REVERE RESIDENT Dolores De Blass has lived in the same apartment for 11 years and never had a problem making the $2,000-a-month rent, but then COVID-19 came along. De Blass, her […]
Housing
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker pushes $35m more for economic recovery package
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Friday proposed a $35 million increase and other changes in an economic recovery package he filed pre-COVID-19. The expanded proposal, which now has a price tag […]
Posted inNews Analysis
A new housing crisis for Massachusetts?
FACED WITH COMPOUNDING economic challenges, many renters in Massachusetts are struggling to keep up with monthly rent payments, raising the specter of a spike in evictions when the moratorium expires […]
Posted inUncategorized
Two landlords challenge eviction moratorium law
TWO LANDLORDS have filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Judicial Court challenging the state’s temporary moratorium on eviction foreclosures. In April, the Legislature passed and Gov. Charlie Baker signed […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Housing panel backs 2 rent control bills
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A Beacon Hill committee has endorsed two bills that would clear the way for rent control to return to Massachusetts more than two-and-a-half decades after voters […]
Posted inHealth Care
COVID-19 poses unnecessary risk for people with disabilities
NEVER IN OUR lifetime have we witnessed a disease that has devastated lives across the globe the way COVID-19 has. No family, no individual has been left untouched. But, we […]
Posted inEconomy
Rent payments pile up for business owners
DANIEL BOJORQUEZ, the owner of the La Brasa and Fat Hen restaurants in Somerville, is being squeezed by his landlord and the coronavirus. His restaurants have been shut down since mid-March by the virus and they’re […]
Posted inOpinion
Shut down DCF’s homeless pipeline
NICOLE, A YOUTH at More Than Words, turned 18 this month and was terrified. The milestone would be dampened for anyone during this pandemic, but Nicole was losing her housing […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Tales from the legislative trenches
RESPONDING TO THE fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the Legislature recently passed and the governor signed an eviction and foreclosure moratorium law. It enables people who are unemployed or lost income […]
Posted inUncategorized
How Newton bridged the housing divide
THIS IS A STORY about a fight over a new large housing development in Newton. Such stories, which involve stiff local opposition, play themselves out hundreds of times yearly in […]
Posted inEconomy
It’s no time to weaken the Community Reinvestment Act
WE PURCHASED HOMES in Mattapan, Brockton and Hyde Park. We were able to afford these homes because of a great program called ONE Mortgage available through local lenders and the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Eviction bill negotiations hit some bumps
A RECENT BILL establishing a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures marked the Massachusetts Legislature’s first attempt to hammer out a tricky compromise bill using a conference committee during the coronavirus […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker signs eviction moratorium bill
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER signed a bill Monday that will temporarily pause evictions and some foreclosures during the coronavirus pandemic, sparking an intense debate over the rights of landlords and tenants. […]
Posted inEconomy
In hard-hit Chelsea, COVID-19 fight a collaborative effort
Fourth in a series on municipal leaders across Massachusetts and how they’re contending with the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are previous stories on Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer, […]
Posted inState House News Service
Dems overrule Republicans on eviction legislation
THE HOUSE ADVANCEDÂ a compromise bill Wednesday afternoon to temporarily ban almost all eviction and foreclosure proceedings statewide shortly after Democratic negotiators made a breakthrough, but appeared unable to win over […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Eviction bill bounces back and forth on Beacon Hill
IT MAY BE the first test of the Legislature’s penchant for consensus on coronavirus-related bills. The Massachusetts House and Senate agree that there should be a pause on evictions and foreclosures […]
Posted inThe Download
Eviction bill bounces back and forth on Beacon Hill
It may be the first test of the Legislature’s penchant for consensus on coronavirus-related bills. The Massachusetts House and Senate agree that there should be a pause on evictions and […]
Posted inPolitics
Virus notes: Finding purpose
HOW DOES ONE find purpose in sitting at home? Speaking to reporters Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker acknowledged the emotional struggles that so many around Massachusetts and the nation are facing […]
Posted inTransportation
Virus notes: At Logan, no chaos, but uneven screening measures
THE SITUATION AT Logan International Airport’s Terminal E on Sunday stood in sharp contrast to the mayhem that unfolded at Chicago’s O’ Hare Airport and at New York City’s John […]
Posted inUncategorized
Advocates: No evictions during pandemic
YOU FEEL SICK. But you could get evicted from your home if you don’t show up in court. What do you do? Boston-area activists are mounting a campaign to end evictions during […]
Posted inThe Download
Advocates: No evictions during pandemic
You feel sick. But you could get evicted from your home if you don’t show up in court. What do you do? Boston-area activists are mounting a campaign to end evictions […]
Posted inTransportation
In Newton, a super Tuesday for pro-growth side
ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL, and for some residents in Newton that meant yesterday’s Super Tuesday vote in the presidential primary took a backseat to a question of what would happen in […]
Posted inThe Download
In Newton, a super Tuesday for pro-growth side
All politics is local, and for some residents in Newton that meant yesterday’s Super Tuesday vote in the presidential primary took a backseat to a question of what would happen […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Walsh looks to get past zoning board scandal
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSHÂ signed an executive order Monday to limit potential conflicts of interest on the city’s Zoning Board of Appeal, an effort to put behind him a scandal that […]