Of these 26 former industrial cities, 17 do not have state-operated air quality monitors. At a time when environmental justice communities are even more at risk due to federal rollbacks to clean air protections, the lack of monitors has some advocates speaking out as climate change continues to lay the groundwork for the dangerously hot and dry conditions that fuel wildfires.
Trump administration
Posted inGateway Cities
‘We are America’: Chelsea named All-America city for the second year in a row
Nearly half of Chelsea’s predominantly Latino population was born outside of the United States — the largest foreign-born population of any community in Massachusetts. The city’s award application highlighted its community-centered policing, food distribution system, and youth development initiatives – efforts that have helped strengthen residents’ trust in local government amid a federal immigration crackdown that has had Chelsea in its crosshairs, according to city officials.
Posted inEnergy
In New Bedford, Healey celebrates completion of Vineyard Wind project as the company faces financial disputes
Gov. Maura Healey along with Massachusetts labor and energy leaders celebrated the completion of the country’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project, which concluded construction in March. She touted its benefits while shrugging off the wind development company’s recent financial disputes that have made headlines and threatened the project.
Posted inEducation
As school districts cut budgets, DEI work may be first to go
Brookline’s school district is one of at least four in Massachusetts that have cut DEI initiatives or positions despite community support, citing shrinking student enrollments and rollbacks in federal funding that threaten school budgets.
Posted inTransportation
Anxious Cape leaders worried about funding for Bourne Bridge replacement
The Sagamore Bridge replacement project is fully funded, but barely any money has been committed to its partner, and some local officials think it’s time for Beacon Hill to start committing additional resources to guarantee success.
Posted inEnvironment
‘Not if, but when’: Flood prevention project in Everett and Chelsea remains frozen one year after federal program cuts
One year ago in April, the Trump administration abruptly announced its intent to shut down the bipartisan Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) initiative that has allocated billions of dollars in federal grants to pre-disaster mitigation efforts in communities across the country since 2020.
Posted inHousing
Worcester’s ‘A Better Life’ housing program helps break generational poverty by promoting self-sufficiency
Last month, Trump administration officials announced a long-awaited proposed rule that encourages, but does not require, all public housing authorities and private property owners who rent to people using a Section 8 housing voucher to implement a work requirement and time limits for non-disabled, non-elderly adults in federally-funded housing.
Posted inEducation
‘Climate of fear’: Student enrollment declining amid Trump’s immigration crackdown
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.
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 […]
