Elections

The Download

Perchance to dream

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College campuses are anxiously waiting for President Trump’s decision on whether to dismantle or even substantially change the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. DACA was an executive order from then-President Barack Obama in 2012 that stopped deportation of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children and who pose no security threat. But(...)

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Rep joins unenrolled in-crowd 

The Back Story

Rep joins unenrolled in-crowd 

Athol lawmaker abandons Republican Party 

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Rep. Susannah Whipps joined the political in-crowd this week, switching her party registration from Republican to unenrolled.  Statewide, unenrolled voters – those not affiliated with any political party – are taking over. They became the largest political designation in 1990 and an outright majority in 2008. They represent the most voters in 132 of the 160 House districts. In Whipps’s central Massachusetts district, 66 percent of the voters(...)

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The Download

Catching up with inaccuracy

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In an editorial on Thursday, the Metrowest Daily News unloaded on President Trump for his embarrassing stance on climate change, which the newspaper said prompted scientists to leak a draft government report detailing the negative impact of rising temperatures and sea levels out of fear the administration would suppress it. “The changes are already real(...)

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Tsongas not seeking reelection

Politics

Tsongas not seeking reelection

Her exit will likely spur heavy competition for her seat

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE US REP. NIKI TSONGAS, who has served in Congress since 2007, will not seek reelection in 2018. Tsongas, who is the widow of the late Sen. Paul Tsongas, won a special election when UMass President Marty Meehan resigned his seat to become the chancellor of UMass Lowell. The Lowell Democrat representing(...)

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The Download

4 takeaways from sales tax moves

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You could actually see an industry in transition on Wednesday. Amazon held a giant job fair at nearly a dozen of its US warehouses, including the one in Fall River, as the company sought to fill 50,000 empty positions across the country. At the same time, the Retailers Association of Massachusetts announced it was mounting(...)

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The Download

Here’s the Diehl

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Geoff Diehl made it official last night by formally announcing his Republican run against US Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Somebody pass Charlie Baker the antacids. The Whitman state rep mixed his kickoff speech with sports references and denunciations of Warren as a soft-on-immigration, big-government enemy of the people. Diehl was a co-chairman of President Trump’s campaign(...)

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The Download

On to the next ballot questions

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Now that last year’s final ballot-approved law is in place (Gov. Charlie Baker signed the legislatively amended marijuana bill into law on Friday), Beacon Hill is gearing up for the next round of ballot initiatives to be placed in front of voters in November 2018. It looks like the top issues being championed are all(...)

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The Download

McCain goes maverick-y

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In the end, John McCain, whose career has been marked by periods of both swashbuckling independence and fall-in-line toeing-the-Republican party line, chose the former for what may go down as his most memorable and final big moment in the US Senate. In the wee hours of the morning, the Arizona Republican cast the decisive vote(...)

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The Download

MassHealth votes represent major shift

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The Legislature’s rejection of Gov. Charlie Baker’s MassHealth savings initiatives represents a big political shift on Beacon Hill. In the past, Democratic lawmakers have largely ceded the nitty gritty of budget balancing to Baker, but Wednesday’s votes suggest they are willing to take a political stand that requires them to step up and find savings(...)

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