Andrew Brinker, “‘It’s an invasion.’ In towns across Eastern Mass., resistance grows against ambitious state housing law.,” Boston Globe, March 3, 2024.

“If we don’t have enough thoughtful people who understand what’s really going on here, [a zoning proposal] will be defeated, because there will be people who just don’t want any change at all,” said Shaw, who says Rockport needs more housing to maintain its economic vitality. “It is pretty easy to imagine a group getting 30 or 40 people to go to Town Meeting and vote, and kill this zoning.”

Shannon Larson, “These 10 homes were among the most expensive sold in Massachusetts in 2023,” Boston Globe, March 1, 2024.

Imagine the revenue that could be raised for affordable housing if these communities were allowed to pass a real estate transfer fee.

Jennifer Smith, “AG Campbell sues Milton over MBTA Communities law,” Commonwealth Beacon, February 27, 2024.

“The housing affordability crisis affects all of us: families who face impossible choices between food on the table or a roof over their heads, young people who want to live here but are driven away by the cost, and a growing workforce we cannot house,” Campbell said in a statement. “The MBTA Communities Law was enacted to address our region-wide need for housing, and compliance with it is mandatory.”

Matthew Ferreira, “It’s official: New Bedford stands against MCAS as a graduation requirement. Here’s why.,” The Standard Times, February 21, 2024.

“I knew a lot of students that were dropping out after they failed the MCAS in 10th grade because they were like, I’m not going to graduate anyways,” said first-year New Bedford High geometry teacher and 2019 graduate Taryn Padilla. “Now teaching geometry, I see everyday how the constraints and pressure of this test are not only hindering student engagement in classes but hindering teachers’ ability to actually create engaging lessons….”

C.J. Polychroniou, “To Democratize Finance, We Must Take the Banks Away From the Bankers,” Truth-Out, February 17, 2024.

“One possible way to accomplish this dual feat is by creating an alternative banking system that democratizes finance. In fact, the movement for public banking — a system where banks are owned by the people rather than the wealthy elite — is gaining momentum in many parts of the country.”

Samantha Gross, “Two years after pay structure revamp, Mass. Senate to boost pay for staffers,” Boston Globe, February 14, 2024.

“Senate staff pay was a central tenet of a nascent unionization effort among staff, who announced their intent to form a union in 2022. Spilka, however, has not recognized the union. While Massachusetts has a long pro-labor tradition, state law carves out legislative staff from the definition of public employees who may collectively bargain.”

Taylor Dolven, “The T is on track to be broke soon. There’s no long-term fix.,” Boston Globe, February 12, 2024.

“The answer is straightforward, there are clear funding solutions out there,” said Yonah Freemark, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute and author of a recent report about how states can increase public transit funding. “The agency is being tasked with waiting another few years to solve problems that were caused by previous administrations.”

Senator Joanne Comerford, “Taking on the free community college critics,” Commonwealth Beacon, February 11, 2024.

“Community college students deserve the chance to learn and to climb a meaningful career ladder with a well-lit path to economic mobility….Investments made today will be directly linked to their success and to the long-term well-being of public higher education and our state — for generations to come.”

Ashley Shook, “Amherst supports bill for fully funded public higher education,” WWLP, February 8, 2024.

“Amherst follows the lead of Boston which was the first Massachusetts city to vote in support of the bill to make higher education more accessible in the state. The Cherish Act includes fully funded community colleges and state universities, fair wages, better working conditions, and extra support for students.”

John Keenan, “I visited supervised consumption sites in six cities. Here’s what I found.,” Boston Globe, February 5, 2024.

“What I saw and learned in Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, Quebec City, Philadelphia, and New York leads me to believe that Massachusetts should allow any community that chooses to host a supervised consumption site to do so as a pilot program, using the experience and data to better inform Massachusetts policy makers and residents of the role such facilities can play in efforts to combat the drug epidemic. They can save money, and they will save lives.”

Bhaamati Borkhetaria, “Legislators push to restore felon voting rights,” CommonWealth, January 30, 2024.

“Inmates with voting rights also become another constituent group that gets attention from elected officials, said Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven, a Somerville Democrat and cosponsor of House versions of the measures to restore felon voting rights. “When incarcerated individuals had the right to vote, there were [many] more legislators going in and out of prisons and jails because there are voters there,” she said.”

Sarah Betancourt, “In key election year, prisoners with felonies seek right to vote in Massachusetts,” WGBH, January 29, 2024.

“State Sen. Liz Miranda, a Democrat from Roxbury, says she filed legislation as “a matter of racial justice.”…“The disenfranchisement of these citizens, our people, perpetuates the racial injustices already present in the entire system,” Miranda said. “It’s effectively diluting the political voice of entire communities.”

Joanna Gonsalves, “Letter: State can make a debt-free education possible,” Boston Globe, January 28, 2024.

“Economists have shown that investment in high-quality, debt-free public higher education is one of the best ways to advance individual and community prosperity. With passage of the Fair Share Amendment, Massachusetts has dedicated annual education funding that could be put toward this goal.”

Yvonne Abraham, “Tenants facing eviction need legal representation. Let’s give it to them.,” Boston Globe, January 20, 2024.

“So many parts of this state’s crippling housing crisis seem impossible to solve, meaningfulfixes many years and billions of dollars down the road. Here is something we can do, and right now. It’s right, we know it works, and it will keep thousands of families in their homes.”

Molly Dickens and Lucy Hutner, “What the Child Care Crisis Does to Parents,” New York Times, January 16, 2024.

“We know inadequate child care is an economic issue, costing states, families and businesses billions of dollars every year. We know it’s a gender issue that contributes to a widening pay gap. We know it’s a policy issue, made worse by the absences of a federal pre-K program and a federal paid-leave policy. But here is another critical consideration worth pushing for: Our country’s inadequate child care system is also a health care issue.”

Rebekah Gerwitz, “Letter: Our state’s most vulnerable children will feel the effects,” Boston Globe, January 9, 2024.

“The Lift Our Kids Coalition, of which our organization is a member, has worked for years with families, teachers, lawyers, social workers, service providers, and others on the front lines to pass an increase in subsistence benefits to lift families out of poverty. The Legislature agreed in this year’s state budget to a much-needed and very modest increase, set to go into effect in April. With a stroke of the governor’s pen, the increase is now erased.”

Gabrielle Gurley, “The Fight for $15 Can Take a Bow,” The American Prospect, January 11, 2024.

“Massachusetts has a persistent unaffordability dynamic in play. Child care is more expensive than a state-college education. The state has some of the highest annual child care costs for toddlers at $19,961, representing more than 50 percent of the median single mother’s income, and close to 15 percent for a married couple with children. In-state tuition at University of Massachusetts Amherst is $17,364 for the current academic year.”