Latest news with #MauraHealey
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Healey slams Trump for canceling $45M to protect farms, forests and wetlands in WMass and beyond
The Trump White House's decision to pull the plug on more than $45 million in already awarded federal funds to protect farms, wetlands, and forests across the Bay State threatens jobs and leaves the state vulnerable to natural disasters, the Healey administration said Friday. President Donald Trump 'is yet again taking action that will hurt Massachusetts' rural communities, farmers, and economy,' Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. 'This is funding that would have been used to ensure clean water, provide access to fresh local food, and support our agricultural economy,' Healey said, accusing the Republican president of 'making us less healthy and weakening our economy. He should reverse these cuts immediately.' The state announced the money, awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in October 2024. It includes $20.8 million earmarked for protecting farms and wetlands that would have especially benefited the state's smaller and more rural communities, Healey's office said. The White House also canceled $25 million that would have gone to Mass Audubon to protect more than 10,000 acres of 'vital' forest and wetlands along the Connecticut River in Western Massachusetts. Read More: 'Legal battles of our lives': AG Campbell testifies in DC on all-hands effort to counter Trump That money 'epitomized government efficiency and effectiveness. Not only would the grant have protected 10,000 acres of land that safeguards the public's drinking water and benefits wildlife,' David O'Neill, Mass Audubon's president and CEO, said in the administration's statement. The now-canceled cash also 'would have leveraged tens of millions of private funds, and, importantly, kept working lands in the hands of private farmers,' O'Neill continued. 'When we terminate grants that conserve our forests, keep working lands working, act as a flood protection buffer for communities, and leverage millions from other funding sources, we all lose.' The money that would have headed to farmers 'strips [them] of critical tools to keep their land in agriculture through voluntary conservation easements,' state Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle said. Read More: Supreme Court limits nationwide injunctions, but fate of Trump birthright citizenship order unclear 'Without this support, farmers lose options – and some may be pushed to sell, putting local farming at risk," Randle said. The USDA announced last month that it was cancelling the Climate Smart Commodities Program — a $3 billion effort to fund projects across the country to improve soil health, sequester carbon, reduce methane emissions and encourage other climate-friendly farming practices, The Wisconsin Examiner reported. The USDA dismissed the program as a 'Biden era slush fund,' and argued that it was 'built to advance the green new scam at the benefit of NGOs, not American farmers.' Earlier this week, state Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell, joined by colleagues nationwide, asked a federal judge in Boston to bar the White House from using an obscure clause in federal law to cut off funding to the states. The Republican White House has wrongly used the 'agencies priorities clause' to block funding to the states for programs ranging from fighting violent crime and education to protecting clean drinking water and addressing food insecurity, Campbell's office said in a statement. Chicopee's next budget is 6% hike from this year. Here's where spending has increased Trump says he's terminating trade talks with Canada over tax on technology firms Mass. lawmakers get a deal; gun for first on-time (ish) state budget in years 'You have been the worst': Secretary Hegseth blasts former Fox colleague Mass. AG Campbell vows to fight on after Supreme Court hands Trump birthright citizenship win Read the original article on MassLive.
Politico
a day ago
- Business
- Politico
Dems ... in array?
ALL TOGETHER NOW — Beacon Hill Democrats might finally be on the same page. Relations between the House and Senate were … less than cozy in the waning days of the formal lawmaking last summer, and some of that sentiment bled into the new session. But there were a few signs this week that Democrats are ready to put the bickering on the back burner. After bold commitments to update the joint rules they've struggled to agree on over the last five years, top House and Senate Democrats suddenly reached a deal this week on a package they say will make things run more smoothly and with increased transparency. House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka cheered the agreement after their semi-regular meeting with Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. Spilka even hit Mariano with a little light back-slapping as they took their victory lap. 'Neither one of us liked the way it ended July 31 of last year,' Mariano told reporters at the time, referencing the impasse Democrats hit during what normally would've been their final formal session (Both chambers came back to work to pass the bills left undone later in the year.). 'We just knew it was time to make this thing work. And we did,' Mariano added. Lawmaking has been slow-going so far — the Legislature has only passed a handful of bills, and most of what's moved has been supplemental budgets. But as the Senate met Thursday to pass new protections for patients and providers seeking and administering abortions and gender-affirming care, Mariano told reporters the House could take up the issue in the coming weeks. 'As soon as we can get something from the Senate, go through it, see how we can be helpful … we just have to keep plugging away,' he said. One thing to keep an eye on in the next couple of days: How quickly negotiators can reach a budget deal. Monday is the final day of the fiscal year, a deadline the Legislature hasn't hit in more than a decade — but in a sign that things could be getting close, the House gaveled out Thursday night (after members hung around for hours) without passing the interim budget Healey filed to fill a potential budget gap. Still, getting a budget signed on time is likely out of the question, since Healey gets 10 days to decide on any vetoes. GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. TGIF! TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey has no public events. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a coffee hour in the North End at 10 a.m. and speaks at the Boston Arts Academy Foundation lunch at noon in Beacon Hill. THIS WEEKEND — Gov. Maura Healey is on WBZ's 'Keller @ Large' at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale is on WCVB's 'On the Record' at 11 a.m. Sunday. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@ DATELINE BEACON HILL — A Massachusetts. doctor mails 2,500 abortion kits out of state per month. Lawmakers voted to further protect providers like her. by Samantha J. Gross, The Boston Globe. — Will Massachusetts ban Native American mascots in schools? Legislators make another push by Margie Cullen, Taunton Daily Gazette. MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS — U.S. wants to deport FBI informant who was set to testify in gang case in Massachusetts. by Jesús Marrero Suárez, WBUR: 'In November 2022, a man in El Salvador believed he had few options: be snatched off the street by police or testify against Massachusetts members of MS-13, the criminal organization responsible for countless murders and other violent crimes in the U.S. and Central America. But both happened. After nine months in Salvadoran prisons, the man only known as John Doe in court documents came to the United States as a material witness for a racketeering case in exchange, as he understood it, for refuge in the U.S. He's now locked up in a facility here. A material witness often has testimony crucial to a case, and can be detained to protect them or prevent them from fleeing. In the midst of the MS-13 case, the U.S. government revealed his identity in evidence and has been attempting to deport him.' FROM THE HUB — Boston's property assessments questioned; city accused of secret tax hikes by Maya Shavit, Boston Business Journal: 'The Pioneer New England Legal Foundation, a group formed from the merger last month of the Pioneer Public Interest Law Center and the New England Legal Foundation, said this week that commercial property owners in Boston who appealed their tax assessments were penalized without notice over the past year. In a letter to the state commissioner of Revenue, a copy of which was sent to the city of Boston, the legal foundation claims the city is unlawfully charging taxpayers with bills that are based on property valuations those taxpayers dispute.' YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS CASH DASH — Former Secretary of State John Kerry headlined a Cambridge fundraiser for Sen. Ed Markey Thursday night, per the invitation. On the guest list: A whole host of former ambassadors. FROM THE DELEGATION — Two Massachusetts military vets in Congress break from Democratic consensus of outrage over Trump's Iran strike by Sam Brodey, The Boston Globe: 'After President Trump ordered dramatic airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday night, most Democratic lawmakers were outraged — not just because Trump bypassed congressional approval for the attack, but also because many worried the escalation could destabilize an already volatile situation with Iran. A smaller but still influential group within the party, however, responded to the attack on Tehran's nuclear program differently— including two vocal members of Massachusetts' generally progressive delegation in Congress. Representatives Jake Auchincloss and Seth Moulton, Marine veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively, were both extremely alarmed that Trump didn't consult Congress. But they didn't share the immediate anger of their colleagues that the aftermath of the strikes was obviously dangerous or damaging.' — Baby on board: Mass. lawmaker asks Trump to keep strollers, cribs out of his trade war by John L. Micek, MassLive: 'A Democratic lawmaker from Massachusetts, joined by more than two dozen of her colleagues, has called on the Trump White House to exempt already pricey baby products from its overseas trade war. In a letter shared exclusively with MassLive, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, called on U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to move ahead with exemptions for such key products as strollers, car seats, cribs and highchairs from current and future tariffs.' FROM THE 413 — Silent standout in Northampton protests ICE detainments, deportations by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette: 'It's not uncommon to see protesters and activists assembled in front of Northampton City Hall, speaking out in support of social issues and against injustices of the day. But the gathering held there early Thursday afternoon did not feature boisterous speeches or calls to action; rather, it struck a more somber tone in protesting against the detention and deportation of immigrants and foreign nationals in the U.S. by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.' THE LOCAL ANGLE — AG: Barre town officials intentionally violated open meeting law hiring DPW director's cousin as his assistant by Brad Petrishen, Telegram & Gazette: 'Town officials in Barre are facing a $500 fine after the Office of the Attorney General ruled they intentionally violated the Open Meeting Law when hiring the cousin of the Public Works director to serve as his administrative assistant. A town official who filed the complaint said it supports his contention that town is being improperly managed, while the selectmen chairwoman — who was among those faulted by the attorney general — said she had no intent to violate the law.' — Reprimanded police sergeant committed more sexual harassment, then retired without discipline by Anastasia E. Lennon, The New Bedford Light: 'A city police sergeant, reprimanded for sexual harassment in mid-2023, was found last year to have committed further sexual harassment. He went on paid administrative leave and then medical leave, and retired without discipline in November, months after the investigation's findings were submitted to the police chief.' — Bitterly divided Brockton school board meets behind closed doors to discuss longtime member by Chris Helms and Jacob Posner, The Brockton Enterprise: 'A bitterly divided Brockton School Committee met behind closed doors Tuesday evening, June 26, to discuss Ward 7 School Committee Member Tim Sullivan. Massachusetts law requires that most public business be done in public. However, there are a handful of exceptions that allow elected boards to go into executive session where any discussion and votes they take can be kept from the public for a certain period. The reason the board gave for the executive session is broad. It was about the 'reputation, character, physical condition or mental health, rather than professional competence, of an individual, or to discuss the discipline or dismissal of, or complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual.'' — 'Critical' Sandwich gate at Joint Base Cape Cod gets another reprieve by Rachael Devaney, Cape Cod Times: 'A July 1 deadline for the potential closure of Joint Base Cape Cod's East Sandwich gate loomed over local residents, workers, and military personnel who use the gate year-round. But on Thursday, Don Veitch, Joint Base Cape Cod public affairs officer for the Massachusetts National Guard, said the gate will remain open and funded for one year. Funding, said Veitch, will be continually reevaluated. The Sandwich gate was originally scheduled to close May 16 due to federal funding cuts. Joint Base Cape Cod then extended the closure until June 30 after reallocating funds and arranging for soldiers to perform their annual training at JBCC, according to Veitch.' HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former state Sen. Joe Boncore, state Sen. Michael Barrett, former Plymouth state Rep. Mathew Muratore, Molly McGlynn, of AG Andrea Campbell's office; Nick Mitchell, Jesse Lehrich and Paul Tencher, a Sen. Ed Markey alum. HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Erin McPike and Moses Marx, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers Ben Jarrett, Amish Shah, Jason Ostrander, Katrina Gaddis and state Sen. Liz Miranda.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
10 years after landmark Supreme Court ruling, Healey calls same-sex marriage "non-issue" in Massachusetts
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. The Supreme Court's landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision in 2015 followed years of national wrangling during which some states moved to protect domestic partnerships or civil unions for same-sex partners and others declared that marriage could exist only between one man and one woman. More than a decade before the Supreme Court weighed in, Massachusetts was the first state to legalize same-sex marriage in 2004. Healey: Same-sex marriage a "non-issue" Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said same-sex marriage will always be protected in the state. Healey told WBZ-TV's Jon Keller on Thursday that the future of same-sex marriage is a "non-issue," saying there's bigger issues people are concerned about. "Marriage is marriage, whether you're gay or not and that's the law here, it's going to continue to be that way," Healey said. "And you know what people really care about? They care about how they're going to pay their bills, can they afford a home, do they have access to jobs and economic mobility. That's what I'm focused on as governor and I will certainly make sure that we defend the rights of all to marry in our state and that people, gay and straight, that their rights, their freedoms are protected." What is Obergefell v. Hodges? James Obergefell and John Arthur, who lived in Ohio, married in Maryland since same-sex marriage was banned in their state by a voter-approved amendment in 2004. The couple married after Arthur was diagnosed with ALS. The legal battle began when they learned their marriage would not be listed on Arthur's death certificate. After a court approved recognizing their marriage on Arthur's death certificate, Ohio appealed and the case eventually reached the Supreme Court. The Obergefell v. Hodges decision argued that marriage is guaranteed under the Constitution's 14th Amendment, specifically the due process and equal protection clauses. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the right to marry is fundamental, calling it "inherent in the liberty of the person" and therefore protected by the Constitution. The ruling effectively nullified state-level bans on same-sex marriages, as well as laws declining to recognize such unions performed in other jurisdictions. In CNN's presidential exit polls in 2004, only a quarter of Americans thought same-sex couples should be able to legally marry, with a larger percentage favoring civil unions instead. Ten years after Obergefell v. Hodges, some polls show nearly 70% approve of same-sex marriage. contributed to this report.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Northeastern governors, Canadian leaders huddle in Boston to talk trade, tariffs and Trump
Intertwined. That's the one word that a gathering of northeastern governors and Canadian provincial leaders used over and over again as they described the interdependent web of trade, energy resources, and tourism that stretches across both sides of the border. They pointed to the automobile parts that hopscotch between the U.S. and Canada before they finally become a finished car; to the aluminum that provides the cans for Massachusetts' craft brewers; to the natural gas and oil that heat New Englanders' homes, and the tourists who book Airbnbs along Maine's coast. Each side depends on the other. And that relationship has been stressed by the Trump White House's aggressive tariff regime, the officials said. But that doesn't have to mean that it's broken irreparably. 'The northeast is open for business and open for trade,' Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, who hosted the session, said. 'It was a sobering discussion this morning, a continuing discussion, for sure ... We want to show Canadians that America is open for business.' Read More: Undeterred by protests, Trump tells ICE to step up deportations in Democratic-run cities The meeting, dubbed 'Strong Partnership, Strong Future,' unfolded over about an hour early on Monday afternoon in the State Library on the State House's third floor. The leaders sat around a blue tablecloth-bedecked table, with state and provincial flags arrayed behind them. The message was unity and cooperation. Five out of the six New England states were represented on Monday. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, whose state also shares a border with Canada, was at the table. Katie S. Dykes, the commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, subbed in for Gov. Ned Lamont, who was repping the Nutmeg State at the Paris Air Show, she said. And despite initial reports that it would be sending someone, a representative for New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte was not present. The session on Beacon Hill came the same day that Trump arrived in Canada for the start of this week's G7 summit in the nation's Rockies. There, the chief mission appeared to be not riling up the excitable Republican president. The summit comes as the administration has hit several dozen nations with severe tariffs that risk a global economic slowdown. And the participants in Monday's session were watching closely. Even with the difficult economic talk, there were moments of comity for sure, as Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, and Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, stressed the generations of family ties that united their two states with Canada. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston fondly mentioned the Christmas tree that his province sends to Boston Common every year as a thank you for the city's assistance in the deadly Halifax explosion of 1917. But there was still the hothouse rhetoric of making Canada, one of the nation's biggest trading partners, the 51st state. They're still taking that personally. 'Leaders around the world that I have talked to are dumbfounded,' Ontario Premier Doug Ford said. 'They tell me, 'I can't believe the president is going after your country.'' Like Healey, Ford described Canada as the United States' closest friend and ally. But lurking beneath that famed northern friendliness was the same toughness that also sees Canadian hockey players throw nose-breaking elbows. In February, Ford ordered Ontario's government-run liquor stores to pull American booze from the shelves after Trump first announced his tariff scheme. And on Monday, Ford reminded his American friends that there's only one winner in a cross-border trade war: China. Other leaders were more subtle. 'It's an interesting time in the war for talent right now,' New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt mused. 'I'm not going to pretend that the folks in Canada don't see this as an opportunity to attract the best and brightest [from the U.S.].' And even as Healey rattled off the facts and figures showing the hit that New England's tourism industry has taken since Trump returned to power — a 20% drop from 2024 — the Canadians were sympathetic. To a point. 'It's challenging to us to hear from our colleagues that they are seeing a drop in tourism,' Holt observed. 'It means that someone at Hampton Beach (in New Hampshire) might lose their job. It means people in the U.S. are losing their jobs in tourism.' 'You have to make noise and tell your leader that you are hurting, that you are losing jobs. You have to speak up. Canadians can't do it for you.' But, she added, 'I can't tell Canadians to visit the U.S. right now.' Associated Press reports are included in this story. Federal funding loss will curtail Tech Hub programs in Holyoke Federal judge orders Trump admin to reinstate hundreds of NIH grants 'Awful, awful, awful': Polls show Trump's net approval is at its 'worst' Federal judge delays decision over Trump admin barring Harvard foreign students Trump administration considers adding 36 countries to travel ban Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
State: Holyoke schools on track for July 1 exit from commonwealth oversight
HOLYOKE — Holyoke Public Schools will return to local control on July 1, the state announced tonight. The announcement comes after 10 years state oversight, called receivership, for chronic underperformance. The state made a provisional determination in October that the schools would be ready to re-helm the district if the School Committee completed a plan for rebuilding and sustaining the schools. 'Holyoke has worked hard to regain local control of its schools, and this is a great moment for the city, students, educators and families,' said Gov. Maura Healey in a statement. Education Secretary Patrick A. Tutwiler, who also serves as interim commissioner, said, 'It is time for local officials to take the lead,' It's a proud day for Holyoke, said Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia, who also chairs the School Committee, in the statement. The commonwealth noted a number of district achievements, including: • an increase in the district's four-year cohort graduation rate from 60.2% in 2014 to 77.1% in 2024, which includes a 32-point gain for English learners and a 31-point gain for students with disabilities over the same time period; • a reduction of the out-of-school suspension rate from 20% in 2013-14 to 9.8% in 2023-24; • an increase in the percentage of students in grades 11 and 12 completing advanced coursework from 39.5% in 2018 to 57% in 2024; • and a gap-narrowing increase in the percentage of Hispanic/Latino students in grades 11 and 12 completing advanced coursework, from 32.2% in 2018 to 54.6% in 2024. 'The Holyoke School Committee and Local Control Subcommittee worked very hard to get to this day, but we know our work is just beginning,' said Yadilette Rivera Colon, vice chair of the School Committee, in the statement. The district has about 4,800 students in preschool through grade 12 and had been in receivership since 2015. Receiver Anthony Soto has led the district since 2021. Earlier this year, the School Committee named him superintendent for the 2025-26 school year, overseeing the transition. The state will continue to support and monitor the district's progress, which has to meet exit assurances that Tutwiler issued April 28, the state said. Exit assurances include professional development for teachers; the creation and use of an early literacy plan; two-way communication with families, including non-English speakers; policies related to teaching and learning time; and educator compensation and evaluation. Visit the Holyoke Public Schools website for more. Read the original article on MassLive.
