Colin A. Young

Guest Contributor

Stories by Colin A. Young

Major justice reform bill clears Legislature

Criminal Justice/ Politics

Major justice reform bill clears Legislature

Signals shift in focus from punishment toward rehabilitation and substance use treatment

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH ONLY A WHIFF of opposition, the Massachusetts Legislature on Wednesday passed a broad package of criminal justice system reforms that have languished for years, signaling a likely shift in focus away from punishment and toward rehabilitation and substance use treatment in an effort to reduce recidivism. The legislation (S 2371), which(...)

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Net neutrality hearing gets hot

Economy/ Politics

Net neutrality hearing gets hot

Senators clash with internet service providers

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATORS PUT REPRESENTATIVES of internet service providers on the hot seat Wednesday at a hearing on a Senate bill intended to promote fair internet practices known as net neutrality. Internet service providers (ISPs) and their representatives have said they do not currently and do not intend to slow connection speeds for(...)

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House passes new tax on short-term rentals

Housing/ Politics

House passes new tax on short-term rentals

Airbnb called the measure 'onerous and overly burdensome"

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE TRYING TO BRING STATE LAW in line with the new ways in which people rent short-term lodging, the Massachusetts House on Thursday passed legislation to regulate and tax the short-term rental industry. Short-term rentals through websites like Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO have grown in popularity over recent years, creating new revenue(...)

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Prodded by DiZoglio, House debates handling of complaints

Politics

Prodded by DiZoglio, House debates handling of complaints

Scaccia taunts DeLeo and chamber's 'sound of silence'

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FRUSTRATION AND ANGER bubbled to the surface in the Massachusetts House on Thursday where one lawmaker’s personal story of harassment led to a testy debate over how employee complaints have been handled in the House and a call from one House Democrat for the attorney general to investigate his own party’s(...)

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Chandler backs more funding for RTAs

Tracking Transportation/ Transportation

Chandler backs more funding for RTAs

But Baker says state has been 'pretty supportive'

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS SUPPORTERS OF THE PUBLIC bus system in her hometown worry about a “death spiral” in services, Senate President Harriette Chandler said Monday the Senate’s budget will attempt to address the funding crunch for regional transit authorities. Chandler, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, and Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday heard a presentation(...)

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Sports betting could be next gambling frontier

Rolling the Dice/ Gambling

Sports betting could be next gambling frontier

Gaming Commission lays out the pros and cons for lawmakers

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WAGERS MIGHT GENERATE between about $9 million and $61 million in state tax revenue if lawmakers decide to make sports betting legal in Massachusetts, the Gaming Commission said Thursday in a white paper that mapped out how the Legislature might think about introducing another new form of gaming in the Bay(...)

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Pot board mandates medical set-aside

Marijuana

Pot board mandates medical set-aside

Says growers have to keep 30 percent for patients before selling retail

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOPING TO ASSUAGE fears that medical marijuana patients could find their medicine in short supply when dispensaries begin selling to the newly-legal retail market, state pot regulators on Tuesday agreed to a policy that will require dispensaries to hold some marijuana aside for medical patients. Registered medical dispensaries that wish to(...)

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Kadish put in charge of transportation commission

Tracking Transportation/ Transportation

Kadish put in charge of transportation commission

Will look at disruptive changes; new revenue on table

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STATE HOUSE NEWS WITH AN EYE on the state’s transportation needs through the next two decades, Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday created a special commission to try to understand how transportation options and demand could change by 2040 and how the state can be ready to adapt to those changes. The Commission on the Future(...)

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Transportation commission slow to form

Tracking Transportation/ Politics/ Transportation

Transportation commission slow to form

Baker aides say nothing to report 3 months after call for board

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IN SEPTEMBER, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito announced that Gov. Charlie Baker would sign an executive order “in the coming weeks” creating a new commission to review transportation needs and how the state could fund them. More than three months later, as Massachusetts braces for a blizzard and commuters wonder whether they(...)

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Alcohol task force calls for higher taxes, more oversight

Economy/ Politics

Alcohol task force calls for higher taxes, more oversight

Report does not recommend changes in existing licensing process

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HIGHER TAXES, INCREASED FINES, and a significantly larger government oversight agency are among the recommendations of a task force that spent months reviewing laws and regulations that apply to the alcohol industry in Massachusetts. The Alcohol Task Force, formed in February by Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, on Thursday issued 37 recommendations, including(...)

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