“Mass. to start trimming back housing assistance in Jan.,” CommonWealth

“We think that certainly we want the funds to be available longer, but the commonsense way to do that would be to seek additional funds,” said Kelly Turley, associate director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless. “This is not the time for families, households, elders, to be experiencing additional housing instability in the midst of the ongoing public health crisis.” 

“The Bill for My Homelessness Was $54,000,” New York Times

“Leaving homelessness did not mean immediate freedom. Instead, coming back to the world of the housed meant first having to navigate an obstacle course of fees and fines that I had incurred while homeless. In the process, I learned that the most traumatized and vulnerable members of our society are often burdened with bills that they have no idea how to handle, making finding secure housing that much harder.”

“Massachusetts’ minimum wage is increasing again in the new year. Here’s why,” WBUR

” “Massachusetts’ minimum wage will increase to $14.25 an hour on Jan. 1. It’s the final adjustment to the state’s wage floor before it becomes $15 an hour in Advocates are welcoming the scheduled increase. “It will mean that hundreds of thousands of workers will be seeing a raise — and so it’s cause to celebrate,” said Phineas Baxandall, a senior policy analyst at the left-leaning Mass. Budget and Policy Center. “

“Low-income communities could be saving money on energy while helping the climate, but the DPU is standing in the way,” Boston Globe

“By now we could have had people getting discounts on their bills,” said the Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, the city of Boston’s chief of Environment, Energy and Open Spaces. “I just can’t understand why — when people are suffering and struggling to pay their bills — you would stop us from building them renewable energy, and then giving those credits to support people.”

“Tougher Vaccine Rules Are Welcome (Letters),” Boston Globe

“I have no doubt that the mayor’s decision will be good for the economy and for our community’s health and well-being.”

“All for one, and none for all: Is banning single-family zoning easing the housing crisis?” Boston Globe

“Single-family zoning is just one arrow in the quiver for apartment-averse communities; other exclusionary rules, such as minimum lot sizes, setbacks, and parking requirements, yield similar results by different means. The best indicator that recent single-family zoning reform efforts are working, Ptomey said, is that people have begun discussing changes to those other policies, too.”

“Report finds Hispanic residents have harder time getting health care,” CommonWealth

“The report found that nearly one in three Massachusetts residents had difficulty accessing care at a doctor’s office – whether because a clinic wasn’t accepting new patients, the office did not accept their insurance, or they simply could not get an appointment as soon as they felt they needed one.” Why we need Medicare for All

“The Equity-Enhancing Power of Mandates,” Boston Globe

“Mandates rely on the simple public health principle that universal application of an intervention can be a powerful tool for reducing disparities. For example, fluoridation of drinking water helped close disparities in dental outcomes. Bans on smoking in public places benefit communities equally. Applying taxes to all tobacco products decreases inequity by disproportionately reducing tobacco use in low-income groups.”

“These 24 States Improved Access to Voting This Year,” Democracy Docket

“States across the country saw an unprecedented attack on the right to vote this past year. In the wake of Trump’s unfounded election claims, states like Texas and Georgia passed restricting laws that will make it harder for Americans to vote. But at the same time, many other states — 24 — took steps to make voting easier, enacting reforms like universal mail voting, expanding access for people with disabilities and banning prison gerrymandering. Here’s a roundup of some positive voting reforms this year you may have missed.” If only MA were on the list!

“The most neglected story of 2021? Immigration,” Boston Globe

“Our country’s vast and complex immigration system is incontrovertibly broken: Millions of residents live in the shadows without status and yet keep contributing to our economy — many of them as essential workers. Then there’s the trauma that immigrant parents and their children continue to suffer after being separated at the border. The federal government reportedly stopped negotiating a potential monetary settlement with the families, which would have helped repair the harm it so cruelly inflicted on them.” MA needs to act by passing the Safe Communities Act and the Work & Family Mobility Act.

“The M.I.T. Professor Defining What It Means to Live,” New York Times

“Not paying people enough to live implies indifference to whether they continue to live, undermining basic standards of decency and further eroding the foundations of a functional democracy. With many companies now inching toward more humane compensation, the question of how to define a living wage deserves broader public discussion.”

“It was once called a ‘useless job.’ Now, lieutenant governor may be the hottest race in Massachusetts politics,” Boston Globe

“In the weeks since Governor Charlie Baker and his lieutenant governor, Karyn Polito, said they would not seek reelection, it’s her office — not the top statewide seat — that has stirred a surge of interest among the Democratic Party’s state bench.

At least 10 Democrats are running for or are considering seeking state government’s number two post in 2022, an unusual number for a down-ballot seat that typically draws a smattering of green or lesser-known political candidates.”

“A changing of the guard in Lowell as a diverse leadership takes office,” Boston Globe

“For the first time, Lowell will have three Cambodian-American city councilors, a breakthrough for the country’s second-largest Khmer community.If, as expected, one is chosen by his peers as the next mayor,he would become the first Cambodian-American to lead a US city, observers say. The new City Council will also include its first biracial member in Corey Robinson, and Stacey Thompson will become the first Black woman to take office in Lowell as a member of the School Committee.”

State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, “A Short: Devenscrest Evictions,” YouTube

“Early July, with no warning, over 50 Ayer Tenants living in the Devenscrest neighborhood received eviction notices in their mailboxes alerting them to leave by the end of September. The Devencrest apartments were recently sold to new owners. This is a tragic housing crisis that is not just happening in Ayer but all around the country. A month ago, State Senator Jamie Eldridge visited the neighborhood and listened to these residents talk about their personal stories, struggles and worries as they navigate this plight.”

“In a record-breaking year of weather, signs of a changed world,” Boston Globe

“In a year when Boston set several record high temperatures, not a single low temperature record fell. Instead, the city experienced nine days in which the coldest point of the day was the warmest it has ever been on that day of the year, going back to the start of the historical record in 1872, according to data from the Northeast Regional Climate Center.”