Government & Politics

While Beacon Hill searches for solutions to the serious housing shortage that fuels affordability concerns in Massachusetts, a real estate industry organization wants to see the Community Preservation Act program retrofitted to put a greater emphasis on housing production.

As was the case for the first two years of debt payments, the saving grace for the current fiscal year 2023 and the next fiscal year 2024 is a $3-million property sale from 2021.

Gov. Maura Healey plans to continue a high-dollar commitment to the life sciences sector that began under former Gov. Deval Patrick, and her administration is also launching a new platform to recruit diverse hires to the sector and provide training opportunities.

State tax revenues surpassed expectations in May after an unexpectedly steep nosedive in April, yet the total haul remains hundreds of millions of dollars short of projections with the budget year drawing to a close, officials said Monday.

Former Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus was sworn in on Thursday morning as the state's first Cabinet-level housing secretary in three decades, saying he is focused on increasing housing production, but staying mum on specific policies that housing advocates say are necessary.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems is one of eight companies nationwide to receive funding as part of an effort to produce a pilot-scale demonstration of fusion energy generation within a decade.

Attracting and diversifying a robust talent pool is a primary concern in keeping up with the growth of the life science industry in Massachusetts, according to the 2023 Massachusetts Life Sciences Employment Outlook report.

Five life science companies with significant operations in Central Mass. were among the 43 firms across Massachusetts chosen to split $24.4 million in tax incentive awards.

A group of senators were unable to convince their colleagues to recommend money for the MBTA to run fare-free bus pilot programs.

A Boston Globe report that found the Democrat-dominated Legislature contains nearly twice as many landlords as it does lawmakers who rent their homes. The story generated significant buzz in Beacon Hill's orbit, but Gov. Maura Healey on Friday did not have all that much to say about the findings.