UNCOVERING ABUSE AGAINST people with disabilities may become more difficult, advocates worry, under a provision tucked into a seemingly innocuous bill slated for a vote in the state Senate on […]
State Government
Posted inUncategorized
New center aims to shed light — through data — on state policy
THE WAYS OF BEACON HILL can be mysterious to those on the outside, with the public often left in the dark on all the factors that shaped a particular bill […]
Posted inThe Download
New center aims to shed light — through data — on state policy
The ways of Beacon Hill can be mysterious to those on the outside, with the public often left in the dark on all the factors that shaped a particular bill […]
Posted inEducation
UMass’s Collins lists $67,743 in expenses for one year
THE CHANCELLOR of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester racked up $67,743 in expenses over the course of a year, much of it for air travel for himself […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
What you need to know about new hands-free driving law
IT’S TIME TO stop reading those emails while traffic is crawling on the Southeast Expressway. Massachusetts’s ban on handheld cellphone use while driving goes into effect Sunday. Gov. Charlie Baker […]
Posted inEnvironment
Report: Utilities raised concerns on Mayflower
THE UTILITIES THAT SELECTED Mayflower Wind for the state’s second offshore wind procurement raised serious concerns at several stages of the process about the company’s ability to complete the project […]
Posted inGambling
DeLeo calls Nangle allegations ‘serious and troubling’
HOUSE SPEAKER Robert DeLeo said Tuesday that the allegations against Rep. David Nangle, a member of his Democratic leadership team, are “serious and troubling and, if true, represent a significant […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Lowell rep arrested for misusing $70,000 in campaign funds
STATE REP. DAVID NANGLE, a Lowell Democrat and member of the Legislature’s Ethics Committee, was arrested Tuesday and charged with using his campaign account to pay for more than $70,000 […]
Posted inUncategorized
State suspending farm food benefits program
AT AÂ MONTHLY WINTER FARMERS market run by Roots Rising in Pittsfield, shoppers can buy apples, canned tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, onions, and winter squash. A shopper using SNAP benefits can […]
Posted inOpinion
4 ideas for a transportation funding bill
MULTIPLE IDEAS are on the table for solving our transportation crisis of roadway congestion, underperforming transit, and the looming impacts of climate change. Key to Massachusetts’s future success will be […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker signs law creating caregiver abuse registry
NICKY CHAN was attending a day program for people with intellectual disabilities when he was beaten by a caregiver. The caregiver was found not guilty in court, and there was […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mass. facing hit from proposed fed Medicaid changes
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOVERNORS AROUND THE COUNTRY, including Gov. Charlie Baker, are fighting the Trump administration over proposed changes to how the federal government reimburses states for Medicaid, seeking […]
Posted inHealth Care
Senate passes mental health bill
SEN. JULIAN CYR has struggled with anxiety and depression since childhood. As a boy who was gay, he was bullied in school, had panic attacks and developed an eating disorder. […]
Posted inBallot Questions
New Tufts center to offer independent analysis of legislation, ballot questions
AFTER YEARS OF inaction on Beacon Hill on proposals to create an agency to bring the sort of independent assessment of state legislation that the Congressional Budget Office provides at […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
DiZoglio defends shift on immigrant license bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SEN. DIANA DIZOGLIO is defending her decision to vote in favor of advancing a bill that would make driver’s licenses available to undocumented immigrants, leaning on […]
Posted inTransportation
Shuffle proposed for 4 of Boston’s parkways
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION wants to transfer four major parkways currently under the control of the Department of Conservation and Recreation over to the Department of Transportation. In an outside section […]
Posted inUncategorized
Immigrant driver’s license bill moves forward
A CONTROVERSIAL BILL that would create a way for undocumented immigrants in Massachusetts to get driver’s licenses made it out of committee on Wednesday, the first step on a long […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Inmates accuse Souza guards of retaliation
THE STATE’S MOST SECURE prison facility has turned into a war zone since a group of inmates attacked and severely injured three corrections officers on January 10. Staff at the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Mass. coastal property owners beware
HOW FAR CAN GOVERNMENT go in regulating private property when protecting us from common threats? Since a seminal 1922 US Supreme Court opinion, Pennsylvania Coal Company v. Mahon, a debate […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
7 takes on Senate climate change debate
IN BUSINESS-LIKE FASHION, the Senate passed a sweeping package of climate change legislation on Thursday night that sets a net-zero target for greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, creates an independent […]
Posted inUncategorized
Mass. father, son tied to Ghosn escape
MICHAEL TAYLOR, a 59-year-old former Green Beret from Massachusetts who has worked as a private security contractor and has ties to government agencies, seems to have a knack for popping […]
Posted inHealth Care
Seniors seek expansion of Medicare savings program
JOHN ROBINSON is very stringent about keeping track of his bills, especially when it comes to health care expenses. The 71-year-old retired Amtrak porter knows exactly how his $1,832 a month in income […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
New system lets survivors track rape kits
MASSACHUSETTS IS ROLLING out a new system that will allow survivors of sexual assault to track online the processing of evidence collected from them at hospitals following an assault. A […]
Posted inUncategorized
Bill would help vets get medical pot
AMID NEW RESEARCH on how veterans are using cannabis to treat pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, a Republican representative from Bellingham is pushing legislation that would make it easier for […]