STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE AND BOSTON officials reached agreement Monday on an improvement plan for the Boston Public Schools, foreclosing a vote planned for Tuesday that would have cleared the way for additional state oversight. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education was set to vote Tuesday morning on Commissioner Jeff Riley’s recommendation that […]
Katie Lannan
Posted inEducation
Riley recommends Boston be designated ‘underperforming’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEil ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY Education Commissioner Jeff Riley on Tuesday will recommend that Boston Public Schools be designated an “underperforming district,” a move that stops short of seeking receivership but would allow some additional state oversight. In a memo to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which will vote on the […]
Posted inGambling
Questions continue on lack of sports betting roll call in Senate
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATE PRESIDENT Karen Spilka on Monday defended the Senate’s decision to pass legislation legalizing sports betting without making individual senators’ votes known. Spilka for weeks had said she wanted to build consensus on the issue before bringing a bill to the floor. The voice vote approving the bill indicates at least […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DOJ reaches police reform deal with Springfield
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE and city of Springfield plan to enter into a consent decree that will resolve the federal government’s claim that the Springfield Police Department’s narcotics bureau engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive force that deprived individuals of their constitutional rights. Announced Wednesday in Springfield by […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Mass. Senate staff seek to unionize
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE employees are hoping to become the second unionized state legislative staff in the country, announcing on Monday night their intent to unionize with Quincy-based IBEW Local 2222. IBEW representatives delivered a letter to Senate President Karen Spilka’s office Thursday seeking voluntary recognition of the union “after successfully collecting authorization […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mass General Brigham withdraws suburban expansion plan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM officials said Friday the hospital system has withdrawn its controversial proposal to build outpatient care centers in Woburn and Westborough and to expand an existing facility in Westwood after learning Department of Public Health staff would not recommend approval of the projects. The DPH did, however, recommend that […]
Posted inEducation
Wu: State takeover of Boston schools would be counterproductive
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS THE STATE’S elementary and secondary education commissioner prepares to review the Boston Public Schools, Mayor Michelle Wu on Tuesday said she “firmly” opposes the idea of putting the district under receivership. Two years after the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced a memorandum of understanding with Boston aimed at […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
House rejects gas tax suspension, pursuing ‘real relief’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A $1.6 BILLION spending bill passed the Massachusetts House unanimously on Wednesday after representatives shot down a Republican bid to add in language that would have suspended the state’s gas tax until prices fall below $3.70 a gallon, a proposal the House’s top Democrat called a “stunt.” Passed a day before […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Fall River to offer free menstrual products in schools
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS FALL RIVER plans to use a state grant to provide free menstrual products in the city’s middle and high schools, bills that similarly look to expand statewide access to such products have advanced to various stages in the legislative process this session. Baker administration officials this month announced the award […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
State eases indoor face-mask guidance
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT of Public Health on Tuesday relaxed its face-covering advisory, publishing an updated version that no longer recommends vaccinated individuals mask up in all indoor spaces. Instead, the latest iteration of an advisory that has been in place since Gov. Charlie Baker in May 2021 lifted the state’s universal […]