Spare Change News

Author: Matt Murphey

  • Unemployment Rate Climbs as Mass. Loses 4,800 Jobs in August

    By Matt Murphy STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, SEPT. 20, 2012…..Gov. Deval Patrick pledged to the stay the course despite a gloomy jobs report released Thursday morning showing that despite an increase in government jobs the economy shed 4,800 total jobs in August, driving the unemployment up to 6.3 percent. “This is not…

  • AG Confirms Investigation of Practices at For-Profit Colleges

    By Matt Murphy STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MAY 30, 2012…. Ratcheting up the pressure on for-profit education firms, Attorney General Martha Coakley on Wednesday confirmed that her office is investigating deceptive loan and recruitment practices at some for-profit colleges and certificate programs where students often graduate with overly burdensome debt, or fail…

  • MassHousing Awards $350,000 for affordable sober housing

    STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BOSTON – May 21, 2012 – MassHousing has awarded $350,000 in financing to help create 47 new units of affordable sober housing in Boston, Chelmsford, Somerville and Westford. The MassHousing grants will come from the Center for Community Recovery Innovations, Inc. (CCRI), a nonprofit subsidiary corporation of MassHousing that creates and…

  • Patrick Questions Motives of Welfare System Critics

    By Matt Murphy STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, APRIL 26, 2012….Gov. Deval Patrick on Thursday said that his administration has done more than any other to root out fraud in the EBT card welfare system, but he believes there is an underlying theme driving the debate about whether the state should be providing…

  • PATRICK PLANS CAP ON HOUSING AUTHORITY EXECUTIVE PAY, OTHER REFORMS

    By Matt Murphy STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JAN. 21, 2012. On the heels of revelations that the former Chelsea Housing Authority executive director concealed hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary from the state, Gov. Deval Patrick will propose in his budget next week to impose new reporting and auditing requirements on…

  • MBTA OUTLINES STEEP FARE HIKES, PREDICTS SERVICE REDUCTIONS

    By Matt Murphy STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JAN. 3, 2012….The MBTA over the next several months will consider a mix of sharp fare increases and service reductions that would eliminate some bus routes, cancel weekend commuter rail service and spike the cost of a subway ride to $2.40 in order close the…