Author: Zach Mobrice
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Walsh Explores Mass Litigation Against Pharmaceutical Companies for Role in Opioid Crisis
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced Monday, Jan. 22 that his office is considering mass tort litigation against several pharmaceutical companies for their role in the ongoing opioid crisis affecting the city and the United States as a whole. The potential move follows the lead of other Massachusetts municipalities — such as Quincy and Greenfield —…
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Walsh Explores Mass Litigation Against Pharmaceutical Companies for Role in Opioid Crisis
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced Monday, Jan. 22 that his office is considering mass tort litigation against several pharmaceutical companies for their role in the ongoing opioid crisis affecting the city and the United States as a whole. The potential move follows the lead of other Massachusetts municipalities — such as Quincy and Greenfield —…
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Affordable Housing Survives GOP Tax Bill’s Final Edit
The Republicans of the House and Senate released the final version of their tax bill on Friday, Dec. 15, with the intention of voting it into law before the new year. The bill—titled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—has received numerous edits since it was originally introduced by House Means and Ways Committee Chairman Kevin…
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Coalition Pushes for Clean Water and Justice in Massachusetts Prisons
Photo: Beth Prendergast On the morning of Nov. 28, a small group of people gathered in front of the Suffolk County House of Correction at South Bay. With them, a banner depicted a tidal wave rushing toward a line of prison cells. The words “#DeeperThanWater”—the group’s name—occupied the bottom of the banner, painted in prison-uniform…
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LGBTQ Asylum Seekers Face Higher Hurdles Despite Widespread Oppression
Cambridge’s LGBTQ+ Commission and the Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship co-hosted an event on Thursday, November 9, to highlight the struggles faced by those seeking refuge from queerphobia and the oppression it breeds. The event, titled Challenges, Experiences, Freedom: LGBTQ+ Immigrants and Asylum Seekers, featured speakers who have faced this grueling asylum process, and…
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Bill Aimed at Protecting Renters Needs Legislative Approval
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh signed The Jim Brooks Community Stabilization Act on Oct. 6, after the Boston City Council voted to pass it on Oct. 4. The bill requires landlords to notify the city whenever they serve an eviction notice, and to provide tenants with information and resources about their legal rights. Wages for middle…
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Boston City Council Discusses Action for Safe Needle Disposal
This past Wednesday, August 19, Boston City Council held a hearing calling for an ordinance that would force pharmacies and other retailers of “sharps”—or disposable needles—to also provide safe and free waste sites for buyers. If the ordinance is passed, retailers would effectively take on a burden that has almost solely been held by public…
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Manchester, N.H. Police Revive Mission to Curb Roadside Panhandlers
Police in Manchester, New Hampshire, have pushed to reduce panhandling on their streets, stating that giving money to panhandlers exacerbates rates of overdose in the area. As the opioid epidemic continues throughout the United States—notably so, in marginalized communities—the police department’s linking of panhandling to the epidemic has reignited a debate about how society should…
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Proposed Cuts to MBTA Disability Services Pulled Back After Fierce Opposition
The past two weeks have seen the continuance of an ongoing debate regarding MBTA’s budgeting issues. Officials for the transit system receded last month’s proposal for a $7 million cut in services for the Ride—a door-to-door transportation network for disabled and senior citizens—after heavy protest from advocacy groups and riders alike. “Given the size of…
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Report reveals family homelessness on the rise In Massachusetts
According to the report, 60 percent of homeless people in the state are children; 7,800 of the 13,000 people currently on the streets in Massachusetts. Photo by pikespice – Wikipedia Commons Family homelessness has spiked in Massachusetts, according to a report released by The Boston Foundation on February 23. The report—which the foundation contributed data to…