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By CHRIS LISINSKI
BOSTON — The Healey administration’s plan to supercharge housing production with billions of dollars of investment won some degree of praise from almost every corner of the state Thursday, but influential voices are at odds over some of the more...
By SAM DRYSDALE
BOSTON — Last month’s Boston Tea Party anniversary celebration was “just the tip of the iceberg” as Massachusetts prepares to leverage a series of upcoming historical anniversaries to market the state and draw in millions of tourists, the state’s top...
By CHRIS LISINSKI
BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey will press for major investments into the long-strained early education and care sector despite her administration’s muted forecast for state finances, pitching the spending as an economic and competitive necessity.Healey on...
By SAM DORAN
As towns and cities see a rise in natural disasters that require greater emergency response than their local resources can support alone, two western Massachusetts lawmakers renewed their call Tuesday to divert a portion of excess capital gains tax...
By STELLA TANNENBAUM
Slowly but surely — and not without opposition — age-old efforts to change images of Native Americans that many view as offensive have gained new momentum across Massachusetts, sparking conversations about history, representation and what it means to...
By Sam Drysdale
BOSTON—Amid a historic surge in book challenges in schools and public libraries across the state, some lawmakers are hoping to codify protections to prevent books from being removed from public spaces.Sen. Julian Cyr of Truro and Rep. John Moran of...
By STEVE LeBLANC
BOSTON — The highest court in Massachusetts ruled Thursday to raise from 18 to 21 the minimum age at which a person can be sentenced to mandatory life without parole — a narrow 4-3 ruling that juvenile justice advocates are hailing as progress.The...
By SAM DRYSDALE
BOSTON — “Keep your eyes peeled,” for free community college funding in the Senate’s version of the fiscal year 2025 budget, Senate President Karen Spilka said Wednesday.Making community college free for every Massachusetts resident could cost the...
By BELLA LEVAVI
The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) has released the long-awaited Climate Forestry Committee’s report, which contains a slew of recommendations for forest management practices in Massachusetts with a key focus on climate...
By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL
After filing legal challenges in several other states to bar Donald Trump from ballot eligibility in this year’s primaries, a Massachusetts-incorporated advocacy group has now done so in its home state.Free Speech for People, an nonprofit led by...
By JAIMEE FRANCIS
Heat pumps, which use electricity rather than directly burning fossil fuel, are a key piece of Massachusetts’ goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But the state has hit only 1% of its installation target, in large part because...
By MADDIE FABIAN
Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final article from the Western Mass. Solar Forum series. The first three forums took place in September, and another series of forums is in the works for this spring.AMHERST — Most experts agree solar energy is...
By EDEN MOR
Opponents of using the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test as a high school graduation requirement suggest there are better ways to measure student achievement should voters get an opportunity remove the requirement in November 2024.In...
By ALISON KUZNITZ
BOSTON—Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office identified more than $12.3 million in public benefit fraud in fiscal year 2023, representing a drop of about $1.2 million compared to her predecessor’s findings in the year prior.The auditor’s Bureau of Special...
By MADDIE FABIAN
Ask almost any conservationist about an Endangered Species Act (ESA) success story and they will tell you about the bald eagle.“Growing up, I would have never seen a bald eagle in western Massachusetts,” said Jeff Collins, senior director of...
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HOLYOKE — At Holyoke Community College this fall, 3,706 students are enrolled and receiving credits for classes they are taking. That’s a 4.4% increase over the 3,550 students at the college in the fall of 2022.The jump in enrollment mirrors what is...
By COLIN A. YOUNG
BOSTON — A Superior Court judge ruled Friday that Treasurer Deborah Goldberg can go ahead with the meeting that could lead to the firing of suspended Cannabis Control Commission Chairwoman Shannon O’Brien and also cautioned the parties that “political...
By SAM DRYSDALE and CHRIS LISINSKI
BOSTON — Her first year in office is winding down, and Gov. Maura Healey is enthusiastic to point out where she thinks she has succeeded: signing into law a billion-dollar tax relief package, overseeing a hiring blitz at the MBTA, and creating a...
By Chris Lisinski
BOSTON — Massachusetts will fail to hit a major emissions reduction requirement in 2030 unless Beacon Hill passes significant legislation to accelerate progress, leaders of a top advocacy group warned Wednesday.As plans begin to take shape for the...
By SAM DRYSDALE
BOSTON — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren threw her weight behind Gov. Maura Healey’s housing plan this week, and said the federal government will need to “step up” to help the state address its housing affordability and availability crisis.As many as...
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