WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's strategy to foster diversity in the nation's suburbs by using Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations now involves two other federal agencies: the Education and Transportation departments.
That development emerged this week from a "Dear Colleague" letter outlining a set of wide-ranging policies that builds on last summer's Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule from HUD. That directive presented a new interpretation of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, one that may be used to punish municipalities by withholding federal housing dollars when a city or town fails to show it has reached racial diversity quotas as measured by ZIP codes.
BOSTON – Massachusetts is rising up against drug addiction after deaths due to heroin and painkiller dependency climbed 8 percent over the past year. Gov. Charlie Baker has made the issue a priority, as have many lawmakers from across the state.
As a result, new laws will come into effect that aim to combat the crisis starting this summer.
