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By COLIN A. YOUNG

Treasurer Deborah Goldberg fired Cannabis Control Commission Chair Shannon O’Brien on Monday, her office confirmed, a removal that seems likely to kick the yearlong drama back into the courts.In a statement, Goldberg said she decided to fire O’Brien...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — More than a month since House and Senate Democrats failed to compromise on clean energy reforms that the industry and many advocates agree are essential to the transition the state wants to make, key trades associations have urged...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — The Department of Public Health is moving on multiple fronts to address the elevated risks of mosquito-borne illnesses this year, including spraying pesticides from trucks in southern Worcester County and from planes in Plymouth County...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON – Mindful of how difficult it is to grow much of anything in the outdoor climate of Massachusetts, never mind growing a crop that is legal here but still entirely prohibited at the federal level, the Cannabis Control Commission traveled to...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — As frustrations between House and Senate Democrats mounted Wednesday night into Thursday morning, House Speaker Ronald Mariano decided to take his hospital oversight bill and a prescription drug bill that the Senate has prioritized off the...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — The chances of the House and Senate reaching a stoppage time deal on clean energy permitting and other climate-related policies are slim, negotiators from both sides said shortly after midnight as the sniping and finger-pointing began.“I was...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON – Gov. Maura Healey gave her OK to sweeping statewide policy changes Monday afternoon as part of the overdue fiscal year 2025 budget, signing free community college, online Mass Lottery products, free rides on regional transit authorities and...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

The federal government has proposed the first national safety standard meant to keep workers safe from excessive heat in the workplace and has made $1 billion available to hundreds of projects — including 30 in Massachusetts — that try to mitigate...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — The Senate has approved another complex set of reforms to accelerate the spread of clean energy in Massachusetts, along the way hearing concerns about potential ratepayer burdens and embracing an expansion of the state’s bottle redemption...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — With the Bay State gripped by a heat wave on the summer solstice, the Massachusetts Senate on Thursday planned to pass legislation to speed up siting and permitting for clean energy projects and also provide more direction for the state’s...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

The major housing policy and bond bill expected to pass the House this week includes ideas that have the support of a majority of Massachusetts residents across demographic and political groups, like allowing people to build accessory dwellings on...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — There were 3,100 single-family homes sold in Massachusetts last month, and while that number alone may not mean much to those still looking for an affordable home, it may represent a glimmer of hope — it was the largest year-over-year...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON – Hoping to accelerate the switch to clean energy technologies, the climate bank at MassHousing recently announced a new financing product that aims to make $20 million in loans available over the next two years to help homeowners cover the...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

Nearly 200 water systems across Massachusetts — including towns, schools and hospitals — will likely need to take some action to comply with new federal limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water, state regulators said Wednesday, a potentially...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON – The University of Massachusetts has taken a step toward hiking tuition and room and board charges for the next academic year, but some trustees said last Wednesday the proposed increases are not high enough and one said the status quo would...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — In anticipation of a boom in clean energy projects needed to help the state meet its decarbonization targets, a group put together by the governor rolled out recommendations Monday for ways to streamline and accelerate the siting and...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Aaron Michlewitz sits in the catbird seat of budget and policy development on Beacon Hill.The Boston Democrat offered a glimpse Monday afternoon at the various balls he is trying to keep...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey’s team is looking into what more the state can do to help high school students who do not pass the MCAS exam, but she gave voice Tuesday to her opposition to a potential ballot question that would force the state to stop...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote in 1913 that “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants,” and Bay Staters on both ends of the political spectrum agreed this week that Beacon Hill could stand to open the curtains quite a bit...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

As policymakers this week examine a law meant to keep health care cost growth within sustainable bounds, a new report makes clear that the health care sector has a double-sided problem – the cost of care is pushing it out of reach for many...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Aiming to have its new executive director on board by this summer, the state Cannabis Control Commission spent hours last week crafting the contours of the job and detailing what qualities a successful applicant will demonstrate.The CCC has...