Search Results

By Line search: By SAM DRYSDALE

By SAM DRYSDALE

Students with cognitive disabilities and English language learners could stand to benefit the most from a ballot initiative that would “greatly diminish the state’s role as a gatekeeper to high school graduation,” and lower the stakes of statewide...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — As Gov. Maura Healey and lawmakers celebrated what they called “historic” housing legislation getting signed into law Tuesday, some of the advocates credited with influencing the bill say it is “underwhelming” and watered down, with a number...

By SAM DRYSDALE

House and Senate negotiators sent an agreement on a policy-filled $5.16 billion housing bond bill to Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday, potentially salvaging a priority for the House, Senate and governor.A number of policies sponsored by both branches...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — The Massachusetts House was split along party lines Wednesday night in voting to support climate and energy legislation that would “help accelerate the green transition,” according to the bill’s lead architect.“The bill before you continues...

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 SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Leyla Connolly’s battery-powered wheelchair has been broken for more than a year. As she waits for it to be fixed, she is consigned to her Dorchester apartment, where she feels trapped without a safe way to leave to get groceries, go to...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Two powerful lawmakers are trying to push a widely supported bill to ban toxic “forever chemicals” over the finish line before the looming end of session, but neither said Tuesday that the issue is a priority for their branch.House Speaker...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Massachusetts is now the 49th state to prohibit revenge pornography, with Gov. Maura Healey signing a bill late last week that also cracks down on sexual harassment and coercive control by domestic abusers.The bill closes a legal loophole to...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Musicians hauling three drums, two trombones, a saxophone and a tuba played their way up Park Street to the corner of Beacon Street on Tuesday, blocking traffic and leading dozens of rally attendees to celebrate that app-based drivers who...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — The base of a late-session climate bill that has been promised by top Democrats in both branches is being drafted by Gov. Maura Healey’s administration, which says that reform to the siting and permitting of clean energy infrastructure is...

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

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 — 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...