Politics

Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito today announced $420,000 in grant awards to 75 Massachusetts fire departments for gear cleaning machines that will reduce firefighters’ exposure to cancer-causing chemicals on the job. The New Bedford Fire Department will receive $6,448.95. “This grant program will help keep firefighters across …

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi will deliver the address at Smith College’s commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 17. The following was posted to Smith College’s website: “Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi—whose long and distinguished career in public service has helped shape and …

By Matt Murphy, State House News Service It may come as little surprise that as one of the last two people to occupy the same ballot as U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, Gabriel Gomez is not the Democrat’s biggest fan. But it would have been harder to predict seven years ago …

By Colin A. Young, State House News Service Drivers might think twice about gunning it through an intersection when the light has just turned red if a bill the Massachusetts Senate plans to debate next week becomes law. Under a bill (S 2553) scheduled for a vote next Thursday when …

The family of the Honorable Rosemary S. Tierney, former Mayor of New Bedford, has announced that her funeral will be held on Saturday, February 22 at 9:00 a.m. at St. Lawrence Martyr Church, 565 County Street.

Another protest against Mayor Mitchell’s decision to close a fire station 11 on Brock Ave. in New Bedford is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 21 from 1-4 pm at the New Bedford City Hall. Video and photos from this past Saturday’s protest:

By Matt Murphy of State House News Service Governors around the country, including Gov. Charlie Baker, are fighting the Trump administration over proposed changes to how the federal government reimburses states for Medicaid, seeking to avoid a shift that could blow a massive hole into state budgets. The new regulations …

Michael P. Norton, State House News Service A state commission will assemble a confidential registry to protect individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities from abusive caregivers, under a bill Gov. Charlie Baker signed Thursday. The new law is often referred to by supporters as “Nicky’s Law,” a reference to a …

Katie Lannan of State House News Service. In a span of two weeks, lobbying efforts around a bill that would make it possible for undocumented immigrants to receive standard Massachusetts driver’s licenses transformed from a hunger strike to Hershey’s kisses. A group of teenagers — some the children of immigrants …

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell has been elected president of the Massachusetts Mayors’ Association for 2020. The mayor was chosen by his peers from across the state during the Annual Business Meeting of the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) in Boston on Jan. 25. Mayor Mitchell took office in 2012, and …