Government & Politics

Chairing her first public meeting in two years after being reinstated to the Cannabis Control Commission last month, Shannon O'Brien on Wednesday laid out priorities for what she sees "not as a return but as a new beginning."

Partisan gridlock is bringing the country closer to a potential government shutdown, a move that could create even more uncertainty nationwide, including for state budget writers in Massachusetts.

Briscoe joined providers advocating for legislation sponsored by committee co-chair Rep. Marjorie Decker and Sen. Robyn Kennedy (H 359 / S 251) that would require public and private health insurers to cover the cost of services offered by community health workers.

Chairwoman Shannon O'Brien has returned to the Cannabis Control Commission and the agency is delaying the finalization of its long-awaited rules for social marijuana establishments as a result.

Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the Climate Jobs Massachusetts Action coalition and a handful of individual locals were among those who voiced support for a bill (H 3476 / S 2275) that would require energy and air quality audits for public schools, universities and colleges.

The prospect of a shutdown comes as Massachusetts is navigating significant fiscal complexity. The Legislature passed a stream of funding bills earlier this year to address shortfalls in the fiscal 2025 budget, and the state's $61 billion fiscal 2026 budget signed by Gov. Maura Healey this summer relies heavily on federal dollars. 

Previously, Spectrum was the only wired internet provider available to residential customers in Holden. 

The announcement by Applegreen arrived the night before the Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee was scheduled to hold a hearing on the procurement controversy. But that hearing was called off Tuesday due to "MassDOT and Applegreen’s refusal to participate in this week’s hearing," chair Sen. Mark Montigny's office said.

Gov. Maura Healey has been applying a full-court press to pass a $400 million bill aimed at strengthening Massachusetts’ research and innovation economy, but lawmakers have left the governor's plans for a "transformative investment" idling in the seven weeks since Healey proposed it.

The City of Worcester is offering grants of up to $25,000 for certified minority- and woman-owned businesses to help expand their capacity for contracting opportunities.