Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Boston’s NBC affiliate reports: City councilors in Boston voted 12-1 Wednesday to make Boston a sanctuary city for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Councilor-at-Large Julia Mejia and District 9 Councilor Liz Breadon called on Boston to adopt the measure supporting transgender people, pointing to what they see as harmful rhetoric coming from President Donald Trump and the White House. “Boston …

NBC News reports: Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., said Saturday that she and her family had been targeted by a bomb threat and that local police are working with the U.S. Capitol Police to investigate the incident. Westford Police Department Capt. Michael Breault said the department was made aware of the threat via email Saturday morning, at which point they responded …

The Associated Press reports: Under a Massachusetts law signed in 2018, the age to buy any tobacco product — including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes — was raised to 21. Massachusetts also has banned the sale of all flavored tobacco products in an effort to reduce youth interest in nicotine. The new proposal, which lawmakers plan to file next year, would …

Boston’s ABC affiliate reports: Hanson’s ongoing dispute involving political images being displayed on the town’s water tower took a turn on Wednesday night. Following Donald Trump’s presidential election win, an image of a red “Punisher” skull with what appears to be a Trump hairstyle could be seen on the side of the tower. Town officials previously stated the ongoing projections …

ABC News reports: The threat of Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus has prompted several Massachusetts towns to implement targeted mosquito spraying to protect residents. According to the CDC, this virus, often called Triple E, is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito and can cause a “rare but severe illness.” Although the number of annual cases is low, the virus …

Politico reports: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a member of Biden’s national campaign advisory board who earlier this spring headlined a big-dollar fundraiser for him in Boston, said in a statement Friday that he should “carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump.” Biden “saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the …

Axios reports: The U.S. has not seen any negative effects on marriage, divorce or living arrangements among all couples since Massachusetts issued the first state-sanctioned, same-sex marriage licenses 20 years ago, a new analysis says. A review of nearly 100 studies examining the consequences of same-sex marriage on multiple measures of family formation and well-being found no harm to different-sex …

The Boston Universal Hub reports: Republicans in the First Suffolk district (state Sen. Nick Collins’s district) who vote during the March 5 primary will get to decide who represents them on the Republican State Committee – one man and one woman. On the woman’s side, the candidates are Elizabeth Hinds-Ferrick and Lori Kauffman, both of Dorchester. Kauffman, who grew up …

Boston’s NBC affiliate reports: Massachusetts state senators passed a bill Thursday that will strike so-called “archaic laws” from state statutes. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled anti-sodomy laws unconstitutional in 2003 and Massachusetts has legally recognized same-sex marriage since 2004, but sections of state law still feature discriminatory restrictions on sexual interactions between consenting adults, lawmakers said Thursday. Massachusetts still has …

The Berkshire Eagle reports: The plainclothed police officer who entered an eighth grade classroom to search for a book wore a body camera and recorded the incident, leading to more legal questions and concerns. The ACLU and other free speech advocates say they are alarmed by the recording, as well as the entire Dec. 8 incident that took place after …

The Hill reports: Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell [photo] filed a harassment and civil rights lawsuit against a white nationalist organization Friday, alleging the group consistently discriminated against LGBTQ people and immigrants. Campbell said the Nationalist Social Club, a self-described neo-Nazi group, repeatedly attempted to harass and shut down events hosted by LGBTQ organizations and targeted immigrants who recently arrived …

The Insider reports: Students in Massachusetts will get free lunch and breakfast at school thanks to a new 4% tax put on people who earn more than $1 million. Massachusetts voters passed a constitutional amendment that went into effect at the beginning of 2023 to put an additional 4% state income tax on people who make more than $1 million …

Axios reports: Beacon Hill is wading into the tumultuous territory of school vaccine requirements as lawmakers vet proposals to tighten school precautions against future outbreaks. The Public Health Committee meets Wednesday to consider a handful of vaccine bills, including legislation to completely eliminate the state’s religious exemption option and to standardize the student vaccine exemption system. Vaccine mandates for children …

CBS News reports: A battle is brewing in the town of North Brookfield over a Pride event and whether a drag show should be allowed as part of the celebration on the town common June 24. In a 2 to 1 vote last week, the Board of Selectmen reversed itself from a vote in March, saying the Pride celebration could …

Mass Live reports: Hingham police arrested and charged a man who they said made phone calls threatening to shoot down and burn a Pride flag outside the Derby Street Shoppes on Thursday. Gage Scammell, 29 of Weymouth, was charged with interference with civil rights, use or presence of deadly weapons and threatening to commit a crime, police said in a …

Politico reports: Elizabeth Warren is running for reelection. The state’s senior senator made her third-term bid official in a two-plus-minute video posted to social media this morning. In it, Warren touts her accomplishments — a corporate minimum tax, over-the-counter hearing aids and canceling student loan debt (which remains stalled in court) among them. And she sets the tone for a …

The Salem News reports: The vulnerable teens were steered toward a local United Methodist Church — and into the path of a lay pastor, a man who, though not ordained, had been given a type of license by the church to work as a youth minister. On Thursday, Russell Woodman Davis, 70, pleaded guilty to raping and attempting to rape …

Mass Live reports: A Massachusetts man was found guilty of assault in federal court Friday For his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection after evidence showed him attacking police with a shield and pulling an officer toward the violent mob that laid siege to the U.S. Capitol Building, according to authorities. Following a trial in U.S. District Court in …

Boston’s ABC affiliate reports: Tufts University Police are alerting students and faculty that a bomb threat has been reported affecting the Tufts University Medford/Somerville campus. University Police are asking everyone to take their belongings with them. Authorities are searching East Hall, Anderson Hall, Bendetson Hall, 7th floor of the Dowling building, Paige Hall, Miner Hall, Joyce Cummings Center, SEC Complex, …

Boston’s NBC affiliate reports: The Massachusetts motorist accused of plowing into an Apple store at a “consistent high rate of speed” told police his foot got caught on the accelerator and he couldn’t brake in time to avoid the deadly crash, officials said Tuesday. Bradley Rein, 53, made his first appearance in Hingham District Court, where Judge Heather Bradley ordered …