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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 a packed town hall that the Holyoke Veterans Home had been awarded licensure by the...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — Governor’s Council member Tara Jacobs met with Deepika Shukla about a year ago, and was impressed by the assistant U.S. attorney’s breadth of experience.“Where she started you wouldn’t necessarily guess from where she is now,” Jacobs...

By JAMES PENTLAND

HADLEY — Elements Massage studio in Hadley closed recently after it was issued a stop-work order by the state for operating without workers compensation insurance.The state Department of Industrial Accidents ordered the studio at 379 Russell St....

By SAM DRYSDALE

After the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a landmark $6 billion opioid settlement last month that would have steered up to $110 million to the Bay State for prevention, treatment and recovery programs, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Lawmakers from both parties signaled Tuesday they share a government watchdog’s concerns about upheaval at the Cannabis Control Commission, but Democrats who wield decision-making power stopped short of indicating what kind of response they might...

By EMILEE KLEIN

A bill moving through the Legislature will require all new vehicles sold in the state after Jan. 1, 2026 to include adaptive headlights that illuminate the road without shining into the windshields of oncoming drivers.According to the U.S. Department...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — More Massachusetts families would become eligible for subsidized child care and “transformational” grants that kept the early education system afloat during the pandemic would be made permanent, under a bill the Senate unanimously passed late...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote in 1913 that “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants,” and Bay Staters on both ends of the political spectrum agreed this week that Beacon Hill could stand to open the curtains quite a...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Aiming to have its new executive director on board by this summer, the Cannabis Control Commission spent hours Thursday crafting the contours of the job and detailing what qualities a successful applicant will demonstrate.The CCC has not had...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — The industry group representing package stores signaled this week that it’s ready to “beg” lawmakers to end the authorization for takeaway drinks, a pandemic-era policy allowing many bars and restaurants to sell beer, wine and cocktails to...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey’s proposal to give cities and towns new tax-hike authority would provide “game-changers” at the local level, especially for less populated areas, one mayor said Tuesday.A bill Healey filed last month would offer...

By MICHAEL P. NORTON

BOSTON — While the bill has a long path ahead of it, advocates for more government transparency are encouraged that a House-Senate committee on Tuesday gave a favorable report to a bill whose sponsors say it will bring needed “sunlight” to the...

By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators’ votes from the week of January 15-19. There were no roll calls in the House last week.BAN DECLAWING OF CATS (S 2552): Senate 39-0, approved and sent to the House a bill that would...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — A Superior Court judge ruled Friday that Treasurer Deborah Goldberg can go ahead with the meeting that could lead to the firing of suspended Cannabis Control Commission Chairwoman Shannon O’Brien and also cautioned the parties that “political...

By STELLA TANNENBAUM

BOSTON — Massachusetts would become the second state in the nation to ban discrimination based on body size under a proposal aired at a recent hearing of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.During a seven-hour hearing in which over 230 people...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

Leaders of at least a half-dozen initiative petition campaigns working toward the November 2024 ballot said Wednesday they had collected at least enough signatures to meet an end-of-the-day deadline and to put their policy ideas in front of the...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Auditor Diana DiZoglio and her hodgepodge of political allies took a major step toward asking voters for the authority to probe the Legislature, announcing that they gathered enough signatures to remain on track for a 2024 ballot question.The ballot...

By SAM DORAN

Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday swore in the members of a new state board set to help get state benefits flowing to veterans who were denied an honorable discharge because of the U.S. military’s former “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.The reception in...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Cannabis Control Commission Chairwoman Shannon O’Brien was suspended from her position Thursday by Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who chose her for the job a year ago, as upheaval continues to collide with the CCC’s hefty regulatory and policy...

By SAM DORAN

BOSTON — A Governor’s Council meeting that featured approval of four new pardons took an unexpected turn Wednesday as one member persistently rebuked her colleagues, before councilors across the room successfully moved to establish a new Rules...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

More than 200 farms across western and central Massachusetts started receiving checks last week from the Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund, which was launched by the Healey administration and United Way of Central Massachusetts after devastating...