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By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Students with cognitive disabilities and English language learners who are held back from a diploma due to the MCAS exam could stand to benefit the most from a ballot initiative that would “greatly diminish the state’s role as a gatekeeper to...

By SAM DRYSDALE

After speculation surfaced on a national TV show last weekend, Gov. Maura Healey resolutely denied having any interest in serving as attorney general under a potential future President Kamala Harris administration.Healey has been actively promoting...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON – Supporters of a ballot measure going before voters this fall say granting the state auditor the ability to investigate the Legislature would increase transparency and accountability for a body that they say is opaque. But a new study says...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON – As Gov. Maura Healey and lawmakers celebrated what they called “historic” housing legislation getting signed into law Tuesday, some of the advocates credited with influencing the bill say it is “underwhelming” and watered down, with a number...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — House and Senate negotiators sent an agreement on a policy-filled $5.16 billion housing bond bill to Gov. Maura Healey Thursday morning, potentially salvaging a priority for the House, Senate and governor. A number of policies sponsored by...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — The Massachusetts House was split along party lines Wednesday night in voting to support climate and energy legislation that would “help accelerate the green transition,” according to the bill’s lead architect. “The bill before you continues...

By SAM DRYSDALE

After the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a landmark $6 billion opioid settlement last month that would have steered up to $110 million to the Bay State for prevention, treatment and recovery programs, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Leyla Connolly’s battery-powered wheelchair has been broken for more than a year. As she waits for it to be fixed, she is consigned to her Dorchester apartment, where she feels trapped without a safe way to leave to get groceries, go to...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Two powerful lawmakers are trying to push a widely supported bill to ban toxic “forever chemicals” over the finish line before the looming end of session, but neither said Tuesday that the issue is a priority for their branch.House Speaker...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON – Massachusetts is now the 49th state to prohibit revenge pornography, with Gov. Maura Healey signing a bill late last week that also cracks down on sexual harassment and coercive control by domestic abusers.The bill closes a legal loophole to...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Musicians hauling three drums, two trombones, a saxophone and and a tuba played their way up Park Street to the corner of Beacon Street on Tuesday afternoon — blocking traffic and leading dozens of ralliers in the day’s 90-degree heat to...

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

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 — 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...