Search Results

Keyword search: Massachusetts

By JAMES PENTLAND

HATFIELD — Farmers who lost crops to this month’s floods, the February freeze and May frost will be able to seek compensation from a new $20 million fund announced Monday by Senate President Karen Spilka.“We have added $20 million to the supplemental...

By JAMES PENTLAND

AMHERST — Sharks have long been creatures of fascination, but having focused on them in his work for almost 10 years, UMass biology professor Duncan Irschick has found that most three-dimensional models are poor representations of the marine...

By JAMES PENTLAND

WILLIAMSBURG — After seeing some of the area’s widespread flooding from a helicopter as she flew from Hanscom Field in Bedford to Northampton, Gov. Maura Healey stopped in Williamsburg Wednesday morning to learn more about flood-related damages...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Facilities that burn wood to create energy should not be eligible for credits under a state program that rewards generators of “clean heat,” advocates said last week, arguing that two bills would close loopholes in the state’s climate...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

SPRINGFIELD — The Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts has begun a rebranding effort, unveiling a new program and fundraiser this year and spinning off the organization’s long-running Rachel’s Table program to become an independent entity.The...

By JULIAN MENDOZA

GREENFIELD — A 25-year-old woman from Manchester, Connecticut faces four charges after allegedly leading police on a pursuit that ended at the Interstate 91 Exit 43 rotary in Greenfield. According to Massachusetts State Police Trooper James DeAngelis,...

By SAM DRYSDALE and CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Massachusetts voters could be asked to settle two major education debates in 2024, but retailers may pass on bringing tax cuts to next year’s ballot.The state’s largest teachers union is considering ballot questions that would eliminate the...

Massachusetts uses 359 million cubic feet of wood each year to build our homes, businesses, and communities. We import 98% of this wood, leaving it to others to sort out the climate and ecological impact. It is time to pull our heads out of the sand...

By DON STEWART

He is credited as the inventor of the comical, and quite enormous, gas-filled dirigible, since 1927 the symbol of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parades. Called “the father of modern American puppetry,” his productions toured the country and his staff later...

By MICHAEL P. NORTON

BOSTON — Massachusetts has more than enough solar energy potential to support the decarbonization requirements enshrined in state laws, according to a report officials released Thursday.The Department of Energy Resources report found the state’s land...

By SAM DORAN

BOSTON — A federal judge hadn’t even ruled yet on suspending approval of the abortion pill mifepristone in April when Gov. Maura Healey orchestrated a major reserve shipment of the drug through the state’s flagship university. But despite pledges of...

By IAN RHODEWALT 

In my household of two, together we hold $132,829.70 in student debt. On a bitter cold day in early March on the week the Supreme Court was hearing oral arguments, at a student debt cancellation rally, 25 of us stood on the steps of the federal court...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Forty years after the state added a 5-cent deposit on some plastic bottles to encourage recycling, climate advocates say it’s “the right moment” to expand the state’s bottle redemption law.Proposals before the Committee on Telecommunications,...

The board of the Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts is expanding its membership to include Indigenous representation.Following a unanimous vote taken during the board’s June meeting, the Ohketeau Cultural Center of Ashfield, a...

By JAMES PENTLAND

WILLIAMSBURG — State Auditor Diana DiZoglio knows she’s going up against powerful interests with her push to audit the Massachusetts Legislature, but she’s forging ahead regardless.“We’ll be preparing a report,” she told an audience of 30 at the Anne...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Without additional financial support, climate-friendly building regulations could “push homeownership out of reach” for some Massachusetts families, according to a new report from the the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

The Supreme Court decision Thursday banning the use of affirmative action in college admissions drew condemnation from education leaders, politicians, and others across the Pioneer Valley and state.In statement after statement released shortly after...

By MARY BYRNE

Dozens of superintendents, including a handful from Franklin County and the North Quabbin region, have signed a letter to lawmakers urging them to make permanent the universal meals program School Meals for All, rather than just extend it for another...

By JULIAN MENDOZA

MILLERS FALLS — Building on its efforts to help the hungry, the Friends of the Montague Public Libraries has partnered with the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts to provide more fresh food than ever before.According to Library Director Caitlin...

By AOIFE MOORE

DUBLIN — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday was welcomed as a “hero and a trailblazer” to Ireland, on her first foreign trip in her new role.An emotional Healey addressed the Irish Senate, almost exactly 60 years to the day since President...