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By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — After a $2.78 billion settlement that will allow colleges to pay their athletes got preliminary approval earlier this week, NCAA president and former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker was in Boston on Thursday touting the deal as “[solving]...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON – As enrollment at community colleges booms under the state’s new free tuition program, the faculty that teach and support the burgeoning population are asking for their first wage equity adjustment in 25 years.

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON – The state’s top education official pledged Tuesday that Massachusetts schools would protect transgender students, even after a federal judge scrapped President Joe Biden’s expanded Title IX protections of LGBTQ students last week.

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Massachusetts has the second-highest family health insurance premiums in the country, according to the Health Policy Commission, and the state Division of Insurance is investigating medical inflation as average premium rates across the individual and small group markets increased by 7.9% over the course of 2024.

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Fueled by the highest immigration levels in decades, Massachusetts saw its largest population increase in 60 years between 2023 and 2024, and the rate of domestic outmigration has significantly slowed, according to U.S Census data released last month.

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Fresh off winning another term leading the Massachusetts Senate, President Karen Spilka quickly set her sights on a combination of new and old priorities, including one that will have significant interest in the Pioneer Valley — reexamining...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Massachusetts school districts have to come up with new processes before the end of the school year to determine if a student has shown competency over state academic standards, as state officials face an onslaught of questions raised by...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — A Boston area congressman on Monday positioned himself opposite one of his colleagues from north of the city in one of the longest running debates about transforming the state’s public transit system.Congressman Stephen Lynch said that he...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — After months of delay, the Legislature sent a major clean energy bill to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk amid shifting national energy policy dynamics.The House voted 125-17 to approve the 139-page House-Senate compromise bill (S 2967), and both...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON – Voters defeated a proposal to gradually increase how much employers must pay workers who collect tips, like servers in restaurants.The campaign opposed to phasing out the current tipped-wage structure and increasing the pay for waiters and...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — The University of Massachusetts is simplifying its message for prospective in-state students and their families: If you make under $75,000, you can come to any one of the system’s campuses for free.There’s been a surge in state funding for...

By SAM DRYSDALE

As scores on statewide standardized tests rolled in Tuesday, revealing that students are still struggling from pandemic-related learning losses, education officials contemplated an overhaul of the state’s accountability system – against the backdrop...

By SAM DRYSDALE

The program meant to give students a head start on their college enrollment is expanding, which officials say will save students money, make them more likely to attend college than their peers and increase lifelong earning potential.University of...

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...