THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS Committee on Tuesday released a bill that would allocate another $55 million to expanding COVID testing sites, buying masks for schools, and doing vaccine outreach, even as Gov. […]
Charlie Baker
Posted inHealth Care
Baker urges schools to adopt new testing regime
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is urging Massachusetts schools to adopt a new COVID testing regime that relies on at-home testing once a week. Currently, the state operates a pooled testing program […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker commutes sentences of two men convicted of murder
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday commuted the sentences of two men who were convicted of murder. the first commutations the Republican governor has issued since he took office. “I believe […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Offshore wind policy fight takes center stage
A LONG-BREWING fight over state energy policy moved into the spotlight on Tuesday as key players laid out their positions in what promises to be an interesting debate over the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker, Democratic legislators clash on virus response
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER often says he and his political opponents will “agree to disagree.” That could have been the mantra of Tuesday’s oversight hearing of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker prioritizes rapid tests, buys 26m more
MASSACHUSETTS WILL GET 26 million rapid antigen tests over the next three months, which it will distribute primarily to K-12 schools and childcare facilities, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday. “Rapid […]
Posted inUncategorized
Mariano eyes vaccine mandate for public access to State House
HOUSE SPEAKER Ron Mariano said on Monday that lawmakers will likely require members of the public to show proof of vaccination if and when the State House reopens. Mariano made […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mass. offers QR code to prove COVID vaccine status
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION on Monday released a new technology that state residents can use voluntarily to provide digital proof of their COVID-19 vaccination status. A portal on a state-run website […]
Posted inThe Download
School struggles getting worse amid virus surge
Amid the surge of COVID-19 cases, Cambridge Public Schools closed Monday and Tuesday to test 3,500 students. Superintendent Victoria Greer wrote to families Tuesday that 157 of 362 pools tested […]
Posted inEducation
School struggles getting worse amid virus surge
AMID THE SURGE of COVID-19 cases, Cambridge Public Schools closed Monday and Tuesday to test 3,500 students. Superintendent Victoria Greer wrote to families Tuesday that 157 of 362 pools tested […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Baker approves solar, truck emission initiatives
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE With two of its key climate change policies dead or near-dead, the Baker administration approved two initiatives last week to incentivize the development of solar power […]
Posted inEducation
Schools face staffing shortages as teachers ill with COVID
ON SATURDAY, Brockton school superintendent Michael Thomas warned parents that although schools were planning to reopen Monday, he could not guarantee it. “Unfortunately, like most districts across the state right […]
Posted inEducation
Most, but not all, schools reopen Monday
A NUMBER OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS didn’t open on Monday because of concerns about COVID, but Gov. Charlie Baker said none of them will be exempted from in-person learning requirements. “The […]
Posted inUncategorized
Report indicates UI trust fund warnings overstated
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION released a long-awaited report on New Year’s Eve indicating the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund is in much better shape than expected. After issuing warnings earlier this […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
988 state employees left jobs due to vaccine mandate
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE JUST FEWER than 1,000 executive branch employees have left their jobs because they did not or would not comply with Gov. Charlie Baker’s vaccine mandate for […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics
MTA attacks Baker on testing
THE MASSACHUSETTS Teachers Association went on the attack against Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday, calling the state education commissioner incompetent in delivering 200,000 rapid COVID-19 testing kits to schools and […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker: US offshore wind supply chain gaining traction
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said the state’s latest offshore wind procurement shows the industry is moving into a new phase geared toward building an American supply chain. “It speaks to two […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker, Spilka differ on response to rising COVID cases
DESPITE RISING CONCERNS about a surge in COVID-19 cases, Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday shied away from ordering any new restrictions on work and social interaction and urged the residents […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker halts non-essential hospital procedures, urges indoor mask wearing
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is requiring Massachusetts hospitals nearing capacity to cancel all non-essential, elective, invasive procedures as of December 27 in order to preserve room for incoming patients amid an […]
Posted inOpinion
Breaking down the Legislature’s ARPA veto options
WHEN THE LEGISLATURE ended its formal business for 2021 on the third Wednesday of November, as its rules require, it left behind one of the year’s biggest bills, a spending […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker cries at emotional domestic violence roundtable
It is hardly unusual for Gov. Charlie Baker to cry in public. But on Wednesday, after a gut-wrenching hour listening to stories from survivors of domestic violence, the governor not […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker cries at emotional domestic violence roundtable
IT IS HARDLY UNUSUAL for Gov. Charlie Baker to cry in public. But on Wednesday, after a gut-wrenching hour listening to stories from survivors of domestic violence, the governor not […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Back to the future: Red Sox launching booster facility
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE START of next year’s baseball season may be in jeopardy, but the turnstiles will be turning again at Fenway Park when it is expected to […]
Posted inThe Download
Process overtakes promise on ARPA spending bill
It started out as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — the chance to spend billions of dollars in unexpected federal and state funds to accomplish real change in Massachusetts – but as […]
