City approves BioMed lab project with alterations to how nonprofits will be apportioned its benefits
City councillors voted 8-1 on Monday to approve an East Cambridge lab project and, with it, funding for nonprofits citywide.
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Chinanu Okoli
![A rectangular brick building on a narrow street with cars parked on either side. There are trees, waste bins, & power lines in front of the building. It’s a partly cloudy day.]( "A rectangular brick building on a narrow street with cars parked on either side. There are trees, waste bins, & power lines in front of the building. It’s a partly cloudy day.")
East Cambridge team agrees to $5M compromise in BioMed construction community benefits deal
The East Cambridge Planning Team, which has led negotiations with life sciences developer BioMed Realty for seven months, has agreed to amend an unprecedented upzoning payout proposal that would’ve given $20 million in mitigation funds to East End House.
Advocates push legislation to permanently stop electric shock on disabled people
The Judge Rotenberg Center is the only U.S. school that uses the aversive therapy to change people's behavior. A reproposed bill this legislative session could change that.
'All of us as individuals have power’: how one Massachusetts school is educating its students on genocide
Several years after the state's Genocide Education Act was signed into law, one local teacher hopes her lessons on genocides and conflicts will empower her students.
DOT’s inspector general lost 11 percent of its workforce to ‘Fork’ offers
The DOT’s inspector general’s office has shed 42 employees since DOT began asking people to consider
participating in its “deferred resignation” program — about 11 percent of the IG’s workforce.
participating in its “deferred resignation” program — about 11 percent of the IG’s workforce.
Farmers eye ‘forever chemical’ legislation
Some local farmers hope bills to mitigate PFAS contamination in Massachusetts could safeguard their work and protect their lives.
Advocates in Brookline push to save school district’s Office of Educational Equity
Advocates have raised over $188,000 in an attempt to save Brookline's Office of Educational Equity for next school year. But whether money will be taken in by the town's school committee is still up in the air.
What students, teachers and parents think about banning phones in Mass. schools
A legislative committee is reviewing several proposals to limit or ban personal phone usage in schools, including the so-called STUDY bill, backed by AG Andrea Campbell earlier this year. We asked local students, parents and teachers about their thoughts on student access to phones in schools.
New provision allowing beer sales at farmers markets sees mixed reactions
Local brewers and farmers market owners range from enthusiastic to disappointed to indifferent to the state’s new provision allowing brewers to sell beer and other craft beverages at farmers markets, fairs and other agricultural events.
Biotech leaders champion life sciences apprenticeships
Local biotechnology leaders want employers, training providers, and industry hopefuls to take advantage of the opportunities available in life sciences apprenticeships.
Boston School Committee votes to close Dever Elementary, despite pressure from advocates
District officials identified four schools to close by the end of next school year due to underutilization, but advocates contend the decision-making process excluded their voices.
Quincy school committee votes against making Lunar New Year a school holiday
Many Quincy parents who testified at the recent school committee meeting voiced hope the holiday's recognition would strengthen Asian American representation in the city.
State’s new ‘Farm-Pass’ program hopes to ease farm succession planning
Applications are rolling in for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ new Farm Transfer Planning Assistance initiative that connects aging farmers and their successors with experienced planners to set retirement goals and figure out how management and assets will be transferred.
Chinanu Okoli
![Patrick Tutwiler speaks to a room of students in the library.]( "Patrick Tutwiler speaks to a room of students in the library.")
State education leaders promote free college and influx of state aid to Mass. high schoolers
Massachusetts' education officials are meeting with high schoolers at several schools over the next month to help demystify the financial aid process as they prepare to start their college applications.
'I know you don’t want me': Art gallery owner struggles as Somerville advances Armory plan
Parama Chattopadhyay has bolstered the arts scene in the Boston area for two decades. It’s challenged her more in recent years as owner of the Out of the Blue gallery at the now Somerville-owned Armory building.
‘It starts by listening’: Accessibility has a long way to go at BU
Walking up the stairs is difficult for Boston University junior Caine Murcia. With a disability that makes half of their body go numb, they have to use an elevator to access other floors.
When the sole elevator in the College of General Studies was broken for a month, Murcia struggled to go up and down the stairs.
“I’m leaning against the wall, trying not to fall and lose my balance,” they said.
Murcia added inaccessibility in classroom buildings impedes their ability to learn.
“It’s really hard...
When the sole elevator in the College of General Studies was broken for a month, Murcia struggled to go up and down the stairs.
“I’m leaning against the wall, trying not to fall and lose my balance,” they said.
Murcia added inaccessibility in classroom buildings impedes their ability to learn.
“It’s really hard...
Gen Z voters disappointed in Biden reconsider their options for 2024
Young voters feeling disappointed in the 2024 presidential candidates are left with few alternative options, though voting third party isn’t out of the question for 24-year-old independent Mia Swenson. In the latest edition of Politics IRL, Swenson joined 20-year-old Democrat Abigail Meyers to talk about the bleak choices for 2024, and why Meyers is still clinging to her vote for Joe Biden.
Abortion is what's driving these Gen Z voters to the polls in 2024
Audrey Grant and Timothy Smyth, two young voters, met up at a bar in Boston recently to talk about what issues will motivate them to vote in the 2024 elections. Among their top concerns - the changes made to abortion laws in the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision.
Ahead of NH primaries, two Republican college students debate the better candidate
Ky Urban and Nathan Duval are registered Republicans studying at Southern New Hampshire University. They both voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 general election, but only one of them plans to do so again in 2024. Ahead of the New Hampshire primary, they debated Trump's candidacy.
Lesley expands its Threshold support program, offering lifelong support for the neurodivergent
Threshold is the rare program teaching neurodiverse young adults the skills needed to enter the workforce, have social lives and operate independently. Now, upon celebrating its 40th anniversary, Lesley is rolling out Threshold Lifelong Support.
Diversity advocates concerned new federal ruling will affect minority-focused business efforts
A federal judge's ruling in Texas that an agency created to help minority-owned businesses must extend its services to every race has New England business equity advocates concerned about the decision’s potential to impede their work.
‘Giving people a live mic is not a requirement’ – 2023 SPJ Fellow of the Society Soledad O’Brien
It’s not often that a journalist receives the highest honor the Society of Professional Journalists has to offer.
Soledad O’Brien is known for her years of work on Hearst Television, HBO, MSNBC, NBC, and CNN.
Now, she’s been inducted as one of this year’s Fellows of the Society.
And it’s bittersweet.
Soledad O’Brien is known for her years of work on Hearst Television, HBO, MSNBC, NBC, and CNN.
Now, she’s been inducted as one of this year’s Fellows of the Society.
And it’s bittersweet.
Chinanu Okoli
![A journal spread with the word "WORDS" written in blue marker in capital letters.]( "A journal spread with the word \"WORDS\" written in blue marker in capital letters.")
Ethical and inclusive language matters. Journalists have the power to normalize it.
The stories journalists tell matter. So does the language they use to share them. University of Southern California Annenberg Professor and Stylebot Founder and CEO Laura Davis and LAist reporter Caitlin Hernández stressed this point during Friday’s Society of Professional Journalists presentation on the importance of using ethical and inclusive language in journalism and how to get newsrooms to implement it in regular practice.
Chinanu Okoli
![Jamie Rose presents to journalists at SPJ 2023]( "Jamie Rose presents to journalists at SPJ 2023")
Journalists Learn How to Fund Their Projects through Spark
Support for survivors and victims of tragedies. Mental health and suicide prevention for veterans. Fellowship programs for multimedia reporters. And more.
Spark, a program under communications nonprofit, Wildfire Media, trains journalists and creatives and provides them with the tools they need to research, develop, and pitch their own fundraising campaigns.
Spark, a program under communications nonprofit, Wildfire Media, trains journalists and creatives and provides them with the tools they need to research, develop, and pitch their own fundraising campaigns.
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