Erin Tiernan

The tragic R.J. Oppenheimer thought he was doing something powerful and good, and so does Rep. Mike Connolly… and so did Mike Dukakis and so did Cathy Judd-Stein and — well, state government is replete with cases where leaders proposed or effected explosive change, only to have it, um, bomb. John Keller explains in his […]

It’s Back-To-School week in many Massachusetts communities, and no doubt back to the book challenges or complaints that have hit record levels, with the hyper-partisanship infecting our national conversation working its way into schools and onto bookshelves. In 2022, Massachusetts saw 45 challenges on more than 30 books, The American Library Association said. Bay State […]

Black people in Massachusetts are more than twice as likely to die in childbirth as their White counterparts — a glaring racial disparity that the state hopes to tackle in part by making doula care more accessible.  Doula care is one of the most effective tools to improve health outcomes and reduce racial disparities among pregnant and postpartum people. […]

Thirty years after Boston and roughly two dozen other major U.S. cities put their school committees under mayoral control, more than half have restored voters’ power to elect board members. But attempts to return to an independent school board have gone nowhere in Boston even as voters overwhelmingly support it and a majority of the city […]

It’s a big year for public education in Massachusetts. New policy rollouts costing roughly a half-billion dollars owe their funding to the state’s new cash cow — a wealth tax on Bay Staters earning over $1 million. Lawmakers and supporters say it’s a long-term investment that will bolster the state’s economy for everyone. Business groups say […]

Gov. Maura Healey came face-to-face with climate protesters interrupting her Nantucket fundraiser over concerns the state is already off track to meeting looming emissions reduction goals. And the group of young activists behind recent high-profile disruptions at political events say they will continue to escalate — just like climate change. “Big updates imminent. We are cranking […]

The state that was first to legalize same-sex marriage and now seen as ground zero in the fight to expand LGBTQ rights is being sued over an agency decision to bar a devout Catholic couple from becoming foster parents. The suit centers on the couple’s refusal to offer gender-affirming medical care for youth in their […]

In an appeal to anyone with “an extra room or suite” to spare, Gov. Maura Healey asked Bay Staters to consider hosting a family in need of shelter as huge numbers of incoming migrants and needy families overwhelm state resources. It’s a strategy affordable housing advocates say could be deployed on a larger scale in a […]

Unrelenting storms amid an unusually rainy New England summer have brought the pain of floodwaters typically experienced in coastal neighborhoods on the edge of rising seas into Massachusetts’ interior. Flash flooding in recent weeks has wreaked havoc from Western Massachusetts to Merrimack Valley and as the water levels recede, Beacon Hill leaders are scrambling to support […]