“Massachusetts can lead in supporting LGBTQ+ youth,” CommonWealth

“To prevent sexual violence, coercion, and assault, young people need access to sex education that includes lessons about consent and healthy relationships, starting well before college and well before they become sexually active. By passing the Healthy Youth Act, the Legislature would ensure that our young people are taught the importance of healthy relationships and consent, which are pivotal to preventing sexual violence in our communities.”

“Driver’s licenses for immigrants without legal status in Massachusetts becomes law; Beacon Hill overrides Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto,” MassLive

““I can’t wait to see the impact this bill will have with such a worthy group of individuals,” state Sen. Adam Gomez, a Springfield Democrat, said on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon. No longer will undocumented immigrants need to fear interactions with law enforcement, Gomez said, if they are pulled over or are entangled in a minor fender bender.”

“Bay State Billionaires: Massachusetts billionaires’ wealth surges 46 percent during the pandemic,” Institute for Policy Studies

“As in the rest of the country, the growing wealth of the Bay State’s most well-off residents contrasts sharply with the pandemic struggles of its working people. One year into the pandemic, over 2 million Massachusetts residents reported loss of employment income. And this spring, over half a million experienced a loss of income due to lost jobs or hours.”

“SJC throws out Uber-Lyft ballot question,” CommonWealth

“Wes McEnany, campaign director of Massachusetts is Not for Sale, said in a statement, “Millions of Massachusetts drivers, passengers, and taxpayers can rest easier knowing that this unconstitutional bid by Big Tech CEOs to manipulate Massachusetts law has been struck down by the Supreme Judicial Court… We commend the court for getting it right on this issue and we will remain vigilant and united against any further attempts by Big Tech to water down worker and consumer protections in Massachusetts or beyond.””

“State not living up to environmental justice responsibilities,” CommonWealth

“In fact, the only track record the state maintains is one for dismissing the lives and concerns of environmental justice communities. The Baker administration has skirted multiple laws and policies that have been promulgated to protect environmental justice populations.”

“Why do we accept asthma with our ‘natural’ gas?,” CommonWealth

“We can no longer afford to ignore the health and climate impacts of fossil fuels on the residents of Massachusetts. We need utilities’ partnership in order to address asthma in Massachusetts and we need to find a way forward to deliver clean heat that does not involve continued dependence on health harming petrochemicals that leave us tethered to the past. There is a path available to utilities that will reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases and preserve jobs for utility employees: networked ground source heat pumps. Let’s choose clean heat so we can all breathe easier. “

“Massachusetts election reform bill emerges from negotiations without same-day voter registration provision,” MassLive

“A Massachusetts elections reform bill codifying pandemic-era allowances, including no-excuse voting by mail and expanded early voting, has finally emerged from a conference committee — without its most contentious provision….Bay Staters still will not be allowed to register to vote on Election Day, based on the comprise agreement disclosed Wednesday.”

“A program to remove police from some 911 calls in Denver helped reduce crime, study finds,” USA Today

“A program in Denver removing police from certain 911 calls led to a 34% reduction in low-level crimes, according to a study released Wednesday amid a growing wave of cities changing their responses to mental health crises.”

“Sonia Chang-Díaz knows what it’s like to be ‘other.’ It has shaped her and her bid for Massachusetts governor.,” Boston Globe

“If you’ve never been on the outside, I don’t think you understand how that feels,” said Liz Kinsella, Chang-Díaz’s sister. “It’s quite motivating to make others not feel that way.”

“Communications 101: Closing the language barriers in state agencies,” Boston Globe

“The pandemic has shown that people are willing to step up, but we shouldn’t have to. We do it because we’ve all experienced it,” she said. “Ya traes la costumbre, you’re already used to it — you hear someone batallando en Español, struggling in Spanish, and you start helping.” There are at least 70 languages spoken in the Malden public schools. “Can we get at least the top five or 10 languages? How are people going to be engaged if we’re not doing that?”