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By SAM DRYSDALE

Career technical schools in Massachusetts will use a lottery system to admit students when there are more applicants than available seats, an approach that supporters say will ensure fairness and critics warn will water down education standards.

By CHINANU OKOLI

Some local farmers hope bills to mitigate PFAS contamination in Massachusetts could safeguard their work and protect their lives.

By MICHAEL P. NORTON

No-bid emergency food and transportation service procurements followed a failure by state officials to assess and react to a spike in demand for shelter services, according audit results released Tuesday.

By SAM DRYSDALE

The state will close its remaining motel and hotel shelters this summer, Gov. Maura Healey announced Monday, as the governor and lawmakers have imposed restrictions on the emergency housing system over the past year and family enrollment has declined.

By MILENA ROVCHANIN

Massachusetts’ thriving biotechnology sector, home to over 100,000 jobs and more than 1,000 life sciences companies, is staring down a potential shock to its supply chains: sweeping new tariffs proposed by President Donald Trump.

By CHRIS LARABEE

NORTHFIELD — At Northfield Golf Course Friday morning, the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce’s monthly lunch was all about how tourism and recreation can drive the local economy.

By CHRIS LARABEE

In a letter to Congress, Gov. Maura Healey is urging lawmakers to reject changes proposed by Republicans to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that would shift much of the expense to the states, which would cost a minimum of $131.4 million annually and potentially as much as $650 million.

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey is proposing to repeal a law put in place by voters as part of a worldwide nuclear freeze movement, a bid to open the door to greater deployment of newer nuclear energy facilities as part of a push to save ratepayers $10 billion over a decade.

By JENNIFER PEDERSON

When was the last time you visited your doctor for a regular check-up? Maybe annually, perhaps even twice a year if you’re diligent. Now, consider this: your drinking water gets checked hundreds, even thousands, of times every single month.

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — The number of antisemitic incidents reported in Massachusetts was essentially unchanged in 2024, though officials with the Anti-Defamation League said the total is “part of a troubling long-term trend” of heightened harassment, vandalism and assault.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — While Senate Democrats do not have much legislative action ready to launch in response to President Donald Trump, they spent more than two hours Monday ripping into the administration’s immigration crackdown and warning about damage to the rule of law.

By ADITI THUBE

Mike Kennealy didn’t grow up dreaming of politics as a child of middle-class parents in Reading. His father was a steelworker and his mother was a homemaker. From them, he inherited an understanding of the value of hard work and a deep belief in fairness.

By CHINANU OKOLI

Local brewers and farmers market owners range from enthusiastic to disappointed to indifferent to the state’s new provision allowing brewers to sell beer and other craft beverages at farmers markets, fairs and other agricultural events.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

BOSTON — Eight months after she started working in a Holyoke marijuana cultivation facility in 2021, 27-year-old Lorna McMurrey died from an asthma attack after inhaling ground cannabis dust — a death that drew national attention as it was the first to be traced to dust and mold deposits found within marijuana workspaces.

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Senate Democrats announced a bill Monday morning intended to shield reproductive and transgender care in Massachusetts from out-of-state threats, saying it was part of the response effort to the Trump administration.

By ELLA ADAMS

BOSTON — As National Institutes of Health funding cuts loom over research institutions and the overarching outlook for the system of higher education falters under Trump administration actions, industry leaders are attempting to raise alarm and steady the sector’s footing.

By CLAIRE O’CALLAHAN

Visitors and residents alike treasure western Massachusetts for its expansive and undisturbed nature that offers peaceful hikes along forest trails, breathtaking views and the chance to observe wildlife in its natural habitat.

By U.S. SEN. EDWARD J. MARKEY

Western Massachusetts farmers are used to facing and overcoming challenges — from late frosts and damaging storms to droughts and soil erosion, and more. What they’re not accustomed to is the president of the United States standing in their way of earning a living and bolstering our local economies.

By ANDREW MOREHOUSE and CHARLOTTE BONEY

The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts recently received troubling news: the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has canceled a portion of its food deliveries through August — an estimated $440,000 worth of food we were counting on. While this represents only 1% of our total distribution last year, it’s a serious shortfall that will force us to draw on emergency reserves to purchase food. Even more concerning are the proposed federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These cuts would deepen food insecurity across western Massachusetts and further strain our already overburdened food assistance network.

By MAYA MITCHELL

Five years after the first case of what was then a novel coronavirus infection, health care professionals and state legislators worry Massachusetts isn’t ready if another pandemic were to happen.

By ADITI THUBE

Massachusetts gun rights advocates are pushing to overturn a 2024 update of the state’s already tough firearms law, collecting more than 90,000 signatures to place a repeal referendum on the 2026 ballot.