New Bedford Public Schools has commenced a 3-year plan to improve its translation and interpretation services for K’iché speaking students and their families. The plan is based on an agreement that resolves a review by the U.S. Department of Justice into the District’s current services for K’iché speakers. K’iché is …
Read More »Massachusetts High Court Outlines Rejection Of Voting Reform Challenge
By Colin A. Young State House News Service The justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court “discern no merit” to the arguments that Republican Party officials made earlier this summer in a rejected attempt to block parts of the state’s new vote-by-mail and early voting law, the court said in …
Read More »Senator Warren Statement on President Biden Cancelling Student Debt
United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released the following statement after President Biden cancelled student loan debt: “Today is a day of joy and relief because President Biden has canceled a big chunk of student debt for as many as 43 million Americans. The President has taken a powerful step …
Read More »Coalition Wants COVID Prevention Plan For Massachusetts In The Fall
By Chris Lisinski State House News Service Massachusetts K-12 students and staff should be tested for COVID-19 before classes resume in September, while government, education and business leaders should outline clear plans for when mask mandates would be triggered if another surge builds, a group of public health experts, labor …
Read More »Undocumented Driver’s License Law Repeal Campaign Plans to ‘Run Across the Finish Line’
By Sam Doran State House News Service The campaign to repeal the new driver’s license law, which is set to open up license access to immigrants without legal status in Massachusetts, said it hit a milestone Wednesday and turned in the requisite number of signatures to print the repeal question …
Read More »New Bedford Sea Lab building to be dedicated to former Mayor Kalisz, Aug. 13
Members of the community will gather on Saturday, August 13, 2022 for a dedication ceremony honoring a former Mayor, the late Dr. Frederick M. Kalisz, Jr. A plaque and exterior sign will designate the Dr. Frederick M. Kalisz, Jr. Sea Lab Marine Science Education Center. A public unveiling will take …
Read More »New Bedford Election Officials Announce New Polling Locations Ahead of Sept. 6 Primary
The City’s Board of Election Commissioners has announced new and changed polling locations ahead of the primary election Sept. 6. The new locations for voters are the result of redistricting following the 2020 U.S. Census and changes to state legislation last fall. The changes and additions to local polling locations …
Read More »Mayor Mitchell Announces New City Auditor
The City of New Bedford has hired Emily Arpke as its new Auditor, Mayor Jon Mitchell announced today. Arpke comes to New Bedford from the Brockton Redevelopment Authority, where she spent four years improving and managing financial operations; directing all budgeting, grant program development and oversight; and managing compliance as …
Read More »Massachusetts Senate Adds Opt-In Happy Hour To Economic Development Bill
By Chris Lisinski State House News Service Nearly four decades after Massachusetts lawmakers banned the practice statewide, happy hour could return to the menu in willing cities and towns if the Senate has its way. Senators voted late Thursday night to tack an amendment creating a local-option happy hour program …
Read More »Senators Warren, Sanders, Markey, and Gillibrand Urge Administration to Deschedule Cannabis and Pardon Nonviolent Cannabis Offenders
U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) led Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to send a letter to President Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, following up on previous requests that …
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