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By SAM DRYSDALE and CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON – Lawmakers approved a compromise veterans service bill Thursday morning after deploying a rarely used legislative technique to fix apparent errors in the accord they initially filed.The House voted just before 5:45 a.m. to accept a sweeping...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — The chances of the House and Senate reaching a stoppage time deal on clean energy permitting and other climate-related policies are slim, negotiators from both sides said shortly after midnight as the sniping and finger-pointing began.“I was...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

Massachusetts cities and towns would be authorized to open overdose prevention centers, under a bill the Senate plans to take up on Tuesday.The legislation’s supporters say the sites could be a powerful way to crack down on the devastating impacts of...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Representatives went five for five on approval of animal safety and treatment bills Thursday, mounting a late-session push for greater dog kennel oversight and a ban on the use of certain exotic mammals in traveling shows.The House approved the bills,...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON – Top Senate Democrats ruled that policies with majority support meant to target the toxic and cancer-causing chemicals known as PFAS were outside the scope of a major health care bill that the chamber passed last week, before making a...

By GREG VINE

ATHOL – The first installment of a public hearing for a proposed eight-lot subdivision off of Pleasant Street and Victoria Avenue was held during Wednesday’s meeting of the Board of Planning and Community Development.Chris Stoddard of Stoddard...

By SAM DRYSDALE

The Senate will dig into a massive economic development package Thursday after top Democrats on Monday morning released their own vision for how Massachusetts should pursue job and economic growth opportunities.The Senate’s bill (S 2856) authorizes...

By Carla CharterThe Full Moon Coffeehouse, located in Wendell Town Hall, has been a staple in Wendell and the surrounding North Quabbin towns for 38 years, and along the way has become the longest-running coffeehouse in New England.“The coffeehouse is...

By Colin A. Young

After years of working to pass legislation that would give certain terminally ill patients the legal option to end their lives with a doctor’s prescription, state Sen. Jo Comerford is as optimistic as she’s ever been about the chances of a bill...

By ALEXA LEWIS

A leading veterans agent in the region says an expansive bill soon to become law designed to improve the lives of Massachusetts veterans is “monumental” for its expanded inclusion efforts, benefits, and health care provisions, but the measure fails to...

By ALEXA LEWIS

A statewide proliferation in recent years of intoxicating, illegal hemp-based products — gummies, energy shot-like drink bottles and seltzers, to name a few — has raised concern among state officials and the cannabis sector alike.While these products...

By Carla Charter“It is important to remember the beginnings of our educational system,” said Barbara Hanno, vice president of the Petersham Historical Society. In that spirit, Hanno is creating a booklet documenting the 13 markers of the town’s...

By GREG VINE

ROYALSTON – The Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol went to Royalston on Wednesday and, in what PCH Representative Howie Guja said was a first, was unable to make it the front door of the $15,000 winner.As the Prize Patrol made its way to the Stone...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — More Massachusetts families would become eligible for subsidized child care and “transformational” grants that kept the early education system afloat during the pandemic would be made permanent, under a bill the Senate unanimously passed on...

By DOMENIC POLI

WENDELL — A local group formed last year in opposition to a proposed battery storage facility is teaming up with the Friends of the Wendell Meetinghouse to host a reception and community dinner on Saturday.No Assault & Batteries is collaborating with...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — The climate crisis is fueling a steady growth in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather, and Massachusetts cities and towns face an increasingly common conundrum trying to respond to those emergencies.Many of the disasters that have...

By MAX BOWEN

ORANGE — A fire on Jones Street on Christmas Day is believed to have originated on a stovetop and was accidental, according to the State Fire Marshal’s office.The three-alarm fire, reported at 15 Jones St. at 4:05 p.m., caused significant interior...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Single-family home sales in Massachusetts were down markedly in November while housing prices set record highs for the month.And if that sounds familiar, it’s probably because it was the sixth consecutive month to post a double-digit...

By MAX BOWEN

ORANGE — One older adult has died and a second remains hospitalized as a result of injuries sustained in a three-alarm house fire at 99 West River St. on Wednesday night.Authorities have deemed the home a total loss and all four residents have been...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Grieving family members who have watched the agonizing, slow deaths of their loved ones clashed Friday with members of the disability community and conservative groups over the prospect of legalizing medical aid in dying, resurfacing...

By MADDIE FABIAN

WASHINGTON — After a historic week in Washington, D.C. involving a near government shutdown and the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, both western Massachusetts representatives in the U.S. House criticized the former speaker and the Republican...