Colin A Young

There are no perfect analogues on Beacon Hill for the drama unfolding between Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and suspended Cannabis Control Commission Chairwoman Shannon O’Brien. But the closest thing might be the donnybrook of late 2001 and early 2002 over Acting Gov. Jane Swift‘s attempt to fire Jordan Levy and Christy Mihos from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board. And that’s why Goldberg’s office designed the ground […]

The Massachusetts Lottery is on track to turn a profit of $1.025 billion by the time this fiscal year ends June 30 and, with flat sales projected, will generate the same amount in fiscal year 2025, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg told lawmakers at Monday’s annual tax revenue hearing. If the Lottery hits its projections (it often performs better than […]

Last month’s special election win by Sen. Peter Durant put some wind back in the sails of the Massachusetts Republican Party and Chairwoman Amy Carnevale said in an interview that aired Sunday that the party is now busy using that momentum to recruit candidates to run for state and federal offices in 2024. Carnevale acknowledged on WCVB’s “On The Record” that running as […]

The Massachusetts economy’s strong performance in July, August and September took the economists at MassBenchmarks a bit by surprise, but the outlook they shared Thursday for the Massachusetts economy over the next few months was not nearly as rosy and pointed out looming weaknesses in the Bay State economy. Massachusetts real gross state product (GDP) increased at a 3.8 percent […]

What do New England’s largest nature-based conservation organization and a Natick-based developer of mathematical computing software have in common? It might not seem like much at first glance, but MathWorks announced last week that it is giving $25 million to Mass Audubon for the shared goal of restoring and protecting Massachusetts’ natural lands. The seven-year commitment from […]

His people are staying tight-lipped about specifics, but it appears that former Gov. Charlie Baker could make his return to the Massachusetts State House in the coming months — and he might have an expensive new portrait of himself in tow. Baker’s campaign finance account reported that it paid Pennsylvania-based artist Ellen Cooper $16,280 on Oct. 10 for a […]

Massachusetts has a long list of pressing concerns — maintaining its competitive edge against other states, fostering a talented workforce that can fuel the region’s economy, cutting greenhouse gas emissions to stave off some of the worst effects of climate change, and more. And there’s no silver bullet that might move the needle on all […]

The $1.73 billion Powerball jackpot winning ticket wasn’t purchased in Massachusetts (in California instead), but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. The jackpot and its estimated cash value of $756.6 million grew throughout the day Wednesday as players in Lottery-loving Massachusetts and almost every other state in America lined up at convenience stores — or now […]

A former Massachusetts cannabis regulator was among the leaders of a coalition that last week prodded President Joe Biden to make good on his year-old pledge to soften the federal government’s prohibition of marijuana, and offered three steps he could take to advance marijuana decriminalization. In August, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommended […]

House Democrats will hold a hearing on their overhaul of Massachusetts firearms laws Tuesday morning and the venue they chose — Gardner Auditorium, the State House’s largest hearing room — is a sign of the interest it is expected to draw from people and organizations around the state. A summary and analysis of the bill produced by Gun Owners’ Action […]