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The Latest on COVID-19
- Pfizer Submits EUA to FDA 4:42 PM Fri
- NH, ME Now Subject to Travel Order Restrictions 4:31 PM Fri
- DPH Commissioner Having Thanksgiving Online 4:29 PM Fri
Last update: 11/20/20 5:11 PM
![The state's unemployment rate continues its decline in October, dropping to a pandemic-era low of 7.4 percent. [Graphic: Chris Lisinski/SHNS]](https://www.statehousenews.com/content/frontpage_photo/2020/11-20_Unemployment_Rate.jpg "The state's unemployment rate continues its decline in October, dropping to a pandemic-era low of 7.4 percent. [Graphic: Chris Lisinski/SHNS]")
Jobless Rate Falls to 7.4 Percent, But Gains Slowing
11/20/20 2:11 PM
Massachusetts employment data for October offered a mixed outlook on the state's economic recovery: the unemployment rate dropped 2.4 percentage points to the lowest level since the pandemic hit, but job growth continues to slow after unprecedented losses followed by sizable gains.
Mass. Voters Set New Record With 76 Percent Turnout
11/19/20 4:48 PM
Early and mail-in voting across Massachusetts helped drive turnout in the Nov. 3 election to a record 76 percent, the state's top election official announced Thursday.
New Jobless Claims At Highest Level Since June
11/19/20 4:41 PM
Confirmed COVID-19 cases are not the only pandemic-era numbers on the rise again: total new unemployment claims in Massachusetts last week reached the highest level in more than five months.
Another Mass. House Employee Tests Positive For Virus
11/19/20 4:25 PM
Another House employee who was in the State House as recently as Tuesday has tested positive for COVID-19, according to an email sent by House Speaker Robert DeLeo to legislators and staff.
Massport to Cut Workforce to Match '1970s Volumes' of Travelers
11/19/20 3:11 PM
Facing massive financial strain inflicted by the pandemic, the Massachusetts Port Authority plans to slash its workforce by about 25 percent through a combination of voluntary retirements, buyouts, furloughs and layoffs.
Guvs Vouch for Safety of In-Person Schooling
11/19/20 2:29 PM
With COVID-19 cases on the rise across the Northeast and New York City moving to close its schools to students and teachers this week, six governors, including Gov. Charlie Baker, banded together to support the continuation of in-person learning as a safe activity when done correctly.
Senate Session Summary - Thursday, Nov. 19
11/19/20 12:49 PM
Higher Education Committee members would have until year's end to act on a variety of policy proposals involving student loans and debt, financial aid, and public higher education tuition, under a deadline extension granted by the Senate Thursday. The extension order had sat untouched since it was approved by the House in April with an end-date of Nov. 20, which the Senate pushed out to Dec. 31.
House Session Summary - Thursday, Nov. 19
11/19/20 12:46 PM
The House on Thursday capped a mostly uneventful week during which it met for a total of about 15 minutes, adjourning for the weekend after giving initial approval to a bill establishing an Opioid Recovery and Remediation Trust Fund. The bill stems from a section of the recent fiscal 2020 closeout budget that Gov. Baker returned with an amendment.
State Awards $68 Mil in Economic Development Grants
11/19/20 11:25 AM
Thirty-five cities and towns will receive $68 million in economic development grants from the state as part of the newest round of MassWorks funding that will assist with everything from helping a small town install a culvert to a larger city pursue new housing and retail development.
Senate Budget Plan Nudges MBTA on Service Cuts
11/19/20 11:04 AM
Baker administration transportation officials have stressed they are unlikely to reverse service cuts promptly even if the federal government makes another round of one-time emergency aid available, but the Massachusetts Senate has a different idea.
Survey: More Parents Concerned That Kids Are Falling Behind
11/19/20 9:47 AM
[Story Developing] More than half of parents surveyed in a recent poll said this pandemic-disrupted school year is negatively affecting their children's academic learning, and higher numbers see their children falling behind grade level than they did in earlier this year.
Senate Rejects Sports Betting, Adds TNC Fees to Budget
11/19/20 9:31 AM
Following two days of deliberations, the Massachusetts Senate wrapped up its work late Wednesday night on a roughly $46 billion state budget for the fiscal year that began four and a half months ago.
Big Decisions on Allston Megaproject Kicked Into 2021
11/18/20 5:35 PM
State transportation officials suggested punting once again on selecting a preferred design for a massive infrastructure project in Allston stretching across multiple modes of transportation, this time until at least next year.
Biden Plans Virtual Meetup With Governors Thursday
11/18/20 5:19 PM
Gov. Charlie Baker may be in store Thursday for a virtual meetup with President-elect Joe Biden.
Mass. Senate Approves Expanded Abortion Access 33-7
11/18/20 5:12 PM
Language codifying and expanding abortion access rights in Massachusetts is virtually guaranteed to land on Gov. Charlie Baker's desk soon after the Senate voted 33-7 on Wednesday to add major policy changes to its fiscal year 2021 budget.
Data Explores Pandemic Impacts on Health Care Jobs, Access
11/18/20 5:05 PM
Massachusetts has experienced a larger decline in health care sector employment during the COVID-19 pandemic than the country as a whole, according to data presented Wednesday to the Health Policy Commission.
Rapid Result Virus Tests Launching in 134 School Districts
11/18/20 3:47 PM
Starting in early December, 134 school districts, charter schools and special education collaboratives will have access to rapid COVID-19 tests for students or staff members who show symptoms of the respiratory disease while school is in session.
Mass. Opioid Overdose Deaths on Rise in Pandemic
11/18/20 3:23 PM
An estimated 33 more people died from opioid overdoses in the first nine months of 2020 compared to the same period last year, new Department of Public Health data show. The 1,517 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths through September represent a 2 percent increase from the deaths logged from January through September of 2019, according to figures presented at a Public Health Council meeting Wednesday.
Student Migration For Thanksgiving Sparks New Guidance
11/18/20 3:03 PM
In past years, some parents might have worried that their child would bring their college roommate home with them for Thanksgiving. This year, Gov. Charlie Baker said, public health experts and state officials are "very concerned" that college students might bring COVID-19 home for the holiday.
Advances - Week of Nov. 22
11/20/20 5:25 PM
Thanksgiving is coming, and this year the traveling associated with that holiday is being portrayed not as a tribute to the family and friends that form our lifelines, but as an act of selfishness with potentially deadly consequences.
![Sen. Will Brownsberger sped down the corridor as he ran back to the Senate Chamber during a roll call Wednesday to cast his vote for the much-debated abortion access amendment to this year's budget. After months of monitoring the economy, lawmakers burst into action for unprecedented back-to-back weeks of budget debate. [Sam Doran/SHNS]](https://www.statehousenews.com/content/frontpage_photo/2020/11-18_Brownsberger_running_ROE_roll_call_c.jpg "Sen. Will Brownsberger sped down the corridor as he ran back to the Senate Chamber during a roll call Wednesday to cast his vote for the much-debated abortion access amendment to this year's budget. After months of monitoring the economy, lawmakers burst into action for unprecedented back-to-back weeks of budget debate. [Sam Doran/SHNS]")
Weekly Roundup - Risky Business
11/20/20 4:32 PM
One hundred and seventy six years ago Lydia Maria Child sat down and wrote an endearing and enduring poem about the excitement of going to grandfather's house, in Medford no less, to celebrate Thanksgiving. But in 2020, even over the river and through the wood might be too far to travel. Especially if it's to see grandfather and grandmother. They are in a high risk category, after all.
Galvin: Alleged Trump Foray Grounds For An Investigation
11/19/20 4:35 PM
President-elect Joe Biden should initiate an obstruction of justice investigation into President Donald Trump's reported correspondence with election officials in other states, the top election official in Massachusetts said Thursday.
Price Cap Will Ease Compact’s Gas Cost Concerns, TCI Supporter Says
11/19/20 4:06 PM
Supporters of a regional effort to cap vehicle emissions urged patience Thursday as states work to finalize details of the Transportation Climate Initiative before the end of the year, putting little stock in a new report that suggested consumers could pay a much higher price at the pump than previously forecast.
![MassINC Polling Group President Steve Koczela said Thursday that a new survey of K-12 parents highlighted "big divides" among which demographic groups are engaged in remote, in-person or hybrid learning. [Screenshot]](https://www.statehousenews.com/content/frontpage_photo/2020/11-19_Massinc_poll.jpg "MassINC Polling Group President Steve Koczela said Thursday that a new survey of K-12 parents highlighted \"big divides\" among which demographic groups are engaged in remote, in-person or hybrid learning. [Screenshot]")
Parental Concerns Emerge in Poll on Pandemic Education Models
11/19/20 3:35 PM
Parents of K-12 students participating in hybrid learning models have a more pessimistic outlook on the impacts of this pandemic-disrupted school year than those whose kids are receiving entirely remote or fully in-person education, a new poll shows.
![[Blake Nissen/Boston Globe/Pool/2020]](https://www.statehousenews.com/content/frontpage_photo/2020/04-18_BCEC_Pool-Globe-Nissen.jpg "[Blake Nissen/Boston Globe/Pool/2020]")
Vaccine News Gives Hope to Decimated Convention Sector
11/19/20 12:59 PM
It has been months since the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center or MassMutual Center in Springfield have hosted the kinds of large-scale events they are designed for and make their money from, but officials at the Convention Center Authority are hoping to unveil proposed COVID-19 safety guidelines in January and will ask the Baker administration allow them to resume some events.
Study Points to Greater Gas Price Impacts From Transpo Pact
11/19/20 12:00 AM
A new study of the cap-and-trade program under development by Northeast states to reduce carbon emissions from cars and trucks found that the program could be more than twice as expensive for drivers than previously estimated, with the pandemic potentially playing a major role in how effective the Transportation Climate Initiative will be.
Senate Session Summary - Wednesday, Nov. 18
11/18/20 11:29 PM
With a unanimous vote, the Massachusetts Senate wrapped up its work late Wednesday night on a roughly $46 billion state budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. "The budget, I think, is a really strong, responsive budget to the situation at hand and trying to really help the residents of the commonwealth," Senate President Karen Spilka said after the Senate adjourned around 10:30 p.m.
Markey Hires John Walsh as Chief of Staff
11/18/20 5:38 PM
John Walsh, who helped engineer Deval Patrick's successful first run for governor and this year managed the reelection campaign of U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, is moving inside government.
![Appeals Court Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt fielded questions from the Governor's Council Wednesday at a hearing on her nomination to the Supreme Judicial Court. [Sam Doran/SHNS]](https://www.statehousenews.com/content/frontpage_photo/2020/11-18_Wendlandt.jpg "Appeals Court Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt fielded questions from the Governor's Council Wednesday at a hearing on her nomination to the Supreme Judicial Court. [Sam Doran/SHNS]")
SJC Nominee Backs Mandatory Racism Training For Judges
11/18/20 4:17 PM
Appeals Court Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt, who is endeavoring to become the first Latinx woman to sit on the Supreme Judicial Court, said Wednesday that she would support mandatory racism training for all judges in Massachusetts as she faced questions about systemic racism in the criminal justice system.
With Unanimous Vote, Budd Makes History as SJC Chief
11/18/20 12:39 PM
Kimberly Budd will become the next chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court after she was unanimously confirmed by the Governor's Council on Wednesday to succeed the late Chief Justice Ralph Gants and become the first Black woman to lead the state's highest court.
Read more in the Front Page Archives
The Mass. Almanac – free to subscribers through 2020 – includes up-to-date info on replacements in the Executive agencies, a quick reference to legislators not returning in 2021, and much more info on the people who make the government run.