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Look At The Week Ahead - The Advances
8/25/23 5:12 PM
Students are heading back to classrooms and campuses next week and it appears work is winding down inside the Sumner Tunnel, but the Legislature remains in vacation mode, and Democrats on Friday had no timetable to offer when asked about when they will return to formal sessions. Gov. Maura Healey and legislative leaders started 2023 with bold promises, but outside of spending and borrowing bills have taken a minimalist approach in the ensuing months toward the idea of passing new laws. In the governor's case, her reworked version of the tax relief bills that Beacon Hill considered last session is the only major proposal of its scale that Healey has before the Legislature.
UMass Lowell Administrator Will Take Over Atop DCAMM
8/25/23 2:41 PM
Gov. Maura Healey has tapped an administrator from UMass Lowell as her new commissioner of the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance.
Rangers Honored For State House Fire Response
8/25/23 12:53 PM
Four Department of Conservation and Recreation rangers assigned to the State House's security program have been honored by their agency in connection with their response to the electrical fire in the capitol building last month.
Nonprofits Team Up To Fight Mold In Springfield
8/25/23 11:55 AM
A pair of nonprofits are teaming up in Springfield to attack the dangers of indoor mold, an asthma trigger that is disproportionately common in communities of color and low-income communities.
100 Mass. Farms Getting Checks For 10 Grand
8/25/23 11:50 AM
Pioneer Valley farms that were flooded out during July will soon receive $10,000 checks from a fundraising campaign launched by the Healey administration and United Way of Central Massachusetts last month.
New MBTA Train Delivery Dates Remain Work In Progress
8/24/23 6:54 PM
The Chinese firm responsible for building new MBTA Orange and Red Line trains is still crafting an updated schedule for the project after multiple delays, and T officials appear pleased with how well the vehicles have been performing lately.
Utilities Regulators Approve Offshore Wind Contract Termination
8/24/23 6:51 PM
State regulators have consented to a developer backing off its contracts for a 1,200-megawatt offshore wind installation, and introduced a procurement plan that weighs bidders' past failures to complete projects without outright barring them from participation.
Update Planned On Approach to Mass. And Cass
8/24/23 4:57 PM
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu plans to share an update Friday on her strategy to tackle escalating violence around Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue.
Student Hails “Life-Changing” New Free Community College Program
8/24/23 2:26 PM
Fighting back tears, incoming MassBay Community College interior design student Danita Mends recounted on campus Thursday how she had to drop out of college and enter the workforce in the early 2000s due to financial setbacks.
Senate Session Summary - Ships Galvin-Feeney Financial Exploitation Bill to Committee
8/24/23 12:32 PM
The Senate on Thursday introduced new petitions aimed at "modernizing" the state veterans' benefits law and preventing the "financial exploitation" of adults with disabilities and seniors.
House Session Summary - Introduces Proposed Exemption From MBTA Community Zoning
8/24/23 12:21 PM
The House breezed through another light session Thursday, sticking around a bit longer than usual during the summer slowdown to finish its work on legislation dealing with sick leave for a single Department of Children and Families employee.
After Tour, Wu Outlines Long Island’s Potential
8/23/23 5:35 PM
As they face the immediate problems evident in Boston's Mass. and Cass area, city officials on Wednesday outlined their intention to revitalize recovery options and social services on Long Island, and reopen a campus there in four years.
Who’s On The Move?
8/23/23 5:06 PM
... A former Suffolk County prosecutor joined a Boston labor and employment law firm ... Mayor Wu tapped a new member for the Boston School Committee ... Harvard's Institute of Politics brought on a new executive director ... Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts hired a chief consumer experience officer ... And six years after she left the state's highest court, a retired jurist is now chairing the State Ethics Commission ...
Plan Offered To Mitigate Leominster Maternity Ward Closure
8/23/23 4:38 PM
UMass Memorial Medical Center officials intend to work with transit officials to help redirect patients to other area hospitals, especially UMass Memorial Medical Center's campus in Worcester, if they follow through with a Leominster maternity ward's closure.
Boston Faces Long Path To Restore Long Island Services
8/23/23 4:15 PM
[Coverage Developing] As they face the immediate problems evident in Boston's Mass. and Cass area, city officials on Wednesday outlined their intention to revitalize recovery options and social services on Long Island, and reopen a campus there in four years.
Rep Appeals For Aid With Springfield Gun Violence
8/23/23 3:56 PM
A Springfield representative is asking Gov. Maura Healey to permanently increase the presence of the State Police and for federal law enforcement agencies to establish "a greater presence" in his city as it deals with an uptick in gun violence this year.
Feds Shift Vehicle Repair Law Into Implementation Gear
8/22/23 6:00 PM
State and federal regulators appear to have made a breakthrough to move forward with a voter-approved vehicle repair data law after legal battles and safety concerns stalled its implementation.
Tuition Reform Changes Outlook For Tanzanian Immigrant
8/22/23 5:04 PM
Joan Shauri always had a plan: she would finish high school with good grades, study nursing, and then go on to work for UNICEF to help others in need.
Mass. Airports Part of “Zero Close Calls” Mission
8/22/23 3:46 PM
Two Massachusetts airports will be tasked with developing and agreeing to runway safety action plans following upcoming meetings with federal officials.
![Gov. Maura Healey rides the Blue Line Wednesday. Her administration has touted the Blue Line as an alternate public transit option during the Sumner Tunnel closure. [Courtesy/Governor's Office]](https://www.statehousenews.com/content/frontpage_photo/2023/08_25_Healey_Blue_Line_Passengers.jpg "Gov. Maura Healey rides the Blue Line Wednesday. Her administration has touted the Blue Line as an alternate public transit option during the Sumner Tunnel closure. [Courtesy/Governor's Office]")
Governor Had “Smooth” Blue Line Ride Wednesday
8/25/23 5:04 PM
Gov. Maura Healey quietly rode the Blue Line this week, fulfilling her pledge earlier this summer to take the free transit option during the two-month closure of the Sumner Tunnel.
![Plates of heirloom tomatoes were spread out before the judges, including Transitional Assistance Commissioner Jeff McCue (pictured), at the Department of Agricultural Resources' annual tomato contest Tuesday. Farmers from around the state sent in their choicest fruits of the August harvest to compete in the Boston competition. [Sam Doran/SHNS]](https://www.statehousenews.com/content/frontpage_photo/2023/08-22_Tomatoes_2.jpg "Plates of heirloom tomatoes were spread out before the judges, including Transitional Assistance Commissioner Jeff McCue (pictured), at the Department of Agricultural Resources' annual tomato contest Tuesday. Farmers from around the state sent in their choicest fruits of the August harvest to compete in the Boston competition. [Sam Doran/SHNS]")
Weekly Roundup - Back to School
8/25/23 3:57 PM
We hate to break it to the summer-loving crowd out there, but the season's change is closer than you think.
![Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at The Base in Roxbury on Friday. Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox are among those standing behind her. [Sam Drysdale/SHNS]](https://www.statehousenews.com/content/frontpage_photo/2023/08-25_Wu.jpg "Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at The Base in Roxbury on Friday. Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox are among those standing behind her. [Sam Drysdale/SHNS]")
Bigger Role For Police In Wu’s New Mass. And Cass Plan
8/25/23 2:24 PM
Boston police would be granted the ability to take down tents at Mass. and Cass., under Mayor Michelle Wu's plans for a new approach to address the homeless encampments in an area that's the center of the state's opioid epidemic.
Red Line Segment Closing for 16 Days of Repairs in October
8/24/23 1:41 PM
The MBTA will fully close two southern sections of the Red Line for 16 days in October, during which General Manager Phil Eng said workers will replace some of the oldest track in the T's system.
MassHealth Cleared 61,000 From Rolls In July
8/24/23 9:39 AM
A third of a way into a sweeping effort to reassess MassHealth eligibility for roughly 2.4 million Bay Staters, the anticipated wave of disenrollment is beginning to appear.
Dorchester Housing Framed As Chapter In U.S. Energy Story
8/23/23 1:34 PM
The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday visited a Dorchester housing complex slated to make the switch to cleaner energy to highlight it as one anecdote in the "national story" of how the United States is preparing to deal with effects of a changing climate.
Report Breaks Down Health Care Use By Race
8/23/23 1:21 PM
Black patients had disproportionately higher acute care utilization compared to patients of other racial and ethnic groups, and Hispanic patients visited emergency departments at a disproportionately higher rate compared to White patients, according to a new state report on inequities in health care.
Settlement Addresses Hazards At Discount Retailer
8/23/23 11:00 AM
Federal officials announced Wednesday that they have ordered Dollar Tree and Family Dollar to address store safety concerns, such as blocked exits, access to fire extinguishers, and improper material storage, at thousands of its stores nationwide, including in Massachusetts.
Jewish Groups Watching State’s Approach To Security Grants
8/23/23 7:00 AM
Frightened in recent years by the stabbing of a rabbi in Brighton, a hostage situation at a Texas synagogue, and the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, Jewish organizations in Massachusetts have clamored for state funding to strengthen security infrastructure at their temples and day schools.
Influential Collective Seeks To Derail MCAS Question
8/23/23 6:00 AM
Saying it improperly mixes two unrelated topics, nearly 20 education and business leaders are calling on the attorney general not to certify as ballot eligible an initiative petition removing the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam as a high school graduation requirement. Leaders of the organization behind the ballot question, in turn, have accused their opponents of "desperate political maneuvering."
![Rose Arruda (left), a program manager at the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, points out some of her favorite entries in the heirloom category at MDAR's annual tomato contest Tuesday outside the Boston Public Market. [Sam Doran/SHNS]](https://www.statehousenews.com/content/frontpage_photo/2023/08-22_Tomatoes_5.jpg "Rose Arruda (left), a program manager at the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, points out some of her favorite entries in the heirloom category at MDAR's annual tomato contest Tuesday outside the Boston Public Market. [Sam Doran/SHNS]")
Mass. Tomato Growers Overcome Season’s Challenges
8/22/23 5:47 PM
It's been a tough year for Massachusetts farmers, but in spite of heavy rains and catastrophic flooding, the cream of the tomato crop was glistening in the August sun Tuesday as judges in the state's annual tomato contest mulled over their top picks.
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