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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 — 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

BOSTON — Moderate-income white students could gain the most under a proposal that top Senate Democrats are weighing to make community college free for all Massachusetts residents, according to a report, which urges lawmakers to make adjustments with...

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 would be made permanent, under a bill the Senate unanimously passed late...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BELCHERTOWN — In what has become a steady drumbeat from school officials in many Hampshire County communities this budget season, Belchertown has become the latest to stare down a significant school budget gap that could mean the “staggering” loss of...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — A Labor Advisory Council will be created to advise Gov. Maura Healey on matters related to organized labor, under an executive order the governor signed Tuesday.Healey also announced Roger Brunelle, former vice president of the Massachusetts...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Despite a tightening state budget picture, the Senate this week plans to take up a pricey early education and child care bill aimed at expanding access to education for the state’s youngest learners and making it more affordable for families,...

By SAM DRYSDALE

Senators this week are expected to 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...

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

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 approved a sweeping overhaul of state firearms laws Thursday night, 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

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 tourism...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — “Keep your eyes peeled” for free community college funding in the Senate’s version of the fiscal year 2025 budget, Senate President Karen Spilka said Wednesday.Making community college free for every Massachusetts resident could cost the...

By SAM DRYSDALE

Between 2021 and 2023, the number of Massachusetts residents living in food-insecure households increased by close to 50%, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.A Hunger Free America analysis of USDA data shows that 363,433 Bay...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren threw her weight behind Gov. Maura Healey’s housing plan this week, and said the federal government will need to “step up” to help the state address its housing affordability and availability crisis.As many as...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — The state’s drug overdose crisis is persisting at record high levels, exacerbated by a “poisoned drug supply” that isn’t just affecting those who use opioids anymore.There were 2,323 confirmed and estimated fatal opioid-related overdoses...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — There have been 317 school shootings in the United States so far this year, exceeding last year’s record-breaking number, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database.Responding to a sharp rise in school shooting incidents since 2010,...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — While lawmakers on Beacon Hill have deliberated over sending aid to the state’s emergency assistance system, the number of families that are finding safe housing in those shelters has grown by 105 percent in the last eleven months, according...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — The workforce shortage that has left employers across sectors scrambling to keep operations running in recent years isn’t likely to let up “any time in the rest of anybody’s lifetime,” one of the nation’s leading economists recdently...