STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CITIES AND TOWNS that help fund the MBTA are concerned it will be “impossible” to restore pre-pandemic service levels and that the agency might need to hike fares given the growing shadow of a budget shortfall that officials so far have failed to address. The MBTA Advisory Board, a group that […]
State House News Service
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins resigning as US attorney
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE RACHAEL ROLLINS, a former Suffolk County prosecutor who quickly rose in political prominence and often drew the ire of Republican lawmakers, will resign her role as US attorney for Massachusetts this week because “her presence has become a distraction,” her attorney said. Rollins’s attorney, former Justice Department inspector general Michael Bromwich, […]
Posted inHousing, State Government, State House News Service
Healey names former Worcester city manager as housing secretary
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. MAURA HEALEY named Edward Augustus as state housing secretary on Monday, turning to a former state senator and Worcester city manager to serve as point person on one of her top priorities. The governor created the position earlier this year after she promised to make housing a priority on the […]
Posted inTransportation
Woman struck by utility box to sue MBTA
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE 28-YEAR-OLD WOMAN who suffered injuries when she was struck by a falling utility box at the MBTA’s Harvard station this month is now suing the beleaguered transit authority. Thomas Flaws, a lawyer at Boston-based Altman Nussbaum Shunnarah Trial Attorneys, plans to file the lawsuit later Wednesday, the firm said in […]
Posted inThe Download
Competitiveness is watchword on Beacon Hill, but what does it mean?
Beacon Hill’s favorite buzzword these days is “competitiveness,” but the meaning isn’t always the same among the three big players in state government and their different approaches to the topic are shaping the upcoming budget debate. The Senate appears to be leaning into its more liberal reputation in defining competitiveness, proposing beefy investments in human […]
Posted inHealth, State House News Service
Poll: Abortion restrictions affect college decisions in Northeast
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE COMPETITION among colleges for students is intensifying, and state laws banning abortion are among the new considerations for students and families. A recent poll of students and families in nine Northeast states found that 76 percent of students do not want to attend school in a state where abortion is […]
Posted inTransportation
Stop the deaths at MBTA, parents tell lawmakers
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CALLING FOR ACTION to “stop the pain and suffering,” the parents of a Boston University professor who died when he fell through a broken MBTA station staircase made an emotional call Monday for strengthening safety oversight of the under-fire transit agency. Debra Bingham and Kent Hamilton of Milton told lawmakers about […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
Tax forecast misses mark, but Healey says that was expected
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. MAURA HEALEY doubled down on her tax relief plan on Friday, insisting that a shortfall in state revenue that has plunged this year’s state budget into the red was predicted and accounted for in her fiscal 2024 budget. “We put together our budget and our tax relief package — we […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
High Tech Council calls House move unconstitutional
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AN INFLUENTIAL BUSINESS group warned Monday that a bill the House approved last month features an “unconstitutional provision” to reshape the rebate program that provided nearly $3 billion back to taxpayers last year. The Massachusetts High Technology Council, which has threatened or taken legal action in several other tax policy matters, wrote […]
Posted inThe Download
Westwood chided for lackluster MBTA Communities plan
THE STATE IS moving to cut Westwood off from several sources of funding – the first municipality to be penalized for submitting a zoning roadmap that doesn’t comply with the requirements of the MBTA Communities Act. Passed during the Baker administration and now championed by Gov. Maura Healey, the MBTA law tries to tackle the […]