<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0acfaq_0vluso2P00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0acfaq_0vluso2P00" width="1035" height="690" >For 26 years, under four different speakers, Rep. Ruth Balser has represented parts of Newton and Brookline in the Massachusetts House. Balser, the first psychologist elected to the Legislature, has focused on mental health and gender equity issues over the course of her service — though along the way, her career has been peppered with numerous other priorities and a 24-year battle to pass the 2022 Public Lands Preservation Act. After Dec. 31, Balser is officially retiring. But before then, she has work to do. In an exit interview, Balser talked to MASSterList about what it means to be an effective lawmaker, what she has learned about legislative operations, and the final priority she’s still fighting for.Read the full conversation here.Union director says addiction services program at Taunton’s Morton Hospital will closeMorton Hospital — a facility recently sold by Steward Health Care to health care provider LifeSpan — could be closing in the next few days. At a Health Policy Commission meeting on Thursday, the executive director of the Massachusetts Nurses Association said staff are “scrambling” to save the program, which is a Level 4 Substance use disorder treatment program and includes a medically managed inpatient unit and an outpatient program, reports GBH’s Sarah Betancourt. — GBHHow trustworthy is lab testing for cannabis in Massachusetts?A Globe analysis suggests that Massachusetts customers can’t really trust labels on their cannabis products claiming they’re properly tested — the result of a poorly-designed state cannabis testing system that’s also poorly enforced. “Lab shopping” is common among Massachusetts cannabis companies, enabling them to find favorable lab test results to make sure their companies can stay in business despite potential mold or contaminants in the marijuana. — Boston GlobeGreenfield reviewing reverse 911 system At a Public Safety Commission meeting on Wednesday, the Greenfield Police Department considered its use of the city’s reverse 911 system — a system able to be used by the Mayor’s Office, Police Department, Department of Public Works and Fire Department to send notifications to the public during an emergency. The Recorder’s Anthony Cammalleri reports that the discussion comes less than two weeks since an over-three-hour foot pursuit led to a temporary shelter-in-place at the Discovery School at Four Corners and an alleged attempted carjacking and assault. — Greenfield RecorderMariano puts media on blast for coverage of Decker House raceHouse Speaker Ron Mariano said Thursday that he was “outraged” that former Cambridge House candidate Evan MacKay declared victory over incumbent Rep. Marjorie Decker before all the votes were counted in their Sept. 3 race. Decker won the race when results were finalized. Mariano also criticized the Boston Globe for writing a story about the race as if MacKay had won, calling it “an overstep and an overreach by the press.” Mariano also made a comment about Decker’s style of campaigning, which a spokesperson later called a “sarcastic reference.” — Boston HeraldHow are child care costs impacting parents in Worcester?Thousands of Worcester residents are struggling to afford child care, many finding the process of balancing full-time work with affording to enroll their children in an early childhood education system next to impossible. On Wednesday, child care providers across Worcester County, along with area senators and Senate President Karen Spilka, spoke at a roundtable about how they’re attempting to support child care professionals and parents when it comes to enrolling their kids in programs. — Telegram &amp; GazetteRevised cell phone policy more than halving infractions at Pittsfield Public Schools A district policy change in late August — which involved more strict consequences for cell phone use in class — has more than halved the number of cell phone-related infractions so far at Pittsfield Public Schools. Students now first receive a verbal warning on their first infraction; on their second, teachers request administrative support to take the phone to the main office. Last school year, the district’s rules didn’t enable administration to take the cell phone to the main office until the tenth infraction. — Berkshire EagleFall River adopts anti-homeless-camp lawPeople who camp on public property in Fall River when viable housing alternatives such as shelter beds are available could be fined under a new ordinance adopted by the municipality’s City Council, the Herald News’s Dan Medeiros reports. Opponents of the measure said it would hurt people who already are suffering, while proponents argued the camps pose sanitation and public health challenges. The measured passed 6-to-1. — Herald NewsAndover presses Gillette on new razor plantAndover officials and some residents pressed Gillette officials on the environmental effects of moving razor production to the town from South Boston, the Eagle-Tribune’s Angelina Berube reports. Residents are especially concerned about the use of PFAS, a known “forever chemical,” at the site. Gillette officials reportedly cited numerous state authorizations for the work to be performed in Andover. — Eagle-Tribune‘Unavoidable deficiencies’: Looking ahead at 2025’s economic statusThe state’s budget chief said Thursday he’s “cautiously optimistic” about the economic outlook of fiscal 2025, despite expecting tax collections to remain behind projections like they did in fiscal 2024. He spoke of “unavoidable deficiencies” the state will have to address “later in the year,” the role of expected excess surtax cash, and how the state expects its Transitional Escrow Fund to fare in the coming period. — State House News Service42 acres set to be ‘rewilded’ in HarwichThe Harwich Conservation Trust will begin its Hinckleys Pond-Herring River Headwaters ecological restoration project soon — a process that will help increase habitat diversity by “rewilding” two former cranberry bogs. Final approval from the Harwich Conservation Commission came Sept. 18 after three years of design and permitting work. — Cape Cod TimesData suggests Harris presidency would benefit state’s green tech sectorA review of historical job growth data and campaign promises indicates the return of Donald Trump to the White House would be bad for employment in the Massachusetts green energy sector, the BBJ’s Greg Ryan reports. Among the reasons the sector is attractive is its balance between white collar and blue collar jobs. Trump has said he would shut down some green energy programs while Vice President Kamala Harris has said she would expand them. — Boston Business JournalICE arrests five undocumented migrants on Martha’s VineyardFederal ICE agents arrested a number of undocumented migrants during a multi-day operation on Martha’s Vineyard earlier this month — that number has grown to five, including a member of the MS-13 gang. The Herald’s Lance Reynolds reports that some Massachusetts Republicans are claiming the arrests as evidence of a broader immigration problem, while at least one Martha’s Vineyard official expressed gratitude that ICE appeared to have “targeted” immigrants alleged to have committed serious crimes. — Boston HeraldTHIS WEEKEND:KELLER AT LARGE, Sunday, 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller hosts Evan Horowitz, executive director of the Center for State Policy Studies at the Tisch School at Tufts University, to discuss his group’s analysis of the pros and cons of the five questions on the statewide Massachusetts ballot.ON THE RECORD, Sunday, 11 a.m., WCVB. Ed Harding and Sharman Sacchetti host Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune. Democratic Political Analyst Mary Anne Marsh and Republican Political Analyst Rob Gray join the roundtable discussion.AT ISSUE, Sunday, 11:30 a.m., NBC10 Boston; 12, 2:30. 5 p.m., NECN. Congressman Seth Moulton joins. Plus, former Boston Mayor Kim Janey and Michael Curry, President of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, look back on the Boston busing crisis, 50 years later.MORE HEADLINESStockbridge leaders and Mohican tribal liaison dedicate new Housatonic crossing signs marked ‘Wa’thatinik’</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

A conversation with outgoing Rep. Ruth Balser

For 26 years, under four different speakers, Rep. Ruth Balser has represented parts of Newton and Brookline in the Massachusetts House. Balser, the first psychologist elected to the Legislature, has focused on mental health and gender equity issues over the course of her service — though along the way, her career has been peppered with numerous other priorities and a 24-year battle to pass the 2022 Public Lands Preservation Act.