Politics

The Worcester City Council won’t be debating rent control anytime soon. No point in it right now, but an errant headline made us wonder, would rent control make sense in a city where rents may become unaffordable for seniors and others on fixed incomes? Matt Wally says rent control won’t do what proponents think it will, he is dead set against it and cites several examples where it has been tried and hasn’t worked. Gary Rosen says he is against it, just as he was ten years ago when it was brought up to the City Council. He says it goes against our free enterprise system. He does feel, as Matt Wally does, that the city does need more affordable housing. Rosen feels we need to go vertical, taller buildings. Randy Feldman looks at it as two issues, the philosophical and the practical. Housing is a basic human need and if rent control is a tool to make that happen so be it. He says rent control may be inadequate but that the market approach has failed us. He says the Human Rights Commission, on which he serves, has put forward two proposals. That the City of Worcester should take the abandoned properties that it owns and should build housing for people. They also feel the state should put resources towards developers reserving 15% for affordable housing. The Roundtable also looks at safety measures for City Hall and in schools. Rosen wants metal detectors in the schools. Stolz, Feldman and Wally do not. No one feels that they are needed right now at City Hall.

MassLive recently asked readers to identify people they consider Hispanic and Latino leaders in Massachusetts, working to make a difference across the statee. Profiles of these leaders will be published over the course of Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. These are people readers have identified as inspirational, who may be doing good acts for their communities. They are being recognized for their accomplishments, leadership and commitment to inspire change.

Rob Curtin of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shared the most recent batch of Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System – or MCAS – scores on a virtual press conference this week, starting with English Language Arts. “First in ELA, the results show that we had lower...

The bill’s spending would cover deficiencies in the fiscal 2024 state budget law, with a net cost to the state of $149 million, according to the administration. The majority of the spending, $565 million, would be for MassHealth, which is a “net-zero” cost due to federal reimbursements. Most of the remaining $149 million would address fiscal 2024 account deficiencies, with $33.9 million in new spending.

Over 40 members of the public participated in a walk audit on Thursday, September 12 at evening time on Park Avenue from the intersections of May Street to Chandler Street. The walk was led by Worcester Department of Transportation and Mobility (DTM) Commissioner Stephen Rolle along with city planner and author Jeff Speck.

Nearly three dozen lawmakers were on hand at Gillette Stadium as the Massachusetts Legislative Manufacturing Caucus hosted its 9th annual awards ceremony as part of the Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up, put on by the Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

Although Massachusetts is one of the smallest states in the U.S. by land area, the historical significance of its many locales and impact on the founding of the nation is huge. From English colonization to the beginnings of the American Revolution to its status as a leader in a variety of industries today, The Bay State holds many tales that can enhance the meeting and event experience—if a planner knows where to look.

WORCESTER — Mechanics Hall had "a very successful year" with increased events and successful initiatives, members of the Worcester County Mechanics Association were told at its 181st annual meeting Tuesday. The nonprofit association, founded in 1842, owns and operates Mechanics Hall, a historic venue built in 1857. Mechanics Hall...

WORCESTER, Mass. - A 94-year-old building in Worcester once home to the Worcester Boys Club, and part of Worcester Vocational School, is becoming the Residences on Lincoln Square, a senior housing project. “Old buildings are sometimes hard to repurpose, and this is a great use for it,” Deborah Packard, executive...

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.

In Zurich American Insurance Company v. Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (and a consolidated case[1]) (Docket No. SJC-13535), the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled in favor of insureds in a dispute over an ambiguous term in two policies insuring Norwood Hospital in Norwood, Massachusetts. A severe storm with heavy rain caused damage to the hospital basement and to the hospital’s main buildings caused by seepage through the courtyard roof and parapet roof. The owner of the Hospital, Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (“MPT”) and the tenant, Steward Health Care System LLC[2] (“Steward”), both had insurance policies for the Hospital, MPT’s coverage being through Zurich American Insurance Company (“Zurich”), and Steward’s through American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Company & another (“AGLIC”). Both policies had coverage of up to $750 and $850 million but lower coverage limits for damage to the Hospital for “Flood” at $100 and $150 million (“Flood Sublimits”). Both Steward and MPT submitted proof of loss claims to their respective insurers that exceeded $200 million; the insurers responded that damage to the hospital was caused by “Flood”, which limits both MPT and Steward to their respective Flood Sublimits. The policy provision “Flood” is defined as “a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas or structures caused by…the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters, waves, tides, tidal waves, tsunami, the release of water, the rising, overflowing or breaking of boundaries of nature or man-made bodies of water.”

The latest MCAS scores are not good, as students of all grade levels scored lower in English Language Arts than they did the year before. These results definitely show that post-pandemic learning loss continues to be a concern. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education – or DESE –...

On Sept. 25, Hired Hand Signs of Turners Falls received an award for Outstanding Leadership Skills in the Manufacturing Industry at the ninth annual Manufacturing Awards Ceremony, presented by the Massachusetts Legislative Manufacturing Caucus. Over the last decade, Jess Marsh Wissemann has built her sign shop and her career from...

Penn Entertainment has received approval from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to refresh its mobile betting app and its retail sportsbook inside Plainridge Park Casino. The ESPN Bet mobile app update will provide better integration between ESPN Bet and other ESPN products, while the Plainridge Park Casino brick-and-mortar sportsbook – which previously operated under the now-defunct Barstool Sportsbook brand – will be rebranded to ESPN Bet.

MASSACHUSETTS’ LEADING MANUFACTURERS HONORED BY LEGISLATORS AT 9TH ANNUAL MANUFACTURING AWARDS CEREMONY AT GILLE. Ashland, MA– Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis is honored to announce IEMMALLO Wine Cellars as a 2024 recipient of the “Making it in Massachusetts” Manufacturing Award presented by the Massachusetts Legislative Manufacturing Caucus. This award is given in recognition of outstanding leadership skills in the manufacturing industry. The company was presented with this award at the 9th Annual Manufacturing Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, September 25 at the Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA.

One of the many questions your writer has not yet answered – and may never – is why, in the 1700s, people left comparatively comfortable homes in Massachusetts and similar places to come to the Kennebec Valley, on the Massachusetts frontier. They got free or low-cost land, to...

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... At the first public hearing about a potential Proposition 2 ½ override, the Board of Selectmen heard from the fire and police chiefs about their departments’ needs as well as factors impacting their budgets. Fire Chief Robert Parsons said at the “bare...

This summer, Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the legislature enacted a $58 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2025. This budget was a victory for families and working people in his district and throughout the Commonwealth. Senator DiDomenico was especially proud to secure his amendments and priorities that invest significantly in food security programs throughout Massachusetts.

The state is inviting towns to adopt more stringent building codes for energy efficiency in homes and businesses, and in return would make towns that adopt them eligible for energy efficiency grants. The opportunity arises as the state reaches for goals set in 2021 climate legislation to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and to net zero by 2050.

Originally from Westwood, Brett Iarrobino came to Worcester to study at Clark University, and found in the city a true home and community. Iarrobino also found that writers of all backgrounds, including playwrights, poets and graphic novelists, need a space to get together and share their work with each other.