STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE’S education commissioner is seeking authority to mandate that students ages 5 and up and staff and educators in public K-12 schools wear masks indoors through October 1, a measure that will come before the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for a vote Tuesday. After that, the policy Commissioner […]
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Baker orders state employees to be vaccinated
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER ordered all state employees to be fully vaccinated by October 17 or face disciplinary action or dismissal, with exceptions only for those with medical disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs. Baker issued his executive order Thursday, one day after he had hinted that a change in his thinking on mandatory vaccinations was […]
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Baker backs $1b to reduce business UI costs
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE EMPLOYERS WOULD SEE their long-term obligation to replenish the state’s unemployment insurance fund cut by $1 billion under a proposal Gov. Charlie Baker made on Wednesday, suggesting use of a large piece of the state’s sizable surplus to reduce the burden on businesses. Baker filed legislation to spend almost $1.57 billion […]
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20% increase in breakthrough cases
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IN THE WEEK between August 7 and August 14, almost 2,700 fully vaccinated people became infected with COVID-19 in Massachusetts, the Department of Public Health said Tuesday. There have been a cumulative 12,641 breakthrough infections reported out of 4,415,936 fully vaccinated people as of Aug. 14, DPH said Tuesday — meaning […]
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Outdoor dining mixed bag for those with disabilities
THE PANDEMIC shift to patio seating has been a lifeline for restaurants and many patrons are embracing open-air dining. But for people with disabilities, the nearly-overnight redesign of the cityscape poses new challenges for navigating spaces rarely designed for accessibility. Claire Bergstresser, an East Cambridge resident who uses a manual wheelchair, said curbs are her […]
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Love in a time of COVID
DURING A NORMAL summer, Honey Goodenough, a puppeteer, clown, and educator, would be busy teaching and performing, with little time to spend online dating. And in 2019, Goodenough, having given up on finding a life partner, was trying to get pregnant on her own through fertility treatments. Enter COVID-19. As the pandemic shut down Goodenough’s […]
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State pension fund achieves record gain
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FISCAL YEAR 2021 was a record year for the Massachusetts state pension fund, which closed the one-year period ending June 30 with the highest return in its history and invested assets that swelled to a record $95.7 billion. The 29.5 percent return net of fees beat the Pension Reserves Investment Trust […]
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Emissions pact opponents predict fuel shortages by 2023
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE OPPONENTS OF THE regional effort to wring carbon emission reductions from cars, trucks and other forms of transportation predicted Thursday that Massachusetts residents could face fuel shortages as soon as 2025 unless the state can dramatically scale up the transition to electric vehicles. The claims, however, were quickly discounted by the […]
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House overrides Baker veto on charitable giving deduction
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE TWENTY-ONE YEARS after voters approved a tax deduction for charitable donations, the House on Wednesday voted to override Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto and postpone for another year the tax break that non-profits said would help encourage residents to support an industry hurting from the COVID-19 pandemic. House Speaker Ron Mariano called […]
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In Beacon Hill Twitter battle, State House News Service beats Gov. Baker
SORRY, GOV. Charlie Baker. You may hold the corner office, but you’re only the second most influential voice on Beacon Hill Twitter. First prize goes to the press. In particular, the State House News Service, the indispensable wire service that covers every legislative session, myriad hearings, the governor, Legislature, and generally all things Beacon Hill. […]