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Keyword search: Massachusetts

By BELLA LEVAVI

SHELBURNE — With many multi-generational family farms harvesting timber but only 2% of the wood harvested being used in the local economy, Massachusetts has a long way to go to bolster the timber industry, according to local business representatives...

By BELLA LEVAVI

BOSTON — Local residents recently shared their opinions with the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government on proposed legislation that would allow for more local control over large-scale solar projects.S.1319/H.2082, “An Act Regarding...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — While extremist Republicans in Congress are trying to gut programs that provide food to those in need, Massachusetts could become the first state to end hunger, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern told a special state commission on agriculture...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Shawn Collins is resigning as executive director of the Cannabis Control Commission effective Dec. 4, Acting Chairwoman Ava Callender Concepcion announced Thursday, providing some clarity around one of the two leadership questions that has...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — A third of all UMass students will qualify for free tuition paid for by the new income surtax on the state’s highest earners under a plan the Healey administration rolled out Wednesday on an expansion of state financial aid.The governor...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

An educator at Lander-Grinspoon Academy in Northampton, Andrea Olkin wants her youngest students to take pride in their identity as Jews and not have to live in fear or face the rising levels of antisemitism seen around the world since the Oct. 7...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — The House has added a provision to a spending bill that would reinstate a state policy repealed two decades ago to offer Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to immigrants in the country legally, but who are not...

By JAIMEE FRANCIS

BOSTON — A housing development program for Massachusetts’ 26 gateway cities that was a key part of the new tax relief bill is raising questions about what is “market rate.”The Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP) has subsidized millions of...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Voters will not be asked next year whether Massachusetts should revive local-option rent control after organizers working on a 2024 ballot question suspended their campaign late Friday.After facing pushback from other housing justice and...

By STELLA TANNENBAUM

Massachusetts’ efforts to meet its net zero goals and measure up to neighboring states may mean an overhaul of energy efficiency program Mass Save, according to Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer’s recent report.The state’s Clean Energy and Climate Plan...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

After weeks of maintaining distance from Gov. Maura Healey’s handling of the state’s emergency shelter capacity crisis, the House is likely to approve a legislative directive that Healey establish a shelter overflow site — and the move is revealing...

By Chris Lisinski and Sam Drysdale

BOSTON — With the state’s emergency shelters on the verge of hitting a new capacity limit, House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a new plan to create an “overflow” option that would support families for whom space is not immediately available.Venturing...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — As lawmakers look at regulating building and infrastructure materials in pursuit of the state’s emission reduction goals, the concrete industry wants to been seen as a partner, not a foe, in the effort to make Massachusetts greener.New York...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — While voters may have the final say, top House and Senate Democrats said a new decision from Attorney General Andrea Campbell reinforces their opinion that the state auditor lacks the “statutory or constitutional authority to audit any other...

By BELLA LEVAVI

Rural legislators and organizations are working hard to make sure they get a portion of Gov. Maura Healey’s five-year, $4.12 billion housing bond bill that was unveiled earlier this month.Since Healey took office in January, she has created the...

By CHRIS LARABEE

BOSTON — Educators, town officials and students from across the Pioneer Valley appeared before the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Education on Monday to share their support for bills that would codify several recommendations to ensure the stability...

By JULIAN MENDOZA

BOSTON — Experts from Amherst College and Greenfield Community College advocated for Jurassic armored mud balls to become the state’s “official sedimentary structure” during a legislative hearing on Tuesday, with the deadline for written testimony...

By Sam Drysdale

BOSTON — Massachusetts needs to shift from an era of statewide planning for climate policy to the key details of implementing it, according to a new report from the state’s top climate official, which includes sweeping recommendations to accelerate...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Massachusetts continued to record more births than deaths from July 2021 to July 2022 even though the state’s total population shrunk in that span, suggesting that residents decamping to other locales is the primary driver of a trend that has ramped...

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...