Search Results

Keyword search: Massachusetts

By ZICHANG LIU

For decades, Massachusetts’ adoption procedures have been a catalyst for happy endings for families across the state, including out-of-state birth parents who just want their child to be smoothly transferred to a new, welcoming home.However, within...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

BERNARDSTON — A 49-year-old man from Guilford, Vermont, died after crashing into a utility pole on Brattleboro Road (Route 5) on Tuesday morning just before 6 a.m.According to Northwestern District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Laurie Loisel, the...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

Fewer people who gave birth in 2022 received adequate prenatal care compared to the prior year, and more Massachusetts residents used fertility treatment, according to a new report from the Department of Public Health.DPH’s look-back into the 68,579...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Expectant mothers prescribed medication for substance use disorders can seek prenatal care without risk of being reported to the state’s Department of Children and Families, under the omnibus opioid bill signed into law this week.That...

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

Stamps have run a-fowl at the Great Falls Discovery Center. The center is currently home to the top entries of the 2024 Massachusetts Junior Duck Stamp competition. Every year the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hosts a duck stamp competition as a way...

By ZICHANG LIU

“Did you smell the barbecue smell in the air?” That was a question many Massachusetts residents frequently asked over the last few months.New England is well-known for its vibrant autumn foliage, especially this fall — when days were mostly bright and...

By SAMUEL GELINAS

NORTHAMPTON — Even many in Donald Trump’s circle are unsure whether the president-elect intends to follow through on his often expansive, and some would say, hyperbolic rhetoric — the kind of exaggerated speech that heralded a “big, beautiful wall”...

By SAM DORAN

BOSTON — Lawmakers dropped the controversial idea to pursue so-called safe injection sites in a compromise addiction and substance use disorder bill they filed Tuesday after months of private negotiations.Reps. Alice Peisch and Adrian Madaro and Sen....

By ZICHANG LIU

In an era where communication is no longer confined to one medium, Massachusetts’ wiretap law remains frozen in time, a 56-year-old statute that doesn’t entirely fit into the realities of today’s digital landscape, raising questions for lawmakers,...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

State officials are preparing for the rollout of expanded maternal health care services in 2025, stemming from a new law and recommendations they issued last year.Public health officials said the bevy of reforms were fueled by the controversial...

By DOMENIC POLI

WENDELL — The citizens group that formed last year in opposition to a now-withdrawn proposal for a 105-megawatt battery storage facility held a virtual forum this week to shed light on local permitting and the role of municipal power in the wake of...

By ADA DENENFELD KELLY

A recent survey conducted by the abortion fund Tides for Reproductive Freedom evaluated obstacles to accessing abortion care in Massachusetts.The organization both provides funds for those who would otherwise be unable to access abortion care and...

By SYDNEY TOPF

Ahead of the holiday season, consumer advocates are warning parents about the dangers posed by toys coming from overseas.International sellers are using “legal loopholes” to ship unsafe toys into the U.S., bypassing inspections and safety standards...

By MARA MELLITS

With the new climate and clean energy law changing the permitting process for solar and battery storage projects, western Massachusetts residents are left wondering how the regulations will impact their rural communities.“An act promoting a clean...

By ADA DENENFELD KELLY

While the recent passage of a new clean energy law leaves details of implementation to be solidified over the next 15 months before it takes effect, Mass Audubon’s director of legislative and government affairs is feeling hopeful about one aspect...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

NEW SALEM — Two Gardner residents were killed in a three-vehicle crash on Daniel Shays Highway (Route 202) on Friday, according to Northwestern District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Laurie Loisel.Both the driver and passenger, ages 89 and 74, in one...

By CHRIS LARABEE

GREENFIELD — More products and facility upgrades will be coming to the Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center, as the Franklin County Community Development Corporation has reeled in two separate grants.The Franklin County CDC was awarded a...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

BOSTON — Three Massachusetts Appeals Court judges heard oral arguments on Wednesday after former Greenfield Police Chief Robert Haigh Jr. and the city challenged a 2022 Hampshire County Superior Court ruling that found he and the Police Department...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

Gov. Maura Healey signed the Statewide Accelerated Public Health for Every Community (SAPHE 2.0) bill in late November on the coattails of a $4 billion economic development bond bill. Now roughly four years in the making, local health officials say...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, joined by a cohort of Massachusetts health leaders, has declared he will vote against confirming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the next U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary, saying Americans need a leader who...