Category: Political
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Report: Census Undercount Could Undermine Well-Being of Mass. Children
BOSTON – The latest figures on the well-being of children show Massachusetts remains second in the nation, but child advocates fear trouble ahead. In the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2018 KIDS COUNT Data Book, the Bay State shows improvement in eight of 16 categories covering economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. But Laura…
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Mass. AG to Sessions: Stop Draconian Border Policy
A coalition of state attorneys general, including Maura Healy in Massachusetts, sent a letter on Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, demanding that the administration immediately stop putting children in danger by separating them from their families on the nation’s southern border. Healy said the policy not only is inhumane, but also raises serious…
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Study Shows “Red-Flag” Laws Reduce Gun Suicides
BOSTON – With the state Senate poised to take up a bill to allow removal of firearms from people considered a danger to themselves and others, new research shows such laws reduce suicides. The so-called “Red Flag” bill would allow a relative or someone with close ties to a legal gun owner to petition the…
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Boston City Council Approves Regulations on Short-Term Rentals
Boston City Council on Wednesday, June 15, voted overwhelmingly to adopt new regulations on short-term rental units, with the hopes that tightening market restrictions will help ease the burdens of housing displacement and rising rent costs felt by residents throughout the city. The regulations come at the end of a long and heated debate between…
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Boston Pride talks public accommodations law and legal protections for trans people
Members of the LBGTQ community, in particular transgender people, and allies are working to protect the public accommodations law adopted by the Massachusetts legislature in 2016. The law specifically protects a person based on their gender identity, but could be repealed if voters choose ‘no’ on the ballot question in November. Freedom for All Massachusetts…
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Cecile Richards on Planned Parenthood
It started with a relatively small action: A black felt armband worn to her Texas grade school as part of a nationwide protest against the Vietnam War. Cecile Richards was only 13 at the time, and it was her first big leap into the resistance. As a result of her act of rebellion, she was…
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Boston Jobs Coalition Decries Economic Disparity in Boston, Announces Wealth And Income Campaign For Residents
The Boston Jobs Coalition held a press briefing on Wednesday, May 30, to begin their Campaign for Wealth and Income Now, which seeks to help residents stay afloat in a city with an ever-rising cost of living. The campaign — lead by a score of advocacy groups such as City Life/Vida Urbana, the Black Economic…
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Vets Do Better in Mass., NH, Maine Than Most Other States
While Memorial Day was a day to honor military veterans, barbecue, shop for sales, or maybe take a motorcycle ride, some vets are having a hard time making ends meet while others in New England states are doing much better. According to a new report by Wallethub, Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts rank more favorably…
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Supreme Court Ruling Sparks Discrimination Fears
Civil rights advocates fear the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case will encourage more attempted discrimination against LGBT people. By a 7-2 margin, the court ruled that the cake shop owner had not received an impartial hearing at the Colorado Civil Rights Commission over his refusal on religious grounds to make a wedding…
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What Comes After Trump? Lots of work.
I was scanning through news stories the other day when I came across a really sad and horrible story. In Florida, a black family was awarded a measly four dollars in damages in a wrongful death suit after a deputy shot the father through a garage door—his own garage door, by the way—because of a…