WHEN HE IMMIGRATED from Italy to the US, Giovanni Martines left behind his family, his house, and his vineyard. “I left behind everything there,” Martines said. He sought a piece of land to grow something in the United States. Martines, then working at an engineering firm in Allston, discovered Herter Community Garden, which is located inside […]
State Government
Posted inOpinion
Independent foster care reviews needed at DCF
WHEN WE LEARNED of David Almond’s death on October 21, 2020, we were heartbroken. Tragically, this was not the first time we had seen a child die while under the supervision of the Department of Children and Families. Yet the report following David’s death, published by the Office of the Child Advocate in March 2021, […]
Posted inUncategorized
House lays out $3.65b ARPA spending plan
MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE leaders on Monday laid out their plan to spend $3.65 billion in federal aid and surplus state funds providing bonuses to essential workers, shoring up struggling hospitals, and providing economic relief to businesses. Lawmakers faced a difficult task in deciding how to spend an unprecedented one-time influx in federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act meant […]
Posted inUncategorized
Head of the Charles paying DCR more
THIS WEEKEND’S Head of the Charles Regatta is paying more money to use the Charles River than it has in years past under a new contract with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. The regatta is paying DCR a permit fee of $50,000 to use the Charles and a good chunk of the shoreline, […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. lags badly in workplace accessibility for disability community
OCTOBER IS National Disability Employment Awareness Month. NDEAM’s roots go back to 1945. It is held each October to “commemorate the many and varied contributions of people with disabilities to America’s workplaces and economy.” Seventy-six years later, however, many people with disabilities in Massachusetts are unable to “contribute” to “America’s workplaces and economy” because Massachusetts […]
Posted inEconomy
Add paper to the list of things in short supply
BEFORE BOSTON’S preliminary mayoral election, the city sent information about mail-in voting to every voter. For a time, the city considered doing a second mailing, but Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin, whose office coordinated the mailings, said a second mailing simply wasn’t possible. “When we went shopping for cardstock, they didn’t have enough,” Galvin […]
Posted inUncategorized
1,571 state workers not complying with vaccine mandate
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S vaccine mandate for executive branch employees went into effect Sunday, and more than 1,500 state workers remain out of compliance. But state government did not experience mass terminations on Monday. Instead, it was a day of confusion for some, as employees were told to report to work, while the administration still had not ruled on some employees’ applications for exemptions. […]
Posted inEnvironment
Beacon Hill eyeing tradeoffs on offshore wind
A MAJOR POLICY DEBATE is taking shape on Beacon Hill between those who see offshore wind as the key to meeting the state’s climate change goals, and those who see the industry as needing to do more than that – specifically, spurring significant economic development in the state. The debate centers around the price of […]
Posted inHealth Care
Patient advocates push for curbs on ‘step therapy’
JENNA GREEN, of Mansfield, was 31, active, and running a small business when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. A neurologist prescribed a medication, but the day she scheduled an infusion, her insurance denied coverage. The insurer wanted her to try another drug first, and only if that failed to use the newer, more expensive […]
Posted inPolitics
House, Senate redistricting plan would increase minority voting clout
LEGISLATIVE LEADERS on Tuesday released proposed new maps for Massachusetts House and Senate districts, which would enhance the political clout of minority voters while also protecting almost all incumbents. “There is not a single place on the House map where you can draw a majority-minority district where we haven’t,” said Rep. Michael Moran, a […]