Overall, public schools across Massachusetts — which has become a target of President Trump’s crackdown on immigration — lost over 15,000 students from fall 2024 to fall 2025, according to state data released in January. That brings total enrollment in the state to its lowest level in over three decades.
Trump administration
Posted inHousing
Holyoke’s unsheltered homeless count hits new record as threats to federal aid loom
The state and federal funding landscape continues to shift while homelessness in Western Massachusetts has reached unprecedented levels in the aftermath of the pandemic. Holyoke had the highest unsheltered count in all of Hampden County this year, according to preliminary numbers.
Posted inHousing
Trump administration targets program for chronically homeless residents, sparking fear for vulnerable populations in cities like Springfield
The overhaul has been temporarily and partially blocked by a federal judge, but the move is impacting local administrators of the federal program across Massachusetts and has threatened millions of dollars in funding for permanent housing and thousands of beds for the chronically homeless.
Posted inThe Saturday Send
The long-term affects of Steward Health Care’s bankruptcy and four more stories
Hallie Claflin does a deep dive into the long-term affects of Steward Health Care’s bankruptcy filing, and what hospital closures could mean for the Healey administration going forward. Plus: Universities and businesses grapple with the prospect of lower international enrollment in Boston-area schools, permitting can’t catch up to demand for new housing, state senators question sheriff spending, and more.
Posted inPolitics
Mass. begins 2030 Census prep amid national redistricting fights
With mid-decade redistricting fights erupting elsewhere, Massachusetts officials are ramping up their preparations for the 2030 Census as they grapple with new housing development and concerns about community trust.
Posted inState House News Service
Senate president says federal government ‘working against us’
During an interview televised Sunday morning, Spilka echoed comments made earlier in the year by House Speaker Ron Mariano, who said Massachusetts had “lost our federal partner.”
Posted inPolitics
The politics of payback
“Womp womp.” That pretty much sums up the reaction from the Trump administration and its supporters over the uproar of separating children from their parents trying to cross at the […]
Posted inThe Download
The politics of payback
“Womp womp.” That pretty much sums up the reaction from the Trump administration and its supporters over the uproar of separating children from their parents trying to cross at the […]
Posted inPolitics
Separation anxiety
THE SCENES OF children being stripped away from their parents at the country’s southern border are hitting a nerve even with those not generally inclined to lash out at the […]
Posted inThe Download
Separation anxiety
The scenes of children being stripped away from their parents at the country’s southern border are hitting a nerve even with those not generally inclined to lash out at the […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Trump makes it easier to not pay interns
The Trump administration just made it a lot easier for for-profit employers to legally benefit from the work of interns and not have to pay them, according to new rules […]