The Comprehensive Permit Act, usually called 40B, set a goal for Massachusetts towns and cities nearly five decades ago: develop at least 10 percent of local housing to be affordable in the long term for low or middle income residents. As of a late 2017 Department of Housing and Community Development report, just 67 of…
Ending Youth Homelessness: An Interview With the Associate Director of the Massachusetts Homeless Coalition
Kelly Turley (second from right), Associate Director of the Massachusetts Homeless Coalition, talks to Spare Change News about the challenge of ending youth homelessness in the Commonwealth. On any given night in Massachusetts, hundreds of unaccompanied young adults and youth are homeless for a variety of reasons. According to the 2017 Massachusetts Youth Count conducted by…
Mass. Leads Country in Fentanyl Overdose Deaths
Massachusetts reached an all-time high in fentanyl overdose deaths this year, according to new data from the state Department of Public Health. Nearly 90 percent of opioid overdoses in the second quarter involved the synthetic opioid fentanyl. What’s more, a report from The Pew Charitable Trusts maintains that Massachusetts had a higher opioid death rate…
U.S. Senators and Reps blast Columbia Gas execs at public hearing in Lawrence
Left to right: Representative-elect Lori Trahan, Rep. Nikki Tsongas, Sen. Maggie Hassan, Sen. Ed Markey, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Rep. Seth Moulton. Photos by author. At a public hearing on Monday morning, U.S. Senators and Representatives from Massachusetts and New Hampshire tore into the executives from the gas company responsible for the fires and explosions…
Hotel Strike Ends With Better Contract For Workers
After being off the job for more than a month, employees of Marriott-owned hotels in the city reached an agreement and voted to return to work the weekend before Thanksgiving. Members of UNITE HERE Local 26 overwhelmingly voted in favor of ratifying their new contracts, which guarantees better working conditions and more job security, according…
They don’t care about us
By the time this issue of Spare Change hits the streets, this country will have voted, the mid-terms will have passed, and we will know whether checks and balances have been somewhat restored in Washington, or if a runaway congress led by a tyrannical racist buffoon will continue to be the order of the day.…
Homeless children program hosts women’s breakfast
Nine-year-old Christian and 12-year-old Miguel received a standing ovation from 1,200 people after performing a moving cello and violin piece at the 20th Annual Women’s Breakfast at Boston Marriott Copley Place. They are both alumni of Horizons for Homeless Children early education program, a non-profit serving more than 1,600 homeless children in Massachusetts each week.…
Mayor Walsh speaks at national poverty conference
On Friday, Nov. 2, Mayor Marty Walsh spoke to a crowd at the Disrupting The Poverty Cycle Conference, hosted this year at the University of Massachusetts-Boston Campus Center. The conference, held biennially by Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath), attracts researchers, community organizers, policymakers, and lower-income families to connect and discuss over two days new and innovative…
Boston law firm sues gas company over death of Lawrence resident
On October 25, a Boston law firm announced their plan to sue Columbia Gas for the death of a teenger during the fires and explosions that rocked the Merrimack Valley in September. The Sheff Law firm will represent the estate of Leonel Rondon, an 18-year-old Lawrence high schooler who was crushed by debris when visiting…
Fenway area fires displace 100 residents
On Oct. 27 at 3:15 p.m., a seven-alarm fire broke out at a five-story apartment building on 104 and 108 Hemenway Street due to an electrical issue. The fire displaced up to 100 residents, many of whom were Northeastern University and Berklee College of Music students. The day the fire , an estimated 10 residents…