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Climate protesters who disrupted Maura Healey, Kamala Harris fundraisers vow escalating action

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 […]

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Shared housing floated for Massachusetts migrant crisis could help plug state’s larger housing shortage

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 […]

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Massachusetts crops, businesses destroyed in floods fueled by climate change predicted to get worse

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 […]

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Beacon Hill slow to act on home-rule petitions for Massachusetts cities, towns pitching policy change

In Massachusetts, home-rule petition shapes the local law of the land — a system that leaves cities and towns at the mercy of the Legislature when it comes to enacting everything from the mundane to major policy changes.  Local petitions can address a range of complex issues, such as whether a town should implement ranked-choice voting or […]

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Boston is biggest ‘domino’ in ranked-choice voting push in Massachusetts

When the spread for the neighborhood barbecue is left up to the simple majority, Ed Shoemaker says everyone winds up eating raisins in their potato salad.  The punch line in his analogy explaining the benefits of ranked-choice voting is meant to convey that more people win when weight is given to second- and third-choice candidates.   Three years […]

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Next chapter for Massachusetts veterans as Holyoke Soldiers’ Home breaks ground on new facility

State officials today will ceremoniously turn the page on a dark chapter for Massachusetts veterans and their families, celebrating the groundbreaking of a long-needed new dormitory at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home where 76 veterans died in a COVID outbreak fueled in part by poor infection control at the aging facility. Family of the service members who […]

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Budget veto raises concern migrant crisis overshadowing Massachusetts’ long-running homeless need

Homeless advocates are accusing Gov. Maura Healey of robbing Peter to pay Paul after she cut a “critical” $2.5 million for support services in the $55.98 billion annual budget she signed earlier this week. The shelter crisis spurred an emergency declaration this week with taxpayers currently spending more than $1 million a day — roughly $45 million per […]

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Massachusetts governor’s office would reveal more in the way of public records, should bill pass

Whether a campaign trail pledge from Gov. Maura Healey to break with the tradition of her predecessors, promising to follow public records law and bring more transparency to the office “than ever before” has been realized, depends on whom you ask.  By many accounts, Gov. Maura Healey has been selective in which public records requests she’s […]