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By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Aiming to strengthen participation in advanced classes among Black and Latino high school students, lawmakers sought to build momentum Tuesday for a framework that would streamline how public colleges accept AP credits.Redrafted legislation...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Senate Democrats rolled out a wide-ranging gun reform bill Thursday, targeting a vote in one week on a police-endorsed measure that is likely to generate considerable opposition among firearm owners.After months of closed-door talks between...

By MADDIE FABIAN

Less than a month after it began enforcing a longstanding policy restricting the use of anesthesia during colonoscopies and other procedures, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is pausing that action after physicians statewide lobbied the insurer...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — The Healey administration wants to tap new revenue sources and keep spending growth somewhat constrained in a $58.15 billion state budget that officials pitched as putting Massachusetts on a “glide path” toward potentially better financial...

By MICHAEL P. NORTON

The Healey administration plans to close the state’s medium security prison in Concord by this summer.According to an Executive Office of Public Safety and Security spokesperson, the incarcerated population at the prison stands at about 300 men, or...

By MADDIE FABIAN

As the state considers the governor’s proposed $4.13 billion Affordable Homes Act — a comprehensive roadmap for affordable housing across the Commonwealth — a group of 16 western Massachusetts legislators are advocating for amendments to meet housing...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — The Healey administration’s plan to supercharge housing production with billions of dollars of investment won some degree of praise from almost every corner of the state Thursday, but influential voices are at odds over some of the more...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Last month’s Boston Tea Party anniversary celebration was “just the tip of the iceberg” as Massachusetts prepares to leverage a series of upcoming historical anniversaries to market the state and draw in millions of tourists, the state’s top...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey will press for major investments into the long-strained early education and care sector despite her administration’s muted forecast for state finances, pitching the spending as an economic and competitive necessity.Healey on...

By SAM DORAN

As towns and cities see a rise in natural disasters that require greater emergency response than their local resources can support alone, two western Massachusetts lawmakers renewed their call Tuesday to divert a portion of excess capital gains tax...

By STELLA TANNENBAUM

Slowly but surely — and not without opposition — age-old efforts to change images of Native Americans that many view as offensive have gained new momentum across Massachusetts, sparking conversations about history, representation and what it means to...

By Sam Drysdale

BOSTON—Amid a historic surge in book challenges in schools and public libraries across the state, some lawmakers are hoping to codify protections to prevent books from being removed from public spaces.Sen. Julian Cyr of Truro and Rep. John Moran of...

By STEVE LeBLANC

BOSTON — The highest court in Massachusetts ruled Thursday to raise from 18 to 21 the minimum age at which a person can be sentenced to mandatory life without parole — a narrow 4-3 ruling that juvenile justice advocates are hailing as progress.The...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — “Keep your eyes peeled,” for free community college funding in the Senate’s version of the fiscal year 2025 budget, Senate President Karen Spilka said Wednesday.Making community college free for every Massachusetts resident could cost the...

By BELLA LEVAVI

The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) has released the long-awaited Climate Forestry Committee’s report, which contains a slew of recommendations for forest management practices in Massachusetts with a key focus on climate...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

After filing legal challenges in several other states to bar Donald Trump from ballot eligibility in this year’s primaries, a Massachusetts-incorporated advocacy group has now done so in its home state.Free Speech for People, an nonprofit led by...

By JAIMEE FRANCIS

Heat pumps, which use electricity rather than directly burning fossil fuel, are a key piece of Massachusetts’ goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But the state has hit only 1% of its installation target, in large part because...

By MADDIE FABIAN

Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final article from the Western Mass. Solar Forum series. The first three forums took place in September, and another series of forums is in the works for this spring.AMHERST — Most experts agree solar energy is...

By EDEN MOR

Opponents of using the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test as a high school graduation requirement suggest there are better ways to measure student achievement should voters get an opportunity remove the requirement in November 2024.In...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON—Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office identified more than $12.3 million in public benefit fraud in fiscal year 2023, representing a drop of about $1.2 million compared to her predecessor’s findings in the year prior.The auditor’s Bureau of Special...