On January 25, the United States federal government reopened after a 35-day-long shutdown without any concrete deal regarding a budget for the fiscal year of 2019. The reopening is temporary, however; if Congress does not reach a deal by February 15 — presumably, one that includes $5.7 billion in allocated funds for a new border…
Boston receives millions to support chronically homeless in the city
Boston has been selected as one of the communities to receive federal funding from HUD for the creation of housing and to support homeless assistance programs. Mayor Martin Walsh announced the funding in a press release on Wednesday which states that nearly $26.3 million will be used to benefit Boston’s Way Home, a program dedicated…
Cambridge votes to add gender neutral option to birth certificates
The Cambridge City Council voted unanimously last Monday to draft a home-rule petition allowing residents to amend birth certificates to a third gender category, “X,” rather than male or female, as well as streamlining the change process. The proposed bill is intended to accommodate residents who identify as neither exclusively male nor female and to…
Canada’s supervised injection sites impress Mass. mayors during weekend visit
Visiting safe injection facilities (SIF), where people inject drugs openly under the supervision of nurses, counselors and trained staff, has strengthened one mayor’s opinion and completely changed another’s within the course of one weekend. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh admits he was a strong opponent of the harm reduction strategy, but was impressed by what he…
Concord Houses Deal Preserves 171 Affordable Units in Boston’s South End
A deal struck with low-income tenants of the Concord Houses and the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will allow 171 units to remain affordable for the next 40 years in the South End. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh’s office announced the agreement which allows tenants earning no more than 80 percent of annual median…
Volunteers Build Beds for Homeless People at Boston Latin
Hundreds came out in single digit weather to attend the 13th annual Boston Cares’ Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, held at the Boston Latin School for the third year in a row, on Monday, Jan. 21. Among them were many news faces who took to various service programs throughout the school, which included…
Boston Mayor ‘Impressed’ by Safe Injection Sites, Supports More Education on the Harm Reduction Model
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh plans to speak more about the good that safe injection sites can have on preventing overdose deaths and reducing harm for drug users after his recent visit to Canada where such programs were front and center. Walsh traveled to Toronto and Montreal this past weekend. He was joined by Chief of…
Walsh introduces housing and economic mobility bills to legislature
Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced his comprehensive housing security and economic mobility legislative package on Jan. 7. The 14 bills are the first of four legislative packages that the City of Boston will be submitting to the Massachusetts Legislature. The six housing bills concern programs and issues such as the Linkage Program, the Community Preservation…
Former Youth Workers Sentenced for Roles in Abusing Boys at a Residential Facility on Long Island
Four former Volunteers of America youth workers are facing jail time after a judge found them guilty of abusing teenagers while working on Boston’s Long Island in 2014. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke found Silvio Depina, 40, Jalise Andrade, 37, Hermano Joseph, 28, and Ainsley LaRoche, 44, guilty of beating, sexually assaulting and threatening…
Workers Gain Protection Under New Law on Non-Compete Contracts
“The law makes them more expensive than they used to be,” Davis said. “It’s not something you just do anymore. For a long period of time, in Massachusetts and in other jurisdictions, it really was something that employers just did – you know, ‘You want to work here? You need to sign this.’