Regional News

Nancy Creed delivers a speech at a Springfield Regional Chamber's annual meeting.
File photo / MassLive / masslive.com

Three Biz Groups Take Sides in Debate Over App-Based Drivers, Benefits In Massachusetts

A trio of regional business organizations in Massachusetts threw their support behind gig economy giants in the growing debate over pay and benefits for the state's more than 200,000 app-based drivers.

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economy

How New Biden Rules Could Make It Easier To Buy Hearing Aids Or Fix Your Phone

Updated July 9, 2021 at 2:51 PM ET President Biden unveiled a new plan on Friday taking aim at powerful industries where a handful of players have so much market clout that they can drive up prices, depress wages and make it hard for small companies to break in. "We know we've got a problem, a major problem. We've also got an incredible opportunity," Biden said in remarks before signing the order. "The executive order I'm soon going to be signing commits the federal government to full and...

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condo collapse

Surfside Officials: We Weren't Notified Of Severe Deterioration Before Condo Collapse

Nine months before a massive section of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla., came showering down, an engineering firm called Morabito Consultants found "severely deteriorated" concrete throughout the building, including in load-bearing structures known as corbels. According to a document acquired by NPR from an anonymous source, the company's probe, conducted between June and October 2020, found problems that appeared even more grave than those identified in an earlier 2018 study of the...

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Connecting Point

Berkshire Botanical Garden

Gov. Ned Lamont advises those who can stay home Friday to do so as Tropical Storm Elsa makes its way through Connecticut. He said the state’s emergency operations center is expected to be at least partially activated for the event.

“It looks like very early tomorrow morning, it will hit, go right upstate,” the governor said Thursday.

In 2019, the U.S. Department of the Interior grounded all of the Chinese-made drones it had deployed for tasks that included tracking wildfires, monitoring dams and managing wildlife. The move came amid growing concerns that using Chinese technology might create an opportunity for foreign surveillance of infrastructure and other key assets.

Local Republican lawmakers say juvenile crime is so bad in Connecticut that the general public is in danger, and they’re calling for a special session targeting repeat offenders.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree a problem exists, but they are split on how to solve it.

Expert Recommends Blood Testing for Chemical Contaminant

Jul 7, 2021
Water running from a faucet.
Skitterphoto / Creative Commons

Offering blood testing for people in areas exposed to PFAS, additional funds for statewide research, education, and surveillance, and passing laws restricting the use of certain firefighting foam and food packaging were all part of a set of recommendations a top academic expert offered this week to a state task force investigating the impact of the chemicals in Massachusetts.

Baker Continues Push for Big Housing Investments

Jul 7, 2021
Massachsuetts Gov. Charlie Baker.
Chris Van Buskirk / State House News Service

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker visited the Boys and Girls Club of Springfield on Wednesday to celebrate the growth of a program that provides night and weekend activities for youth during the summer, but the Republican also pitched spending federal stimulus on homeownership in cities like Springfield.

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CONNECTICUT

State Launches Ambitious 'Baby Bonds' Program Targeted At Closing Racial Wealth Gap

July marks the first month of Connecticut’s newly-enacted “baby bonds” program, which will annually invest $50 million for the benefit of children born into poverty.

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Psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms.
Dick Culbert / Wikimedia Commons

Mass. Communities Move Toward Decriminalizing Psychedelics, With Some Pushback

One of the newest frontiers in mental health care is psychedelic drugs — like MDMA or psilocybin in magic mushrooms. But, for now, those drugs are illegal and can’t be subscribed.

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