Jobs in Massachusetts Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels
Total employment in Massachusetts rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in January, 34 months after the COVID-19 state of emergency began, as employers added a robust 19,600 jobs.
Biden’s Cape Bridges Plan Viewed as ‘Down Payment’
Massachusetts elected officials who for years have been seeking federal funding to help replace the aging bridges across the Cape Cod Canal got a major ally Thursday: President Joe Biden.
MBTA Removes Some Speed Curbs, Won’t Commit to Timeline for Others
MBTA officials announced late Thursday night they would immediately impose speed restrictions across all four subway lines following a Department of Public Utilities site visit, an unprecedented step that will cause immediate disruptions for riders.
Energy Coalition Wants $300M to ‘Jumpstart’ Building Overhauls
To meet the state’s climate goals and cut down on energy costs for residents, Massachusetts needs to invest in zero-carbon renovations in existing buildings around the state, according to a coalition of over 150 organizations.
Healey Plan Divides Oversight of Development Projects
Gov. Maura Healey wants to separate housing and economic development in the state’s bureaucracy, mostly to give housing production the enhanced focus she says it desperately needs. But Healey doesn’t want to completely shatter the connection between the two topics.
Chamber Urges Pay Boost as T Leader Search Continues
One of the region’s leading business groups called Monday for the Healey administration to offer the next leader of the MBTA a sizable pay raise, arguing that the agency needs better compensation to attract the talented candidates needed for the challenging job.
Close Call Prompts T to Remove Station Panels
MBTA staff will remove ceiling panels at Harvard Station after a corroded panel fell about 10 feet and landed “very close to a customer,” Interim General Manager Jeff Gonneville said Friday.
Healey Budget Shines Light on Transportation Agenda
A long-sought downtown Boston rail link between the MBTA’s Red and Blue Lines, passenger train service in western Massachusetts and another study of low-income T fares headline transit areas of focus in Gov. Maura Healey’s first annual budget.
Healey Files Reorg Plan to Create Housing Secretariat
As she unveiled a $55.5 billion annual budget to lay out plans that back up some of her campaign promises, Gov. Maura Healey is also filing promised legislation to create a standalone housing secretary in her executive branch.
Healey Outlines Workforce Investment Plans
Gov. Maura Healey continued Wednesday to focus on the spending side of her annual state budget, visiting a community college in Charlestown to promote her plan to have taxpayers cover the cost of community college for any resident 25 or older without a college degree or equivalent industry credential.
Healey: Tax Changes Intended to Keep Residents in Mass.
Building out her budget-week media blitz, Gov. Maura Healey ventured before a new audience Monday night in her first appearance on WBZ NewsRadio’s NightSide with Dan Rea, where she discussed tax relief, problems with new Red and Orange Line cars and the state’s burdensome cost of living.
Wu Accuses Rent Plan Opponents of ‘Fearmongering’
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu pushed back Monday as resistance to her rent control plan picks up, arguing that what she has proposed is different from rent control policies of years past and describing some of the opposition as “fearmongering.”
Healey to Offer $859M in Tax Relief, HDIP Boost in Budget
Attempting to restart a debate that skidded out last summer, the Healey administration on Monday rolled out an $859 million tax relief proposal that would offer new breaks to hundreds of thousands of Bay Staters while reforming the estate tax and the levy on short-term capital gains.
No Clear Sign When T Will Restore Subway Service
Instead of a dispatcher shortage hobbling efforts to run MBTA subway trains at normal frequencies, it’s now a lack of train operators doing so, T officials say.
Healey to Take Budget, Tax Message to Biz Groups
The first-ever state budget season for Gov. Maura Healey will feature a pair of addresses before audiences eager for her and the Legislature to enact long-sought tax reform.
AG Will Send Advisory On Housing Mandate
The attorney general’s office will use “every tool in [its] toolbox” if the handful of towns that have so far not complied with a state law mandating denser, multi-family housing continue to object to the new zoning laws after hearing from her office, Attorney General Andrea Campbell said on Friday.
Boston Officials Flag ‘False Pretenses’ Behind MCCA Development Plans
City officials and a state senator representing South Boston raised concerns Thursday that the independent convention center authority may be planning under “false pretenses” to develop land taken by eminent domain for mixed use rather than convention-related purposes.
Healey on Transit Zoning: ‘Opting Out Is Not an Option’
A key pressure point in the debate about Massachusetts as a competitive destination is housing, where short supply and sluggish development has pushed prices to blistering levels in recent years.
Fix for $600M Surtax ‘Loophole’ Proposed
If high-income households employ a legal tax avoidance strategy, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center says the state legislature should require that Bay Staters use the same filing status for their federal and state income taxes.
Housing Secretary Might Not Be on Board ‘Til Summer
Gov. Maura Healey will file long-promised legislation in March to create a standalone housing secretariat in her executive branch, and the head of that proposed office is not likely to start their work until “closer to the fiscal year” that starts July 1, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said Tuesday.
