THE HEALEY ADMINISTRATION issued final regulations on Wednesday aimed at addressing Cape Cop’s nitrogen pollution, which is caused by wastewater from septic systems finding its way into waterbodies where it spurs the growth of algae that chokes off plant and wildlife and often leaves a foul smell. The new regulations allow towns to apply for […]
State Government
Posted inEconomy
Massachusetts can win the new world of work
MASSACHUSETTS CAN WIN in the new world of work. That is the message that emerged from the Massachusetts Business Roundtable’s third annual Talent and Competitiveness Survey of its member CEOs and senior leaders from some of the largest employers across the Commonwealth. The survey, conducted in collaboration with McKinsey, included responses from more than 50 […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
Healey headed to Ireland on trade mission
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. MAURA HEALEY is scheduled to address the Irish Senate next week, and her first international gubernatorial travel plans also feature a series of business and commerce events alongside two Cabinet secretaries and other state officials, the governor’s office announced Tuesday afternoon. Healey’s trip to Dublin coincides with Ireland’s 30-year anniversary […]
Posted inHealth Care
Medicaid redetermination process off to fast start
A TOP STATE OFFICIAL says 9,000 residents have transferred from MassHealth to the Massachusetts Health Connector since April as part of the post-COVID Medicaid redetermination process. “That’s a little bit more than we were even expecting for this time,” said Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, on The Codcast. “The topline […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Commission urges New England states to prioritize prison education
IF EDUCATION IS key to a better life, that may hold double for those who are incarcerated. People who land in prison tend to have low educational attainment levels, while facing even greater employment challenges when released than those with similar education backgrounds because of the stigma and barriers their conviction carries. A report released […]
Posted inEnergy, State Government, State House News Service
Thong-wearing climate activists turn their cheeks in Senate
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THONG-WEARING climate activists intent on stopping fossil fuel infrastructure mooned senators and disrupted Thursday’s tax relief debate in the Massachusetts Senate. About an hour later, they were arrested and escorted out of the chamber. About eight local members of the international group Extinction Rebellion started shouting from the chamber’s public gallery […]
Posted inEconomy
Spilka outlines a different vision of competitiveness
SENATE PRESIDENT Karen Spilka delivered a speech to a leading business group on Thursday staking out a different stance on competitiveness than Gov. Maura Healey, the House, and the state’s business community. Where those groups to one degree or another prioritized tax cuts designed to keep wealthy residents from fleeing the state, Spilka said the […]
Posted inPolitics
Rules feud leads to 2 takes on committee hearing
A correction has been added to this story. THE JOINT IN the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy has gone missing. On Wednesday morning, for example, House members of the committee held a hearing on legislation dealing with electric vehicle charging stations. Later in the afternoon the same hearing with the same witnesses was […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, State Government, State House News Service
Green bank to target building decarbonization
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH AN EYE on the state’s mid-century greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments, Gov. Maura Healey announced Tuesday the launch of a “green bank” that she hopes will attract private investment and federal money to pay for building retrofits and new construction of decarbonized buildings in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Community Climate Bank […]
Posted inState Government, Transportation
2 lawmakers urge Healey to focus now on next commuter rail contract
TWO KEY state lawmakers are urging Gov. Maura Healey to set in motion now the process for selecting the next operator of the state’s commuter rail system even though the contract with the current operator has another three years to run. In a letter sent to Healey on Monday, the House and Senate chairs of the […]