ON CAPE COD, 85 percent of homeowners rely on title 5 on-site septic disposal systems to treat their home’s wastewater. And right now, 100 percent of those homeowners are extremely concerned about a draft regulation rolled out by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection last month. The state agency is proposing that owners of every […]
State Government
Posted inMarijuana, State Government
Cannabis licensing snafu over O’Brien much ado about nothing
THE CANNABIS Control Commission unanimously approved a final license for Greenfield Greenery on Thursday, resolving a months-long delay resulting from questions about whether Commission Chair Shannon O’Brien properly removed herself from ownership of the company. A commission investigation concluded that O’Brien and Greenfield Greenery both did everything properly in removing O’Brien from her ownership position. […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
Mass. Business Roundtable official appointed to Healey cabinet
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LAUREN JONES, a Massachusetts Business Roundtable official who at one point worked as communications director for the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, was announced Wednesday as Gov. Maura Healey’s pick to lead that secretariat. Jones held a number of roles with the city of Boston under Mayor Martin Walsh, […]
Posted inMarijuana, State Government
Board named for social equity marijuana loan fund
THE BOARD that will oversee the state’s new fund to help social equity cannabis businesses will be comprised of a diverse group of individuals, who represent various segments of the industry that they hope to help. Appointments to the five-member board were finalized last week by then-Gov. Charlie Baker; then-Attorney General Maura Healey, who is now […]
Posted inEnvironment, State Government
Healey signs executive order on climate
IN HER FIRST official act as governor, Maura Healey on Friday signed an executive order establishing a cabinet-level climate office that will work in conjunction with climate officers stationed within every executive department. Healey had previously said Melissa Hoffer, the former deputy general counsel at the Environmental Protection Agency, would head the state office, the […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, State Government, State House News Service
Healey plucks AG aide as energy, environment secretary
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE REBECCA TEPPER, currently the chief of the energy and environment bureau in the attorney general’s office, will continue working under Maura Healey in the new year, joining the incoming governor’s Cabinet as secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. As EEA secretary, Tepper will oversee the state’s six […]
Posted inThe Download
Bump says DiZoglio is being ‘well-schooled’ on auditor’s duties
State Auditor Suzanne Bump will leave office in January after 12 years on the job. In an interview on this week’s Codcast, she reflected on her time in office and said it was simply time to move on. “I’m aging, which should come as no surprise to anyone,” the 62-year-old Bump said. “I love what […]
Posted inState Government
Bump says DiZoglio is being ‘well-schooled’ on auditor’s duties
STATE AUDITOR Suzanne Bump will leave office in January after 12 years on the job. In an interview on this week’s Codcast, she reflected on her time in office and said it was simply time to move on. “I’m aging, which should come as no surprise to anyone,” the 62-year-old Bump said. “I love what […]
Posted inState Government
Healey appoints cabinet rover on climate change
GOV.-ELECT MAURA HEALEY named an environmental attorney as her cabinet-level climate chief on Monday, setting in motion another experiment in the best way to manage state bureaucracies that have independent management but overlapping responsibilities. Melissa Hoffer, currently the deputy general counsel at the Environmental Protection Agency, will be charged with monitoring climate efforts across state […]
Posted inOpinion
Old laws, like Prop 2 1/2, need to adapt to times
I’VE BEEN STRUGGLING to find the right metaphor for our current economic situation. After the great recession of 2007-2009, my go-to was a staircase: the recession had knocked us down a flight of stairs and it took us a decade to climb back up. But that won’t do today. If COVID knocked us down the […]