THE COMMONWEALTH IS ABOUT TO TAKE an important step toward making our state’s approach to transportation funding more stable, fair, and transparent. The Legislature has included language in its recent transportation bond bill that directs the […]
State Government
Posted inGun ownership, Guns
Downing backs Healey’s gun notice
What follows is a statement Sen. Ben Downing of Pittsfield posted on his office website. Many of my constituents have asked about my position on Attorney General Healey’s recent “Enforcement […]
Posted inGun ownership, Guns, State House News Service
Naughton slams Healey on gun rule
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE The House’s point person on public safety issues is questioning Attorney General Maura Healey’s recent action to crack down on the sale of copycat assault weapons in […]
Posted inGun ownership, Guns, Politics, State House News Service
Baker seeks Healey gun clarification
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER urged Attorney General Maura Healey on Tuesday to clarify her stepped up enforcement of the state’s assault weapons ban, warning that “ambiguities” in […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion, Politics
Prison is no place to treat mentally ill
IN APRIL, LEO MARINO, a 43-year-old man with a long history of suicide attempts, killed himself in an isolation unit at Bridgewater State Hospital (BSH). He’d managed to choke himself […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Legislature approves pay equity bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WHEN GOV. CHARLIE BAKER returns to the State House on Monday, he will have on his desk legislation to ensure that men and women are paid […]
Posted inGun ownership, Guns
Healey clears gun buyers
ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEYÂ decided to allow those who bought nearly 2,300 assault weapons in Massachusetts to keep their new guns even though they were purchased after she ordered the sales […]
Posted inGun ownership, Guns
Healey triggers gun-buying frenzy
A GUN-BUYING FRENZY that resulted in 2,500 assault weapons being purchased Wednesday – one-fourth the total sold all of last year – has forced Attorney General Maura Healey into threatening dealers […]
Posted inGambling, Opinion, Politics
Building a government agency from scratch
 Photographs by Mark Morelli I’VE ALWAYS HAD MIXED FEELINGS about gambling. I had no moral concerns about it; indeed, for years my wife and I had enjoyed a day or […]
Posted inGun ownership, Guns
Mass. chiefs approve most gun permits
ONLY A TINY fraction of Massachusetts residents who apply for firearms licenses or identification cards are turned down, suggesting the state’s reputation for restricting gun use may be overstated. Just […]
Posted inPolitics
To caucus or not to caucus
CAUCUSES ARE NOT clandestine cabals requiring a secret handshake and special door knock to get into the room, except perhaps for the Democratic and Republican legislative caucuses. In Massachusetts, in […]
Posted inEducation
Southbridge schools get fresh start
THE NEWS WAS not unexpected when the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted in January to put the Southbridge schools into receivership. The small central Massachusetts district of […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker signs transgender legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Friday afternoon signed into law legislation protecting transgender people from discrimination in public places, less than a day after the legislation hit […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker ‘rightsizes’ the state budget
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKERÂ signed a $38.92 billion annual budget on Friday, slashing $256 million in spending from a plan approved by the Legislature last week as part […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, Economy, Politics
Top pols say just vote no
THE STATE’S TOP elected officials from both sides of the aisle made a powerful political appeal to oppose the ballot question that would legalize the adult use and commercial sale […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
UMass cost could rise 5-8%
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE University of Massachusetts students working this summer to pay for college could face a higher financial mountain to climb in the fall. After freezing tuition for […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Senate sends budget to Baker
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH JUST HOURS REMAINING in the current fiscal year, the state Senate on Thursday evening voted 38-1 to send a fiscal 2017 budget to Gov. Charlie […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, Transportation
Fingerprints fail in Senate Uber bill
AFTER AN EXHAUSTIVE debate that dragged on for nearly five hours, the state Senate passed Uber-friendly regulations for the runaway ride-hailing industry but not before beating back an impassioned plea […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Baker ups tax shortfall by $200m
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE APPARENTLY WORSENING TAX REVENUE shortfall facing state budget writers just days before the start of the new fiscal year will be adjusted on Monday by […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
DeLeo seeks task force on integrity
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO is mounting a push to create a Task Force on Integrity in State and Local Government, which would look at the laws […]
Posted inGambling, State House News Service
Committee OKs Lottery move online
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS LOTTERY would be authorized to offer its products online and on mobile applications, something the Lottery has said is essential to maintaining and growing […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
State budget hole grows larger
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE DEALING A SEVERE BLOW to legislative negotiators charged with reaching a state budget accord this month, the Baker administration disclosed Tuesday this year’s state budget hole […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Politics
SJC hears appeals on marijuana ballot question
OPPONENTS OF THE BALLOT QUESTION to legalize marijuana argued before the state’s highest court Wednesday that the initiative should be shelved for a number of reasons, including the fact that […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker: I’d sign House transgender bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ON THE EVE of House debate on the issue, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday he would sign transgender anti-discrimination legislation crafted by House leaders. “No one […]