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By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote in 1913 that “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants,” and Massachusetts residents on both ends of the political spectrum agreed this week that Beacon Hill could stand to open 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 BELLA LEVAVI

GREENFIELD — The Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) is asking the public to complete an online survey with an interactive mapping component to provide information for a new Franklin County Bike Plan.By updating the bike plan for the...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

Filling in some blanks on her economic development plans, Gov. Maura Healey said Thursday she wants to reauthorize the life sciences initiative at $1 billion for the next decade, and launch a separate $1 billion, 10-year climate tech initiative that...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Gov. Maura Healey’s push to overhaul local procurement procedures, rethink post-employment benefits and make permanent some pandemic-era policies won over many city and town leaders, but points of friction in her bill could create some tricky...

By LIESEL NYGARD

ERVING — The former International Paper Mill’s third attempt to find a developer is nearing its deadline, and there’s yet to be interest, while demolition remains “on the table,” according to Town Planner Mariah KurtzThe $1.49 million property at 8...

By DOMENIC POLI

GREENFIELD — Representatives from organizations and towns across the region gathered at the John W. Olver Transit Center on Thursday afternoon to kick off a new five-year Community Health Improvement Plan, or CHIP.The Franklin County/North Quabbin...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Having already made mid-year budget cuts and dimmed the outlook for tax collections through June based on six consecutive months of underwhelming receipts, the state reported Monday that tax revenue came in below even downgraded expectations...

Staff Report

BOSTON — An updated and, for the first time, online edition of the Handbook for Massachusetts Select Board Members has been dedicated to the late Stephen Kulik.A longtime state legislator and town official from Worthington, Kulik was described in a...

By BELLA LEVAVI

SUNDERLAND – Local residents on Saturday had the opportunity to tour the former Sinauer Associates/Oxford University Press building, which Sunderland is considering as the potential future site for the South County Senior Center. The...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey will press forward in her annual state budget with major investments into early education and child care despite her administration’s own forecast of limited revenue growth.Healey announced Tuesday that she will propose...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — Ahead of this year’s presidential election, Frontier Regional School seniors taking a government studies and politics class got to talk about voting rights and the state of the nation’s democracy with a former appointee to one of the...

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 MARY BYRNE

GREENFIELD — After two years of representing Precinct 7, Jasper Lapienski has submitted his resignation from City Council, effective Jan. 1, 2024.“I plan to focus my time and energy on my work with the Jewish community, where I believe that it will be...

By STELLA TANNENBAUM

BOSTON — Massachusetts would become the second state in the nation to ban discrimination based on body size under a proposal aired at a recent hearing of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.During a seven-hour hearing in which over 230 people...

By DOMENIC POLI and CHRIS LARABEE

Towns across Franklin County are starting to adopt flag policies after being approached by an anti-abortion group wanting to fly its banner on public grounds.The Pro Life Legal Defense Fund Inc. emailed towns and cities across the state late last...

By CHRIS LARABEEStaff WriterCONWAY — With two events wrapped up in the last month, Conway’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant project will move to the visioning stage as the town looks for flood-mitigation strategies in the village...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — During the pandemic, numerous cars parked daily along Rattlesnake Gutter Road up to the gates that have for more than 20 years kept a more than mile-long section of the narrow gravel road closed to through traffic, indicating that people...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD – With no discussion on the article, voters at Monday’s special Town Meeting granted Deerfield borrowing authority for up to $5 million, if needed, to pay off existing and potential future road repairs following severe summer storms.In...

By CHRIS LARABEE

CONWAY — After facing some resident opposition to building pickleball courts on the South River Meadow, the Parks and Recreation Committee is exploring a lot behind the Conway Grammar School.The committee is exploring Lot 8.3 behind the elementary...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Pointing to a shooting in Holyoke last week that left a pregnant mother critically injured and killed her baby, House Democrats have resurrected their campaign to overhaul the state’s firearms laws, rolling out a redrafted bill that continues...