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Matt McDonald, a Boston-area native, has decades of experience as a reporter, editor, and copy editor. His work has appeared in The Mashpee Messenger, Cape Cod News, and The Norfolk Boomerang.
Around New England
State Senator Dean Tran (R-Fitchburg) won his first general election race for the Massachusetts Legislature, solidifying his hold on the Worcester & Middlesex seat after capturing it in a special election in December 2017. Tran, a former Fitchburg city councilor who came to Massachusetts as a child from Vietnam, beat
Around New England
Vermont Governor Phil Scott won re-election to a second term over Christine Hallquist, the first openly transgender major party nominee for governor in the country. Hallquist, a biological male who identifies as a woman, was a longshot to knock off Scott.
News
Massachusetts voters decided to continue a state law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity in public accommodations — including women's bathrooms and locker rooms. Voters chose Yes by a large margin. The gap stood at more than two-to-one as of 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Around New England
The fire department of the city of Cambridge has declared that candles are illegal unless approved by the city's Fire Prevention Bureau, according to Cambridge Day. UpperWest, a wine bar in North Cambridge near the Somerville line, uses candles as mood lighting, but has been called before the
Around New England
A high school chorus director organized a walkout of 93 students at a western Massachusetts high school on Tuesday morning – Election Day – to support transgender people. A ballot question in Massachusetts, Question 3, asks voters whether they want to keep or end a state statute that allows transgender people access
Around New England
Town Meeting voters in Dracut have rejected a proposal to pay town employees their full salary while they're away on military duty. Massachusetts law allows towns to pay members of the military their regular salary while they're away on duty, but only if the town approves.
Around New England
The Boston Globe's lone conservative columnist says that the 2016 state statute that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity in public accommodations — including public bathrooms, locker rooms, and beauty salons — ought to be repealed. Jeff Jacoby argues that the law fails on freedom-of-association grounds and also
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A new ad that originally said supporters of the No side on Question 3 "worship a monster" drew a sharp response Friday from advocates pushing for repeal of a portion of the state's gender-identity law, apparently leading the creators of the ad to alter it. "