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Friday, Oct. 19, 2018
TRUMP, PRESIDENCY LOOM LARGE IN FIRST WARREN-DIEHL DEBATE
10/19/18 11:34 PM
U.S Sen. Elizabeth Warren went as hard against President Donald Trump as she did her opponent state Rep. Geoff Diehl on Friday night as the two candidates squared off for the first time over taxes, Saudi Arabia and transgender rights and Diehl tried to brand Warren as someone more interested in running for president than re-election. Read More
ADVANCES - WEEK OF OCT. 21, 2018
10/19/18 5:51 PM
The 2018 general election gets underway Monday as early voting starts well before candidates and ballot question committees make their final presentations to the electorate. Read More
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICE BOSS FIRED FOR SPYING ON WORKERS
10/19/18 4:32 PM
The head of the Massachusetts Environmental Police was fired on Friday, about two weeks after he was suspended without pay, after an internal investigation found he undermined the agency by engaging in "covert" surveillance of employees. Read More
DESPITE ASSURANCES, UNCORRECTED NURSES AD RAN ON TV
10/19/18 1:08 PM
The Yes on 1 campaign said Wednesday it had corrected ads in support of nurse staffing mandates that misrepresented reporting done by the State House News Service, but some uncorrected ads continued to run, including during Thursday night's TBS broadcast of the Boston Red Sox playoff game where they clinched the American League pennant. Read More
STUNT WATCH: DEMS DELIVER WAFFLES TO BAKER'S OFFICE
10/19/18 10:51 AM
Gov. Charlie Baker's debate performance Wednesday night earned him a Friday morning breakfast delivery from the Massachusetts Democratic Party. Read More
Massachusetts Democratic Party interns Olivia Reposa and Mary Donnelly handed a bundle of waffles to Gov. Charlie Baker's receptionist on Friday morning. [Photo: Katie Lannan/SHNS] | Hi-Res
WEEKLY ROUNDUP – "I'M GOING TO VOTE FOR HIM"
10/19/18 6:14 PM
How do you think Gov. Charlie Baker takes his waffles? The Republican governor was treated (or tricked?) Friday morning to a stack of buttery waffles from The Paramount on Charles Street, a tongue-in-cheek gift from the Democratic Party as it tries to keep attention on Baker's flip-flopping this week over whether he would vote for U.S. Senate candidate Geoff Diehl. The GOP called it one of the Democrats' "sad gimmicks." Read More
BILLS AND BASEBALL: House Speaker Robert DeLeo was positive on Tuesday about the Red Sox' prospects, and the prospects for a future health care bill in the Legislature. "If the Red Sox can do it, so can we," DeLeo said at the annual health care cost trends hearing. [Photo: Sam Doran/SHNS] | Hi-Res
LAWMAKERS AGREE TO SOME OF BAKER'S TAX PROPOSALS, NOT OTHERS
10/19/18 11:50 AM
The $540 million supplemental budget on Gov. Charlie Baker's desk includes some tax law changes sought by the Republican governor, but not all of them. Read More
LABOR FORCE GROWS, JOBS DOWN BY 6,200 IN SEPTEMBER
10/19/18 10:42 AM
Massachusetts lost 6,200 jobs in September and the unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent, according to new data. Read More
LOCKED OUT GRID WORKERS CLEARED TO ASSIST IN MERRIMACK VALLEY
10/19/18 6:30 AM
As union leadership continues to call out what it says are dangerous gas leaks in National Grid territory, gas workers locked out of their jobs by the company amid a long contract dispute have been cleared to help with restoration of the gas system in the Merrimack Valley. Read More
Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018
RECREATIONAL POT TESTING APPROVED AT LABS IN SALEM AND FRAMINGHAM
10/18/18 6:03 PM
Marijuana regulators on Thursday approved two testing laboratories to inspect all non-medical marijuana sold in Massachusetts, bringing the state one step closer to the legal marijuana industry sanctioned by voters two years ago. Read More
GROUPS HOPE ELECTIONS WILL BOOST MILLENNIAL REPRESENTATION
10/18/18 4:53 PM
Members of the millennial generation account for about 6 percent of all state lawmakers nationwide, and that percentage could nearly double after this fall's elections, according to a new tally. Read More
HEALEY: HEALTH CARE BUREAUCRACY TOO DENSE FOR CONSUMERS
10/18/18 4:35 PM
With enrollment in high-deductible insurance plans increasing, the job of controlling out-of-pocket consumer health care costs is increasingly falling to consumers but it's "often nearly impossible" for patients to get price information before obtaining services, according to Attorney General Maura Healey. Read More
METHUEN BORROWING BILL INCLUDES POSSIBLE CONTROL BOARD
10/18/18 2:24 PM
The city of Methuen will face new checks on its finances under legislation moving through the House and Senate that will allow city officials to borrow up to $4 million to balance its budget this fiscal year and in fiscal 2020. Read More
SENATE SESSION - THURSDAY, OCT. 18, 2018
10/18/18 2:22 PM
A bill that would allow the city of Methuen to borrow up to $4 million "to achieve a balanced budget for fiscal years 2019 and 2020" emerged from Senate Ways and Means on Thursday, and the branch whisked it through initial approval and passage. The Senate also gave initial approval to a bill allowing the Weymouth retirement board to calculate pension payments for the widow of fallen police officer Michael Chesna, who was posthumously promoted to sergeant, as if he held the higher rank at the time he was killed while pursuing a suspect in July. Read More
SHERIFF'S OPIOID ADDICTION TREATMENT PROGRAM GETS NATIONAL RECOGNITION
10/18/18 12:43 PM
A drug addiction treatment program run out of the Middlesex Sheriff's office earned national accolades this week as one of a handful of programs across the country leading the way on providing medication-assisted treatment in jails. Read More
HOUSE SESSION - THURSDAY, OCT. 18, 2018
10/18/18 11:52 AM
Bills addressing local matters in Chicopee, Somerville, Stoughton and Northfield were advanced in the House's 10-minute session on Thursday. Two bills amending Greenfield's charter were consolidated into one, and then passed. The House meets next on Monday. Read More
CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP CHANGES NAME TO MARK 50 YEARS
10/18/18 10:13 AM
A Boston-based legal organization involved in multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration is changing its name as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. Read More
DEMS DIG BAKER OVER HIS PUSH TO FLIP U.S. SENATE SEAT FOR GOP
10/18/18 5:04 PM
Gov. Charlie Baker's waffling in his support for Republican Senate candidate Geoff Diehl Wednesday night reopened a wound for the governor who was criticized Thursday for both backing a strong supporter of President Donald Trump and for hesitating to defend that position. Read More
Democrat for governor Jay Gonzalez criticized Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday for "playing politics" by wavering in his support for Senate candidate Geoff Diehl. The candidate was joined by NARAL Pro-Choice political director Gena Frank, state Senate candidate Katie McBrine, Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu and his running mate Quentin Palfrey. [Photo: Matt Murphy/SHNS] | Hi-Res
WITH LATEST AUCTION, FEDS SEE BIG ENERGY POTENTIAL OFF MASSACHUSETTS COAST
10/18/18 1:23 PM
The federal government plans in December to hold an offshore wind auction featuring 390,000 acres off the coast of Massachusetts, an area that officials say could provide enough power to serve 1.5 million homes. Read More
BAKER TALKS SUPPORT FOR DIEHL AS FIGHT FOR SENATE CONTROL UNWINDS
10/18/18 1:23 PM
Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday reiterated his intent to vote for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Geoff Diehl, a day after first saying he hadn't decided how he'd vote and later telling reporters he misspoke. Read More
CIVIL SUIT AGAINST ROSENBERG, HEFNER DROPPED
10/18/18 12:43 PM
A former legislative aide has dropped a civil lawsuit against former Senate President Stanley Rosenberg and his husband Bryon Hefner that alleged sexual assault by Hefner, according to the man's lawyer. Read More
ROSENBERG / HEFNER
