Latest Massachusetts Headlines
All the headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Pot Legalization Question Cleared for Massachusetts Ballot in November
Jul 8 2016 // Massachusetts’ highest court has cleared the way for a question that calls for legalizing recreational marijuana in Massachusetts to appear on the November ballot. The Supreme Judicial Court in Wednesday’s...
Massachusetts City Settles Coerced Confession Claim for $2.1M
Jul 7 2016 // The city of Worcester, Massachusetts has agreed to pay $2.1 million to a mother who said police officers coerced her to confess to suffocating her 13-month-old son with a teddy bear. The Telegram & Gazette reported...
23 States Get Funds for Injury, Violence Prevention Programs
Jul 6 2016 // The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded $30 million to 23 state health departments over the next five years as part of the Core State Violence and Injury Prevention Program (Core SVIPP). The program will...
Guiding Massachusetts Teen Drivers Through ‘100 Deadliest Days’
Jul 6 2016 // One thing that James Butcher tells Massachusetts high school students is that he’s sure they want to enjoy a great life and come back for reunions after graduation. But that won’t happen if they “drive...
Death of Lifeguard Trainee on Cape Cod a Reminder That Saving Lives Requires More Than Being Fit
Jul 5 2016 // On the Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend, Jack Jakubek, 22, was in the middle of the swim portion of the Nauset Beach lifeguard test that should have been a walk in the park for him. Jakubek was supremely fit, a...
Massachusetts Ridesharing Bill Moves into Final Stretch
Jul 1 2016 // Transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft would be legally sanctioned to operate in Massachusetts, under a set of mostly reasonable regulation, under legislation approved this week in a 34-2 vote of the state...
Mass. Senate Passes Ridesharing Bill; Lawmakers Must Reconcile with House Bill
Jul 1 2016 // The Massachusetts Senate has passed a bill to regulate ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. The legislation approved Wednesday on a 34-2 vote would require drivers to undergo criminal background checks and carry...
How Medical Schools Are Altering Their Training to Address Opioid Epidemic
Jun 30 2016 // At first, the woman tried to hide her painkiller problem. She told the doctor that she still had pain from her past pregnancy, and that she just wanted a refill on her pain medication. After a few questions, though, she...
Narragansett Bay Insurance Names Hutchinson Assistant VP, Territory Manager
Jun 28 2016 // Narragansett Bay Insurance Co. has named Peter Hutchinson an assistant vice president and Rhode Island and Massachusetts territory manager. Hutchinson will be responsible for partnerships with NBIC’s agents and...
Massachusetts Senate, House Ridesharing Bills Differ Over Airport Access
Jun 27 2016 // A bill that would regulate ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, including requiring drivers undergo criminal background checks and mandate they carry insurance policies of at least $1 million, was unveiled last week...
Massachusetts’ Rogers & Gray Acquires Albert Brock Co. on Nantucket
Jun 23 2016 // Cape Cod, Massachusetts-based Rogers & Gray Insurance has acquired the independent insurance agency, Albert G. Brock Co., located on Nantucket Island. The newly formed entity will now be known as Brock Insurance, a...
Massachusetts Considers New Rules for Duck Boats After Fatal Crash
Jun 17 2016 // The parents of a woman who died in a crash involving a duck boat urged Massachusetts state officials on Wednesday to require new safety rules for the amphibious sightseeing vessels. Ivan and Martha Warmuth joined several...
Duffy Insurance Acquires Jay Colangelo Insurance in Massachusetts
Jun 14 2016 // Duffy Insurance Agency, a family-owned, independent agency based in Lynn, Massachusetts, announced that it has acquired Jay Colangelo Insurance Agency of Chelmsford, Massachusetts. Terms of the transaction were not...
UMass Amherst Gets $15M From MassMutual for Data Science, Cybersecurity
Jun 14 2016 // The University of Massachusetts Amherst is receiving a $15 million donation to strengthen its data science and cybersecurity programs. The 10-year donation comes from the MassMutual Foundation, a charitable arm of the...
Amos A. Phelps & Son, J.H. Slattery Announce Merger in Massachusetts
Jun 2 2016 // Two multi-generational independent agencies in Boston suburbs — Amos A. Phelps & Son Insurance in Rockland, Massachusetts, and J.H. Slattery Insurance Agency in Abington, Massachusetts — have announced...
Former Mass. Health Insurance Official Charged With Stealing $122K
Jun 1 2016 // A former official at the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission (GIC) has been indicted in connection with allegedly stealing more than $122,000 from the state agency. Ennio Manto, 52, of Braintree, Massachusetts, was...
Massachusetts AG Launches Child Labor Awareness Initiative
May 26 2016 // With summer jobs approaching, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has launched an effort to educate teenagers, parents, and employers about the state’s youth employment laws. “Because of committed...
Massachusetts Emergency Workers Responding to More Opioid Overdoses
May 26 2016 // It all starts with a $20 to $30 purchase. That’s the average street price of heroin today, according to Framingham, Massachusetts, Police. But if that one purchase is a bad batch, too strong, or if the user injects...
Business Moves
May 23 2016 // Confie, Automobile Insurance Specialists Inc., Trinity Insurance LLC, Whitehead Insurance Inc. Confie has acquired three insurance agencies in Las Vegas, South Florida, and Washington State. Confie acquired the assets of:...
Massachusetts Police Wrote 6,131 Tickets for Texting While Driving in 2015
May 20 2016 // Massachusetts state data show that the number of people getting ticketed by police for texting while driving in Massachusetts has steadily increased since it became illegal six years ago. The state Transportation...
