Politics

Michael P. Norton and Chris Van Buskirk State House News Service For the third time in as many days, Senate Republicans prevented debate on a wide-ranging police reform bill, but it appears the Senate could launch into its debate on Monday. Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) used a procedural motion to …

By Matt Murphy State House News Service One inmate in the Suffolk County House of Correction wanted to know how U.S. Sen. Edward Markey would help former prisoners find reliable transportation to keep appointments with their parole officers. Another questioned the senator about his position on reparations for slavery. And …

Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced the launch of free COVID-19 testing sites in eight communities from July 10 to August 14 to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The New Bedford free testing details: This “Stop the Spread” initiative is a data-driven effort to reduce the prevalence of COVID-19 in …

Chris Lisinski State House News Service A dramatic expansion of mail-in and early voting in Massachusetts is now law, and Secretary of State William Galvin is now preparing to quickly mail applications to all 4.5 million of the state’s registered voters by a deadline next week. Galvin announced late Monday …

The Baker-Polito Administration today announced that on July 6th, Phase III of the Commonwealth’s reopening plan will begin and updates on gatherings will be in effect. For the City of Boston, Phase III and the gatherings order will take effect on Monday, July 13th. The Department of Public Health (DPH) …

Matt Murphy State House News Service Former House Speaker Sal DiMasi was cleared on Thursday to register as a lobbyist by a Superior Court judge who overturned Secretary of State William Galvin’s decision to reject DiMasi’s application based on his past convictions on federal corruption and extortion charges. The ruling …

Matt Murphy and Chris Van Buskirk State House News Service A deal has been reached between leaders in the House and Senate on early voting and vote-by-mail legislation that should pave the way for a major expansion of voting options ahead of the 2020 election to encourage participation during the …

Chris Van Buskirk State House News Service Juneteenth is a step closer to becoming a state holiday in Massachusetts after the House on Wednesday agreed to mark June 19 as Juneteenth Independence Day. The holiday took place last Friday and residents across the state took the streets in large numbers …

Katie Lannan State House News Service The state’s death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 8,000 on Friday, with the report of 50 new fatalities. Thirty-nine of those deaths were among patients with test-confirmed cases of COVID-19, while the other 11 were from probable cases, which the Department of Public Health defines …

After the Northampton City Council voted to cut their police budget by 10%, the Northampton police chief announced that the department is cutting five full-time police positions and eliminating the full-time School Resource Officer. The following was posted yesterday by the Northampton police chief on their Facebook page: “Good Afternoon …