Alison Kuznitz, “Bill would ensure tenant access to lawyers in eviction cases,” State House News Service, September 27, 2023.
“I know the difference a lawyer can make,” Spencer said at the hearing. “It feels like when you’re by yourself in an eviction, you don’t have a chance at all.”
Lindsay Schachnow, “Advocates call for increased minimum wage in Mass.,” Boston Business Journal, September 26, 2023.
“Many local business owners in Massachusetts understand that raising the minimum wage means their customers have more money in their pockets to spend at their businesses,” he said. “Every dollar minimum wage increase represents a dollar in the pocket of a worker who’s gonna spend in their community and that is money that’s gonna circulate in our local economy.”
James Aloisi, “The MBTA is in crisis. Let’s treat it that way.,” CommonWealth, September 23, 2023.
“Without a high functioning transit and rail system, Massachusetts will not meet any of its climate, public health, or equity goals, because mode shift and transit access are critical elements of those goals.”
Jamie Eldridge and Steve Owens, “Polluters should fund measures to combat climate change,” CommonWealth, September 22, 2023.
“We must ensure that the responsibility of handling this cost does not rest on the residents of the Commonwealth but rather the oil and gas companies most responsible for the damage….Our bill would ensure that all parties engaged in the business of extracting fossil fuels, or refining crude oil, are held accountable for more than 1 billion tons of covered greenhouse gas emissions.”
Bhaamati Borkhetaria, “Another union push from legislative staffers,” CommonWealth, September 21, 2023.
“I have spoken to dozens of Senate staffers about why they’ve joined the union,” she testified. Simko said staffers have talked to her about “being unable to afford to live in Boston, experiences of harassment, and being shut down if they try to advocate for change…Every story I heard had a common thread running through it. Staff desperately need a seat at the table.”
Gregg Hersh, “My Jewish faith spurs me to back prison moratorium,” CommonWealth, September 20, 2023.
“The Massachusetts criminal legal system is also rife with stark racial disparities, with spending on incarceration outpacing investment in wellbeing depending on the zip code. Is that the best use of our tax dollars?”
Sophie Hauck, “Holyoke School Committee seeks end to state receivership of school district,” Daily Hampshire Gazette, September 20, 2023.
“We’re, from the bottom of my heart, certainly ready,” Garcia said after reading a series of metrics to demonstrate growing student achievement in Holyoke. “There’s a lot of improvements [to come], but we’re ready to do that on our own.”
Alison Kuznitz, “Debt-free college framed as cure for workforce woes,” State House News Service, September 18, 2023.
“Even after a good semester, I feel ashamed of what little has come from my investment in my education,” Parkison said. “The funding that the CHERISH Act seeks would get me closer to dignified working conditions.”
Alvin Buyinza, “Debt-free college? Mass. advocates say its time has come,” MassLive, September 19, 2023.
“State funding cuts toward higher education have forced the commonwealth’s public colleges to take more from students’ wallets. After accounting for inflation, tuition and fees at four-year colleges in Massachusetts have skyrocketed 135% over the past two decades, according to a report from the Hildreth Institute, a Boston-based education think tank.”
Niki Griswold, “Mass. approves new health and sex ed guidelines for the first time since 1999,” Boston Globe, September 19, 2023.
“The new framework emphasizes skills like healthy decision-making and problem solving, social awareness, media literacy, and communication and relationship skills, as well as topics like the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity, and sexual health.”
Adam Reilly, “Healey unveils ‘groundbreaking’ policies on biodiversity and single-use plastic,” WGBH News, September 18, 2023.
“She announced that, later this week, she’ll sign an executive order directing the state to create new biodiversity conservation goals for 2030, 2040 and 2050, as well as strategies for meeting them. Those targets, which will include coastal and marine habitats, will be “the strongest in the nation,” Healey vowed.
In addition, Healey said, she’ll sign another executive order that immediately bans the purchase of single-use water bottles by state agencies, a step she described as unprecedented among U.S. states.”
Phil Johnston, “Today’s UMass students deserve the same opportunities I had,” CommonWealth, September 19, 2023.
“As much as students like me have counted on public higher education to help us secure our futures, the state is also counting on those colleges and universities to secure the economic future of the commonwealth.”
Vick Mohanka, “Utilities need to stop building natural gas infrastructure,” CommonWealth, September 13, 2023.
“Rather than spending billions of dollars on unnecessary fossil gas infrastructure, Massachusetts should pause fossil gas expansion and pipe replacement projects (except where necessary for safety) and prioritize electrification of building heating instead.”
