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By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — A pair of western Massachusetts lawmakers made an urgent plea to their colleagues last week to allow smaller farms to access property tax benefits currently available only to their larger peers.

By GABRIEL O’HARA SALINI

The Massachusetts cannabis industry is a billion-dollar enterprise, with over 700 retailers operating across the state. Yet stores are closing, companies are firing their workers and retail and non-retail licenses are being surrendered by former operators as business owners clamor for regulatory changes to transform an industry they see as unsustainable.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Though Massachusetts is not one of at least six states that will lose out on $500 million in food deliveries promised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the leader of the region’s largest food bank remains concerned about future cuts.

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Two weeks before the policies are set to expire, the House and Senate took the first steps Monday to once again temporarily extend pandemic-era laws allowing remote access for public meetings in Massachusetts.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Health care costs in Massachusetts surged at “unsustainable” levels in 2023, adding more pressure to strained household budgets, according to new state data.

By MITCH FINK

President Donald Trump’s return to office has raised questions about the future of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding Massachusetts secured for its east-west rail plan.

By CHRIS LARABEE

BOSTON — As farmers prepare to head out to the fields for the season, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle sent a letter to the new U.S. agriculture secretary expressing concerns over uncertain federal funding and other actions taken by the federal government.

By COLIN A. YOUNG

From Brockton to Buckland and Northfield to Newton, more than 60 municipal officials are asking lawmakers to take swift action to allow them to continue to hold remote and hybrid public meetings beyond the upcoming March 31 expiration of that pandemic-era policy.

By DOMENIC POLI

A clause in the new state gun reform law preventing 18- to 21-year-olds from carrying certain firearms has gun enthusiasts, including those in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region, asking a rhetorical question: Is there an age requirement for the Bill of Rights?

By ALISON KUZNITZ

The Healey administration launched a new website Friday to connect fired federal workers with job opportunities and training resources in Massachusetts.

By COLIN A. YOUNG

More than six years in, the legal cannabis industry landscape in Massachusetts has had a chance to evolve, and a new industry report examines some of the trendlines.

By EMILEE KLEIN

HADLEY — The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Department Service’s Northeast regional headquarters in Hadley is proposed to close on Aug. 31 as part of the federal General Services Administration initiative to end leases for 164 federal office spaces nationwide, according to a list leaked by a government whistleblower.

By Mitch Fink

BOSTON — As they researched women’s health care for a civic action project at Frontier Regional High School in 2022, three eighth-grade students were appalled to learn that menstrual products — such as tampons and pads — can contain potentially harmful chemicals and toxins.

By COLIN A. YOUNG

Gov. Maura Healey signed a $425 million bill Friday to fund the emergency shelter system through June and make temporary and permanent reforms to address the cost and security of the system.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Two years after policymakers enacted mental health care reforms designed to mitigate the problem, the share of patients experiencing long waits in Massachusetts emergency departments remains elevated, according to new state research.

By ELLA ADAMS

BOSTON — The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted unanimously Tuesday to put its proposed competency determination regulations out for public comment, and to solicit comment about a second potential pathway to graduation that could still feature use of the MCAS exams.

By ALEXA LEWIS

NORTHAMPTON — Commemorating the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine, a handful of activists with Massachusetts Peace Action stood outside U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern’s Northampton office on Monday afternoon to demand peace negotiations. This standout mirrored another held by the organization at the same time in Boston.

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Residents struggling to afford hefty energy bills this winter could soon see modest relief, after state regulators instructed utility companies to slash costs.

By CHINANU OKOLI

Applications are rolling in for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ new Farm Transfer Planning Assistance initiative that connects aging farmers and their successors with experienced planners to set retirement goals and figure out how management and assets will be transferred.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

BOSTON — According to Lt. John Girvalakis of the Massachusetts Environmental Police, all that has been required to legally take a boat out on a ride are two things: “money and a boat,” with few exceptions.

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — With residents facing skyrocketing energy bills, Gov. Maura Healey demanded Sunday that a state regulatory agency and utility companies provide urgent relief to customers.