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By SAM DRYSDALE

As House Democrats eye the expansion of its public drinking water service area, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is considering whether the communities where that water comes from should finally get to reap the benefits of the...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Signaling the potential for more change in the transportation and energy sectors, Senate President Karen Spilka revealed Monday that the Senate plans to tackle a major climate bill within the next three months.The Ashland Democrat said at a...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Lawmakers tasked with negotiating details of a major firearms bill left their work open to the public last week — a move that broke from opaque traditions on Beacon Hill. A week later, those negotiators moved to close their meetings to the...

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 under a bill the Senate unanimously passed late last week.It’s the...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Although they would not explicitly commit to fulfilling a funding request for Head Start, two of the most powerful players at the State House indicated Wednesday that funding the early education program is at the top of their priority list in...

By SAM DRYSDALE

Senators next week will vote again on a bill to update the state’s sex education guidelines, something the chamber has already approved four times without getting buy-in from the House.The Senate Committee on Ways and Means polled the so-called...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Massachusetts voters may get the chance to cast ballots to legalize access to some psychedelic substances this fall. And though advocates say the Oregon psilocybin therapy program that would be used as a model for Massachusetts is beneficial...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley plans to step down on March 15 after six years leading Massachusetts’ K-12 school system, according to a letter he sent to the state’s education board on Thursday.Riley plans to...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey has signed an executive order to create a task force meant to study artificial intelligence and to advise her administration on the state’s role in implementing and encouraging private sector use of the new technology.The...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — The Senate on Thursday night approved a sweeping overhaul of state firearms laws, setting up talks with the House that could lead to a major new law later this spring or summer.The Senate bill seeks to rein in untraceable ghost guns, bans...

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 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...

By SAM DRYSDALE

On the route to decarbonization, the state is so far on target with its goals, the Healey administration says, but there is more work to be done with the most intense period of rapid decarbonization quickly approaching.Gov. Maura Healey’s...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — The workforce shortage that has left employers across sectors scrambling to keep operations running in recent years isn’t likely to let up “any time in the rest of anybody’s lifetime,” one of the nation’s leading economists said last...

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 SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Calling it “historic,” Gov. Maura Healey unveiled legislation this week — timed to coincide with Veterans Day — that will increase benefits, modernize services and promote inclusivity for hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts veterans.Filed...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — A Superior Court judge on Wednesday denied a request to put a temporary hold on the Healey administration’s plan to cap the number of families in the state’s strained emergency shelter system.The decision followed an emergency court hearing...

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 SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Two of the state’s top elected officials are encouraging colleges and universities in Massachusetts to find new approaches to “advance diversity, break down barriers, and increase access for historically underrepresented groups” in light of...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — A climate report that Gov. Maura Healey identified as a top priority at the start of her administration appears to be held up in the governor’s office.On her second day in office, Healey filed an executive order creating a first-in-the-nation...

By SAM DRYSDALE

Calling the spate of domestic violence crimes that Massachusetts has seen in recent months “a statewide crisis,” Secretary of State William Galvin announced Aug. 16 the launch of a new grant program that aims to make victims aware of the services and...