Immigrant advocates have good reason to think New Bedford may figure prominently on a list of places that will be targeted under an aggressive deportation campaign by the new Trump administration.
Government
Posted inHousing
Winthrop rejects MBTA Communities zoning plan
With the December 31 MBTA Communities Act deadline fast approaching for 129 cities and towns, the Winthrop town council has rejected the only viable zoning plan that would allow the community to comply with the law, which was passed to help alleviate the housing shortage plaguing Massachusetts.
Posted inEnergy
State announces $3.5 million fund for stakeholders to intervene in the utility siting process
A new fund, expected to be up and running in March of 2026, aims to help balance the influence of utility companies and impacted communities – funding groups who would legally be able to participate or intervene in utility siting decisions but for the cost. Â
Posted inGovernment
Parking minimums topple in Somerville
In a Thursday night vote, the Somerville City Council passed a new zoning ordinance waving away baseline parking requirements for new construction. It is the second municipality in Massachusetts to do so citywide.
Posted inState Government
Political Notebook: When a governor blowtorched a fascist and other tales
Those tales and others are detailed in a new book from Josh Cutler, a former Democratic lawmaker from Duxbury who joined Gov. Maura Healey’s administration earlier this year.
Posted inTransportation
Gas tax third rail haunts transportation funding debates
The fate of the gas tax – a major source of transportation funding generated by people paying at the pump – in the electric car era looms over discussion of how to fund the state’s transit system. As the deadline nears for a task force to make recommendations on revenues, the gas tax is the elephant in the room.
Posted inHealth
New law grants pathway for foreign-trained doctors to fill Massachusetts physician shortage
Foreign-trained doctors will soon be able to practice medicine again through a new law that will help the state address its severe primary care physician shortage.
Posted inTransportation
After high-level meeting, massive I-90 Allston project remains a work in progress
At a meeting this week of high-level state and city leaders, there were signs that elements of the I-90 Allston project are still fluid, and state officials are racing to lock in federal funding amid concerns that the incoming Republican administration may try to punish the heavily Democratic Bay State.
Posted inTransportation
Free bus rides help regional transit hit new highs
Ridership among regional transit authorities shot up to 2.345 million in June 2024, surpassing the pre-Covid level of 2.131 million rides in June 2019. RTA officials cheered the newly fare-free bus rides people are taking around the state.
Posted inGovernment
Researchers find some worry, some hope for AI in democracy
The risks are serious, but focusing only on artificial intelligence misinformation threatens to overtake conversations about where AI has been most impactful as a mass communication tool.