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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
Governor Maura Healey's administration needs to do a better job coordinating state and local government services to deal with the influx of foreign migrants into Massachusetts, a state representative said Monday. "The sheer volume and the needs of the arriving immigrants are complex and the official effort
Around New England
A member of the Governor's Council expressed enthusiasm about Maura Healey's reversal of a longstanding trend among Massachusetts governors not to recommend many pardons for crimes. Marilyn Pettito Devaney, a Democrat from Watertown and member of the council since 1999, said the Governor's Council
News
Harvard University finished dead last in free speech in a survey of colleges in the United States released Wednesday. Harvard got the lowest possible ranking of the 248 schools, and was the only one rated "Abysmal."
Around New England
The Massachusetts Attorney General's office has rejected three proposed ballot questions for 2024 seeking to implement ranked-choice voting in the state, saying they are similar to a ballot question that failed in 2020. Article 74 of the Massachusetts Constitution prohibits the state attorney general from certifying a measure
Around New England
The average cost of owning and operating a brand-new car has soared to more than $12,000 a year, AAA Northeast said. The average cost in 2023 is $12,182 a year, 13.6 percent higher than the $10,728 the average cost in 2022, AAA Northeast said.
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The Massachusetts Governor's Council plans to hold a hearing Wednesday on whether to approve a pardon for a convicted bank robber – without the convicted bank robber. Kenny Jean, who was born in Haiti, was 20 when he robbed a bank in Seekonk in November 2015, according to a
Around New England
The economy in the United States is better under President Joe Biden than it was under former President Donald Trump, the head of the Massachusetts Democratic Party said. "The economy here in Massachusetts and across the country is stronger today because of President Joe Biden's leadership,"
Around New England
Governor Maura Healey has nominated a social worker to the board that recommends pardons of crimes and paroles from prison. Sarah Beth Coughlin is the director of community engagement and partnership at Mass. General Brigham – "and was also described by Healey's office as a community organizer,"