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By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD – Months after two residents gathered more than 220 signatures, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will take a look at how it can improve the intersection of Routes 5 and 10, North Main Street and Mill Village...

By BOB KATZEN

Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ votes on roll calls from recent sessions.$650,000 for microloans to businesses (H 4800)House 155-2, overrode Gov. Healey’s veto of $650,000 (reducing funding from $1.5 million to $850,000) for loans...

By SAM DORAN

The Department of Public Health this week celebrated the 50th anniversary of a program for mothers and children that boosts childhood nutrition and, in the words of one state representative, serves as a “buffer against hardship.”Known as WIC, the...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — The Department of Public Health is moving on multiple fronts to address the elevated risks of mosquito-borne illnesses this year, including spraying pesticides from trucks in southern Worcester County and from planes in Plymouth County...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Advocates of a new state law that adds a third gender option on vital records and other state documents are applauding changes that went into effect in July, saying that the new rules are vital for non-binary and gender-nonconforming people to be able...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

SHELBURNE — A man in his early 70s was transported by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield with life-threatening injuries after his Honda motorcycle collided with a Ford F-250 truck on Route 2 on Tuesday afternoon, authorities say.Both...

By CHRIS LARABEE

With an emphasis on connection across partner organizations and challenges facing the environment, the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game on Friday released a five-year strategic plan to guide the agency’s work through 2030.Titled “Connections:...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Maternal health legislation is heading to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk.The conference committee report (H 4999), which emerged from negotiations Wednesday, won House and Senate approval during sparsely attended informal sessions Thursday.“It’s...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

Massachusetts is about to get a new law to shield firefighters from toxic chemicals contained in their protective equipment and eventually phase out the use of PFAS that’s been linked to cancer.Gov. Maura Healey announced Wednesday her plans to sign...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

ERVING — Three individuals were hospitalized after a collision between a Toyota Camry and a 2023 Mack Pinnacle truck where Route 2 meets Route 2A on Friday afternoon, according to Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Betters.Betters said the three people in the...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

The premise behind the Netflix series “Love Is Blind” is simple: fall in love and commit to marrying someone before you ever see them.The casting agency for “Love Is Blind,” Kinetic Content Casting, is looking for New England singles who are looking...

Due to smoke from Canadian wildfires, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has issued an air quality alert effective until at least 11:59 p.m. tonight in five counties in western and central Massachusetts.Smoke is...

By MICHAEL P. NORTON

Gun owners have taken the first step toward putting before Massachusetts voters a proposal to repeal the firearms law signed on July 25 by Gov. Maura Healey, a statute the governor called the “most significant gun safety legislation in a decade.”A...

By SAM DORAN

LEXINGTON — Gov. Maura Healey signed off Thursday on a new veterans’ benefits law that she touted as “a big deal,” while Veterans’ Services Secretary Jon Santiago told the crowd that the Holyoke Veterans Home had been awarded licensure by the...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Thousands of people in the Pioneer Valley are expected to take advantage of the state’s tax-free weekend this Saturday and Sunday on the 19th anniversary of the shopping holiday in the state.During the holiday, most retail items with a price up to...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — As Gov. Maura Healey and lawmakers celebrated what they called “historic” housing legislation getting signed into law Tuesday, some of the advocates credited with influencing the bill say it is “underwhelming” and watered down, with a number...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Legislative leaders have few specifics ironed out for a potential return to formal business after they failed to find agreement last week on a major jobs bill and several other popular proposals.With Beacon Hill now fully ensconced in summer vacation...

By SAM DRYSDALE

House and Senate negotiators sent an agreement on a policy-filled $5.16 billion housing bond bill to Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday, potentially salvaging a priority for the House, Senate and governor.A number of policies sponsored by both branches...

By ALEXA LEWIS

An initiative that its supporters describe as “historic” and a “generational game-changer” is now reality — community college is free for all Massachusetts residents without bachelor’s degrees.The new MassEducate program included in the state’s fiscal...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

BOSTON — After advocacy by Greenfield residents helped get the legislation to her desk, Gov. Maura Healey signed an attachment to the fiscal year 2025 budget banning “home equity theft,” the practice of taking the entire equity of a home in the event...