Massachusetts Archives

November 3, 2023 0

Massachusetts Confronts Surge in Migrant Arrivals: A Maze of Challenges and Actions

As more and more migrant families arrive in Massachusetts, community response is strong, bringing out the best and worst in all of us. Managing emergency shelters is burning through about $45 million every month. Massachusetts is hoping for some federal help, while local nonprofits, like the Worcester Refugee Assistance Project and the Family Health Center of Worcester, are desperately seeking more donations and more volunteers. Recent news stories are also reporting that migrant families are now getting harassed by extremist […]

November 3, 2023 0

State, Federal Govs. Attempt to Solve Migrant Emergency in Massachusetts

by Jeff Millman

In August, Governor Maura Healey declared a state of emergency over increased migration to Massachusetts. More than 24,000 people are now living in state-funded shelters, hotels, dormitories, and emergency facilities in the state, and the Healey administration was concerned that these temporary dwelling units would soon be at capacity. In mid-October, Healey confirmed that the emergency shelter system would reach its limit by the end of the month and that Massachusetts would no longer be able to guarantee shelter for […]

July 7, 2023 0

All Immigrants Now Eligible for Standard Driver’s License in Massachusetts

by Sampan Staff

Work and Family Mobility Act will allow residents to obtain license regardless of status. Starting July 1, eligible Massachusetts residents will be able to apply for a learner’s permit and road test to obtain a driver’s license, according to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Newly translated materials are also being prepared under the Work and Family Mobility Act. Under the new law, residents can apply to obtain a standard (class D or M) driver’s license, regardless of immigration status. “The […]

February 12, 2023 0

Massachusetts Asian Restaurant Association Leader Reflects: How COVID Changed Us

by Bolin Shen

February 1, 2023 marks three years since the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Massachusetts. In the past three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on businesses in Massachusetts, with many forced to temporarily or permanently close their doors or significantly reduce operations due to government-mandated lockdowns and restrictions. Businesses in Massachusetts, struggled to stay afloat in the face of lockdowns and saw severe supply chain disruptions. While the risk of COVID-19 has lessened as vaccines and boosters […]

January 21, 2023 0

Women Holding the Keys to Power in Massachusetts State Government

by DongDong Yang

For the first time in our state’s history, Massachusetts will boast an all-female executive team, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, (first woman and first person of color to be elected as Boston’s mayor), State Governor Maura Healey, (first woman and first openly gay elected governor), Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Attorney General-elect Andrea J. Campbell, (first black woman to hold this constitutional office), State Auditor Diana DiZoglio (only the second woman ever to hold this position) and Treasurer of Massachusetts Deborah […]

January 21, 2023 0

New “MA Climate Change Assessment” Reveals Need for Action and Adaptation

by Bolin Shen

Amidst rising concerns for unprecedented heat waves and extreme cold alike throughout the last year, the Massachusetts Baker-Polito Administration released at the end of 2022 the “MA Climate Change Assessment.” It is the first data-driven state-wide projection report of the effects climate change will have on the region’s communities, environments, and industries through the end of the 21st century. “The Assessment draws on the best available climate and impact assessment science, active stakeholder engagement, and broad state agency perspectives and […]

December 24, 2022 0

Air Monitoring in Chinatown: Next Steps from MassDEP

by Jeff Millman

Should you go for a run today? If you live in Chinatown, you may want to stick to the treadmill. The neighborhood is strangled by major highways and roads, and every day thousands of automobiles pump harmful pollutants into the air. Over the years, studies from Tufts University School of Medicine have measured high levels of ultrafine particles in Chinatown. In 2019 the area received the dubious distinction of having the worst air quality in the state. Low air quality […]

October 9, 2022 0

Asian American Women Rising in the Massachusetts House and City Halls

by Katie Mai & Nicole Filler

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is a shining example of the unprecedented rise of Asian American women in Massachusetts politics. But she’s one of several women who have recently risen to power in the state. Wu made history in November of last year, when the former Boston City Council president became the first Asian American, woman, and person of color, to be elected mayor of Boston — a city where Asian Americans make up about 10 percent of the city’s residents. […]

October 7, 2022 0

Mass. Bill Aims to Improve System to Track Hate Crimes

by Aidan O'Mara Schwartz

As the rate of reported hate crimes increases across the country, a bill to require Massachusetts law enforcement agencies and communities to report Hate Crime incidents is currently under study by the state legislature. The Massachusetts Hate Crimes Reporting Act was originally introduced in late March of 2021 to advance and change the current hate crime reporting practices which are informal and unevenly enforced. The proposed bill is currently being put on a study order for further review by the […]

September 17, 2022 0

Asian Hate in California and Massachusetts: Two Sides of the Same Coin

by Joanna Lin

On an October night in Los Angeles, a riot of white Californians looted, shot and lynched any Chinese American they saw. “Fifteen stark, staring corpses hung ghastly in the moonlight, while six, seven, or eight others, mutilated, torn and crushed, lay in our streets, all of them Chinamen,” relayed a haunting statement the morning after. This was 1871. That night, an estimated nine percent of LA’s Chinese community was killed. An event forgotten somewhere in history, this massacre is believed […]

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