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By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Two powerful lawmakers are trying to push a widely supported bill to ban toxic “forever chemicals” over the finish line before the looming end of session, but neither said Tuesday that the issue is a priority for their branch.House Speaker...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey issued an executive order Monday meant to safeguard access to emergency abortions as her administration girds for U.S. Supreme Court rulings this week that could further unravel reproductive care options across the...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Massachusetts is now the 49th state to prohibit revenge pornography, with Gov. Maura Healey signing a bill late last week that also cracks down on sexual harassment and coercive control by domestic abusers.The bill closes a legal loophole to...

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — With a director of rural affairs, rural school aid increases and disaster relief funding for farmers, local senators and representatives say it’s become clear the Legislature and Healey administration are directing more attention to...

By STEVE PFARRER

After generating some local news in 2022 when scenes were filmed in a number of locations around the Valley, “Janet Planet,” the debut film by celebrated playwright Annie Baker, is set to make its debut in Amherst and Greenfield on June 27.The movie,...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Musicians hauling three drums, two trombones, a saxophone and a tuba played their way up Park Street to the corner of Beacon Street on Tuesday, blocking traffic and leading dozens of rally attendees to celebrate that app-based drivers who...

By EMILEE KLEIN

Regional planning groups and local municipalities remain wary of the looming implications on municipal jurisdiction, should the state’s massive climate bill move ahead in the coming weeks with promises to reform the slow process of siting and...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

MONTAGUE — When Massachusetts State Trooper Hunter Ratelle smelled smoke from his home in Millers Falls on Nov. 8, 2022, he ran outside to find a neighboring two-family home ablaze. Joined by retired Montague Police Sgt. Lee Laster who lived next...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — The base of a late-session climate bill that has been promised by top Democrats in both branches is being drafted by Gov. Maura Healey’s administration, which says that reform to the siting and permitting of clean energy infrastructure is...

SPRINGFIELD — The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts has appointed Vanessa Pabón-Hernandez as CEO, effective June 17.A Springfield native, Pabón-Hernandez succeeds Donna Haghighat in the key role for the philanthropic organization.Under Haghighat’s...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Two-thirds of Massachusetts adults support giving certain terminally ill patients the legal option to end their lives with a doctor’s prescription, according to a poll that gauged residents on a controversial policy Massachusetts voters...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

The major housing policy and bond bill expected to pass the House this week includes ideas that have the support of a majority of Massachusetts residents across demographic and political groups, like allowing people to build accessory dwellings on...

By XINYI YANG

After a decade of declining enrollment, public higher education in Massachusetts finally saw the first increase in first-year undergraduate enrollment last fall, fueled by a nearly 8% increase in community college admissions.Meanwhile, at the...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

The state Senate unanimously passed an amendment to its annual spending plan that would prohibit municipalities and private companies from taking the entire equity of a home in the event of a tax lien foreclosure, a piece of legislation that, if...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Citing escalating attacks against LGBTQ youth in Massachusetts and across the country, a commission released recommendations Tuesday for the Legislature, Gov. Maura Healey and state agencies to bolster child welfare, public health, education,...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — There were 3,100 single-family homes sold in Massachusetts last month, and while that number alone may not mean much to those still looking for an affordable home, it may represent a glimmer of hope — it was the largest year-over-year...

By RUIHAN YANG

A ballot initiative and a proposed substitute version are pushing for the legalization of psychedelics in Massachusetts within the next year, but opponents said “it’s too premature.”The ballot initiative promoted by Massachusetts for Mental Health...

By BRENDAN NORDSTROM

Cheryl Juaire lost two of her sons to the opioid epidemic — Corey died from an overdose in 2011, as did Sean 10 years later in 2021.Juaire, founder and president of the nonprofit Team Sharing Inc., now advocates for overdose prevention centers in...

By ROB MOIR

 Why did sea surface temperatures go up when summer air temperatures did not? This perplexing question arose after last summer’s unusual findings.Ocean surface water temperatures off Boston, Portsmouth and Portland were nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit...

By CASSANDRA DUMAY

State activists and party organizers from across the political spectrum are determining how to address Massachusetts residents’ new top concern — immigration — going into the 2024 election cycle.Recent polling by GBH, CommonWealth Beacon and MassINC...