Seven of the 26 cities are not currently participating in the state’s pre-K implementation program. Child care providers in cities that are participating say that while it enforces a mixed-delivery approach highly valued by preschool advocates, universal access for every 4-year-old by the end of the year is a pipe dream.
Healey has called for universal pre-K in every Gateway City by the year’s end. Providers say they won’t get there.
Posted inThe Codcast
Big tech is watching
This week on the Codcast – what does online surveillance look like in 2026? CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Kade Crockford, director of technology and justice programs at the ACLU of Massachusetts. They discuss the biggest misconceptions about data privacy online, why your information is valuable and vulnerable, and legislation proposed at the state level to limit who can see and sell user data.
Posted inOpinion
The ‘Right to Read’ bill must include teacher preparation
The state Legislature appears poised to pass the “Right to Read Act” — legislation that would require school districts to adopt evidence-based literacy curricula. With more than half of students […]
Posted inEnvironment
Mass. falling short of key climate targets, with some bright spots, after one year of Trump attacks
The state’s self-assessment comes as it races to reduce its carbon pollution to 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and produce no new net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 — all while confronting a hostile federal government and an affordability crisis sweeping the state.
Posted inState Government
With auditor’s office funding on the line, DiZoglio and Legislature play nice for an hour
A day after Diana DiZoglio sued the Legislature over her stalled audit attempt, both she and lawmakers avoided the topic during a routine budget hearing.
Posted inHousing
Reluctant MBTA Communities start to buckle
The law will be before the Supreme Judicial Court next month, when the justices hear arguments in a case brought by Marshfield that claims the zoning law should be struck down as an “unfunded mandate” being imposed on communities.
Posted inOpinion
In the face of efforts to erase parts of US history, Massachusetts must take a stand
As the federal government creates gaps in the record, we can support organizations filling the voids with voices from the past and present who speak to the core values of the Declaration of Independence — and its complicated legacy.
Posted inState Government
‘It just requires people to be destitute’: Healey draws criticism over push to tighten eligibility for safety-net program
Five years after lawmakers scrapped the asset limit attached to the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program, Gov. Maura Healey wants to bring it back at a higher threshold — a move that advocates say will impose unnecessary burdens on at-risk recipients.
Posted inCourts
Healey budget boosts court funding after year of uncertainty
Judicial leaders last spring expressed pointed concern that operations and administrative costs in the Trial Courts could force the courts to trim hundreds of positions without a funding increase from the state.
Posted inState Government
Governor’s budget proposal seeks to trim environmental programs roughly 4 percent
The impact of the federal reconciliation package enacted by President Trump last year coupled with slower growth are forcing Healey to reexamine funding across the board. EEA is not immune from the shifting budget landscape.
Posted inEnvironment
Mass. climate chief missed her own deadline to calculate the cost of state’s climate commitments
Hoffer set out to put a price tag on the state’s net-zero climate commitment and develop a menu of options for how to pay for it. That price is still not yet known more than a year after the report was due.
Posted inOpinion
Applying for financial aid should be a Massachusetts high school graduation requirement
Making FAFSA completion a graduation requirement in Massachusetts isn’t about mandating college. It’s about removing barriers and expanding opportunities.
Posted inThe Codcast
Regulating insurance as health care costs surge
On the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk with Michael Caljouw, the state commissioner of insurance. They discuss new regulations for insurers, concerns about the stability and solvency of the Massachusetts health insurance system, and insurer consolidation.
Posted inOpinion
How Boston – of all places – offers lessons for the NFL on hiring diversity
Boston has learned, slowly and imperfectly, that inclusion doesn’t happen at the finish line. It comes from institutions and leaders who invest in pipelines and relationships long before that point.
Posted inBallot Questions
Rent control opponents sue to keep measure off the ballot
Four landlords who own and lease residential units in Massachusetts are the named plaintiffs in the suit seeking to kill the rent control measure. They are suing Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Secretary of State William Galvin in their official capacities.
Posted inHousing
Holyoke’s unsheltered homeless count hits new record as threats to federal aid loom
The state and federal funding landscape continues to shift while homelessness in Western Massachusetts has reached unprecedented levels in the aftermath of the pandemic. Holyoke had the highest unsheltered count in all of Hampden County this year, according to preliminary numbers.
Posted inOpinion
Gov. Healey’s budget plan is spending Massachusetts into a corner
Tax revenues are slowing, costs are rising, and the Healey administration continues to grow state government as if the bill will never come due.
Posted inEducation
From T support to school aid, surtax emerges as crutch for state budgeting
Gov. Maura Healey’s spending proposals has reopened debate about whether voters intended for the surtax on high earners to fund only new investments or anything related to transportation and education.
Posted inOpinion
As Super Bowl fever — and betting — surge, Kayshon Boutte’s story highlights a growing risk for young people
WITH THE PATRIOTS heading back to the Super Bowl this Sunday after an improbable turnaround following two straight losing seasons, excitement across New England is reaching fever pitch. But the […]