement a muddled mess
State graduation requirement a muddled messÂ
Massachusetts students no longer have to pass 10th grade MCAS tests in English, math, and science to graduate from high school. But determining exactly what they do need to do to secure a diploma is proving to be a high-stakes test of its own for state officials.
Mass. scrambles to understand, react to fed funding freeze
The Trump administration’s move to pause trillions of dollars in federal spending triggered an avalanche of uncertainty, panic and outrage, including a lawsuit from Attorney General Andrea Campbell and several of her counterparts.
State is committed to authorizing ‘cannabis cafes’
Massachusetts was the first state to legalize cannabis retailers on the East Coast, and is poised to lead the way again in adopting regulations to allow for social consumption sites — or cannabis cafes.
Milton struggles to chart a path forward after MBTA Communities ruling
Noncompliant communities are grappling with next steps after the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the MBTA Communities Act and the state housing office issued new deadlines for previously uncooperative communities.
With DEI in the cross-hairs, higher ed cannot be reserved ‘for the smart and for the wealthy’
Several of Massachusetts’ diversity goals in higher education could face a headlong collision with President Donald Trump’s current anti-diversity and immigration actions.
Why police officers should get sabbaticals
If we take seriously the idea of sabbaticals as a valuable break from the demands of daily work life and a time to recharge before returning, rejuvenated, to that routine, there may be no group for whom the restorative power of a well-planned sabbatical makes more sense that police officers. Â
Political Notebook: The empty seat inside the State House press gallery
Is the Associated Press pulling back from coverage of the Massachusetts State House?
State accessibility panel weighs conflict between two worthy aimsÂ
At issue is a state regulation dating to 1968 aimed at promoting greater accommodation in buildings for people with disabilities.
Healey budget leans on surtax to drive up spending
Gov. Maura Healey proposed increasing state spending to more than $62 billion next fiscal year, relying on burgeoning income tax collections from the state’s wealthiest and a slew of other budget-balancing strategies in a spending plan unveiled Wednesday.
Josh Kraft would face long odds in race against Boston Mayor Michelle Wu
It’s no coincidence that no Boston mayor has lost reelection since 1949.
For Native issues in Massachusetts, mixed intentions and a mixed bag
A new report on Native American wealth gaps was released against the backdrop of a series of issues – including the redesign of the state seal and the run up to the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution – playing out across Massachusetts that affect Native citizens and their tribes.
Trump citizenship order draws quick lawsuit
President Donald Trump’s executive order attempting to redefine birthright citizenship drew an immediate lawsuit from immigrants’ rights groups, including the ACLU of Massachusetts, and another subsequent complaint from Attorney General Andrea Campbell and more than a dozen of her peers.
Clinging to the spirit of MLK on Trump’s inauguration day
In a discussion on The Codcast, Nicole Obi, president and CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, and Imari Paris Jeffries, executive director of Embrace Boston, processed the inauguration and readied for a potentially tumultuous next four years.
Reckoning with Trump’s inauguration on MLK day
CommonWealth Beacon’s Jennifer Smith is joined by Nicole Obi, president and CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, and Imari K. Paris Jeffries, executive director of Embrace Boston. They discuss how organizations dedicated to racial justice and equity are responding to the challenges of this political era.
Mass. owes feds $2.1 billion to resolve unemployment mistake
The state will pay the federal government $2.1 billion over the next decade after the Baker administration mistakenly used federal pandemic funds to cover unemployment benefits.
Getting the Boston Public Schools rightsizing right
There will be a lot of conversation about whether these particular schools should close and whether the process involved the right people at the right time. Just as important:: how closures and consolidations are implemented and what happens to students and educators in the process.
Should we limit expansion of natural gas infrastructure in Massachusetts?
The debate boils down to prioritizing tackling climate change or economic growth and energy independence.