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By SAM DORAN

BOSTON – As she unveiled a portrait of early women’s rights advocate Abigail Adams late last week, Senate President Karen Spilka announced an open call to the people of Massachusetts to nominate the next woman who will be permanently memorialized in...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Over more than three hours of discussion about a proposal to stop using MCAS exam scores as a high school graduation requirement, lawmakers kept returning to one specific question: If the ballot measure were passed, how would Massachusetts...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

HOLYOKE — Mary Deschenes broke into a smile as soon as she opened the front door of her Holyoke home Monday morning and saw Rick Dunderdale there to deliver her lunch for the day.“It’s nice to see a friendly face,” said Deschenes, 78, who began having...

By XINYI YANG

BOSTON — Area lawmakers’ proposals to require menstrual products to be available for no cost in all state buildings, establish special dorms for students in recovery, and consolidate overlapping higher education financial aid programs all cleared a...

By DIANE BRONCACCIO

The groundhog predicted an early end to winter: did that also mean an earlier start to maple sugaring? Apparently so, according to several maple sugarers in the region.“This is the earliest we’ve ever started,” remarked Chip Williams of the...

By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week.Beacon Hill Roll Call’s research shows that so far there are at least 11 bills that have been approved unanimously by the Senate in 2023 but are languishing in the House...

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — All signs pointed to something happening soon, but Corey Schneider had no idea it would be that soon.At a Feb. 22 event held at the UMass Club in Boston, nearly the entire UMass Board of Trustees was in attendance – which is fairly unusual,...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

Safety on Massachusetts roadways is “at a crisis level,” the state highway administrator told lawmakers this week as he detailed steps the Department of Transportation has taken to try to prevent some of the most dangerous and deadly situations and to...

As Jews, we urge the Gazette to stop quoting individuals and organizations who are falsely equating antisemitism with calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. In the face of unspeakable violence by the Israeli state, it is not antisemitic to protest the...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — The industry group representing package stores signaled this week that it’s ready to “beg” lawmakers to end the authorization for takeaway drinks, a pandemic-era policy allowing many bars and restaurants to sell beer, wine and cocktails to...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

With no significant jackpots at stake last month, sales at the Massachusetts Lottery were down nearly $34 million compared to last January, the agency’s head reported to the Lottery Commission on Tuesday.Executive Director Mark William Bracken said...

By Alison Kuznitz

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey will recommend reauthorizing the state’s life sciences initiative for another decade in a sprawling economic development bill she plans to file this week, she told hundreds of business leaders Tuesday morning. The bill will...

By TANISHA BHAT

While many communities have made progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, many experts believe the next big step statewide will involve electrifying home heating systems, a process the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — From the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in Lynn to the state’s western border in Richmond, people in Massachusetts are letting the state know how they feel about wallet-busting energy bills.“I struggle to pay my bills, my electric runs $250 a...

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 WENDY BERG and MARK REYNOLDS

The magnitude of global climate change has come home to us in Massachusetts. Last summer, flooding caused by intensive storms washed away roads and other critical infrastructure, destroying the crops on many local farms and in our community...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — A recently expanded state financial aid program has yet to make a major impact on high school seniors evaluating their college options, a leader of an educational nonprofit warned Tuesday.The MASSGrant Plus expansion program, supported by a...

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 — 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...