Metro

August 9, 2024 0

Hub Aims to Clean City of Rats With ‘BRAP’s

Boston City officials have recently turned their attention toward the furry, unwanted guests occupying Boston neighborhoods — and it’s finally come up with a plan. Rats have been taking over streets, foraging through trash, and finding themselves taking comfort in residents’ homes. Mayor Michelle Wu has worked closely with the Boston Inspectional Services Division and Dr. Bobby Corrigan, a consulting Urban Rodentologist based in New York, to create the Boston Rodent Action Plan (BRAP), which was published on June 17. […]

April 13, 2024 0

Update on The Migrant Crisis in Massachusetts

by Jeff Millman

Immigration in Boston is changing. A report from the Boston Foundation and the Immigration Research Initiative published in February found that the most common places of origin and settlement for immigrants in Boston have shifted significantly in recent years. In 1990, the most common country of origin for Greater Boston’s foreign-born population was Canada. Six of the top ten countries were in Europe. By 2021, Canada and European countries weren’t even in the top ten – China, the Dominican Republic, […]

April 13, 2024 0

Free Help for Your Tax Needs in Massachusetts

by Scott Halper

April 15 is a big day for millions of people in America. It is Tax Day, the deadline for people to file their taxes for the previous year. Taxes play a very important role in our society. Besides being the main source of funding for our government, taxes also provide billions of dollars in aid every year to working class people and families. We see the effects of our taxes every day: in our roads, our social services, and in […]

March 16, 2024 0

Wild Coyotes Are in Cities and Suburbia: How To Protect Yourself

by Jeff Millman

The cries came from over the hill, past the trees, but it was pointless to determine the exact location. It was nighttime, and the only light was the small campfire we’d made. The sounds were ominous but oddly rhythmic: one long howl, followed by shorter, higher-pitched screams, over and over, for several minutes. Then silence. The coyotes were out, and it was time to bring the dogs in. This scene replayed itself many times throughout my childhood in rural and […]

March 1, 2024 0

Boston Water and Sewer Commission Meeting Provides a Platform for Residents’ Infrastructure Concerns in Chinatown and Downtown Neighborhoods

by Derek He

“My tap water is reaching temperatures of nearly 100 degrees.” described Robert Qua, a South St Leather District resident, at a recent meeting called by the Boston Water and Sewer Commission to Announce Capital Improvements and StormWater Remediation Installation. He spoke about the adverse effects of high groundwater levels on civil infrastructure. By highlighting the impact of groundwater on infrastructure integrity, he underscored the urgency of implementing measures to mitigate potential risks and safeguard critical infrastructure assets. His insights served […]

March 1, 2024 0

Get Ready for Super Tuesday, on March 5, to Cast Vote in Presidential Primaries, Caucuses

by Yizhen Zhang

Super Tuesday — when a large number of states will hold presidential primary elections and caucuses — is on March 5. The states holding primary elections on Super Tuesday will be Alabama, Alaska Republican presidential caucuses, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa Democratic caucus main vote, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah Democratic presidential primary and Republican presidential caucuses, Vermont, and Virginia. U.S. presidential primary elections typically start in February and end in June. In some states, such as […]

February 17, 2024 0

Governor Healey’s FY25 Budget Proposal Tightens Belts and Adjusts Priorities

by Tony Le

Analyzing the viability of a state budget will always fall into partisan zones. What’s good for one group will invariably be criticized by another. Writing in a January 26th 2024 posting on Masslive.com, John L. Micek put it succinctly while reflecting on the sometimes desperate measures we all take to adjust our priorities based on available funds: “They’re all short-term fixes that get you where you need to be. And they solve the immediate problem. But it’s not exactly the […]

December 9, 2023 0

Massachusetts Has One of the Lowest Rates of Gun Violence in the U.S. But it’s Rising and Now Lawmakers Are Starting to Take Action

by Aditya Venkatram

Massachusetts has some of the strictest gun laws in the United States and consequently is among the states with the lowest rates of gun violence and gun deaths. Meanwhile, in contrast, in the last decade, gun homicides and suicides have been trending upwards in the US. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen weakened state gun control laws and particularly set back state legislation in place to protect their residents from […]

November 17, 2023 0

More than 40,000 Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites in the U.S – 40 are in MA

by Kristen Si

In February of this year, the federal government allocated $1 billion to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) program, better known as the Superfund program. Initiated in 1980, the Superfund program is a long-term initiative aimed at cleaning up toxic waste from hazardous “Superfund sites” across the country. Due to the involvement of several largely unregulated industries in the generation of this waste, the federal government, through the Superfund […]

November 3, 2023 0

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

by Sabrina Yeung

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 […]

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