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By CHRIS LARABEE

As the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) study of the Northern Tier Passenger Rail project continues, officials and consultants Thursday night collected more feedback and laid out some of its potential funding streams in the final...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Lawmakers tasked with negotiating details of a major firearms bill left their work open to the public last week — a move that broke from opaque traditions on Beacon Hill. A week later, those negotiators moved to close their meetings to the...

By TANISHA BHAT

Franklin County restaurant owners have mixed feelings about a proposed ballot question that would increase service wages for tipped workers and allow businesses to create a tip pool for all employees, supporting the concept but worried about the...

By DOMENIC POLI

It seems people from all over are anxious for spring to arrive as bookings at the three state camping locations in Franklin and Hampshire counties are filling up fast.The state Department of Conservation and Recreation reports that at least 756 total...

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Within the last two days, the UMass men’s basketball team received big news regarding two of its student-athletes.Freshman guard Jaylen Curry and sophomore forward Daniel Hankins-Sanford each signed NIL deals with The Massachusetts...

By DOMENIC POLI

Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy recently warned lawmakers that big cities and small towns face a “major issue” with recruiting new candidates for law enforcement jobs, and local police chiefs say Franklin County is no...

By RUIHAN YANG

After years of being homeless, Amy “adapted” to living on the streets under insecurity.“I thought I wasn’t going to wake up, but I woke up, and I’m fine. The more I feel adapted to staying outside without a person that stays with me, the more I...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey’s team is looking into what more the state can do to help high school students who do not pass the MCAS exam, but she gave voice Tuesday to her opposition to a potential ballot question that would force the state to stop...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — What difference can a year make? When it comes to home sales in Massachusetts, the answer is about $50,000.There were 2,042 single-family homes sold in Massachusetts in February, the exact same number of sales as in February 2023. But...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — With funding for “vital” human services and early education programs running low, Gov. Maura Healey filed a nearly $535 million supplemental budget Monday afternoon to address the shortfalls and to shore up funding for safety-net...

By XINYI YANG

Anna Smith has applied three times to a state program that provides rental assistance for families — before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic — with the intention of “saving her two kids and her life.” What she didn’t anticipate was such a bleak...

By EMILEE KLEIN

Massachusetts’ solar development just had its worst year in more than a decade in terms of new installations, but Greenfield Solar partner Claire Chang says her firm that does jobs throughout the Pioneer Valley hasn’t experienced the same downturn.As...

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 under a bill the Senate unanimously passed late last week.It’s the...

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 Massachusetts residents on both ends of the political spectrum agreed this week that Beacon Hill could stand to open the...

By LIESEL NYGARD

SOUTH DEERFIELD — Before a room filled with local health care professionals, state Sen. Jo Comerford shared details about legislation she’s filed this session in hopes of bolstering the health care system to “do well by” those physicians and, in turn,...

By JAMES PENTLAND

AMHERST — The University of Massachusetts plans to triple early college enrollment over the next five years, giving 2,000 high school students a head start on their college educations, university President Marty Meehan said this week in his annual...

By DOMENIC POLI

Residents have until Friday to submit their input regarding the process by which clean energy projects are permitted in Massachusetts.An online survey is soliciting public comment on how the state should protect health, safety and community livability...

By SAM DORAN

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey’s plan to pardon all misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions will impact hundreds of thousands of people, she told a crowd at the Grand Staircase on Wednesday, and represents “the most sweeping cannabis pardon ever...

PELHAM — State biologists took the governor for a visit to a black bear den in Pelham last week as part of ongoing research.Each winter, biologists from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) visit the dens of female black...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — Less than a week after the House voted to pass a spending bill allocating $245 million to the state’s emergency shelters and impose a stay limit, Greenfield shelter operators are unsure how the legislation could impact their residents.The...