Category: News/Updates

COAKLEY OUTLINES EDUCATION PLEDGES, VIEWS NEW TAXES AS LAST RESORT

Pushing education to the front of her gubernatorialcampaign’s agenda, Attorney General Martha Coakley on Thursday pledged to expand access to pre-kindergarten programs and eliminate the waitlist for early childhood education. The policy goals are among a series of education initiatives she plans to roll out in the coming months. Coakley also prioritized giving school districts…

Tax Hike Would Erase Drop in Prices Over Past Month

The average price of a gallon of gas in Massachusetts dipped below $3.50 in AAA’s most recent survey, but gas remains 11 cents a gallon more expensive than a year ago. AAA’s weekly survey results placed the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded at $3.48, a drop of 3 cents a gallon over…

MassDOT Announces Rehabilitation of Callahan Tunnel

MassDOT announced plans to perform a complete rehabilitation of the Callahan Tunnel, which carries traffic from Boston’s North End to Logan International Airport and Route 1A in East Boston. The project will require a complete closure of the tunnel for approximately three months beginning in January 2014. The $34.9 million project includes rehabilitation of the…

Senate Passes Welfare Reform

The Senate voted 37-1 to approve a sweeping overhaul of the state’s welfare system that would strengthen efforts to move people off public assistance and into the workforce, while also attempting to tackle concerns of fraud and abuse with reforms such as adding photo identification to EBT cards, enhanced penalties for trafficking and a denial…

Tax Budget Talks Drag Closer to Fiscal New Year Deadline

Both branches stand ready to gavel into formal session this week to pass through a $500 million tax bill and the annual $34 billion budget should compromises be reached by the two conference committees negotiating the bills in private. As of about 9 a.m. Monday no conference reports had been filed with the clerk’s offices….

House’s $96 Million Spending Bill Includes 69 Budget Riders

House members digesting a $96 million spending bill polled out of the House Ways and Means Committee were given a few hours to file amendments ahead of planned debate on the legislation. The committee bill includes a $55.7 million line item for winter snow and ice management costs, funds to cover special election costs, $10…

Minimum Wage Hearing a Standing Room Only

A push to raise the minimum wage that’s being fanned by Senate President Therese Murray drew a big crowd of proponents and opponents to the State House for a public hearing on wage floor bills in the State House’s largest meeting space, Gardner Auditorium. Supporters who flooded the auditorium say the state’s $8 an hour…

Southeastern Massachusetts Regional Casino Applications Released

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission released the first application for commercial casino bidders in southeastern Massachusetts, where the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe had been hoping to become the sole casino operator. The tribe’s second bid at a compact, negotiated with Governor Deval Patrick, has been pending for weeks before the Legislature without action and state gaming regulators…

Texting Survey Measures Drivers’ Attitude

Forty percent of Massachusetts drivers say they still send text messages while driving despite a nearly three-year-old law banning such activity and preventing any cell phone use for drivers under 18 years old. According to a poll conducted in March for the Boston-based insurer Plymouth Rock Assurance, 80 percent of the 500 respondents said they…

Representative Weighs Congressional Run

Representative Sean Garballey, a Democrat from Arlington, is considering a run for Congress if U.S. Representative Ed Markey wins a U.S. Senate seat in a June 25 special election. Three senators, one representative and a sheriff in the district have already established campaigns, allowing them to begin fundraising. The Fifth Massachusetts District is filled with…