Beacon Hill

The Massachusetts House and Senate will vote Friday on a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1 after the group negotiating a compromise spending plan struck a deal Thursday that is expected to increase spending beyond the $47.7 billion plans approved earlier this spring. Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Sen. Michael Rodrigues announced the agreement on Thursday afternoon, and…

A state representative from Boston pitched a strategy Tuesday to repair some of the damage the pandemic has done for education: allow any student who will soon graduate to stay in school for an additional year.

Boston sports fans are hoping this is the year they’ll be able to legally gamble on sports. Lawmakers held a hearing on the issue Thursday.

The lunch counter is back at the Capitol Coffeehouse, a favorite of lawmakers steps from the Massachusetts Statehouse — a bug indication normalcy is starting to return to Beacon Hill. “Every week we will see an improvement from the previous week,” Capitol Coffeehouse owner Sam Maione said. And while the statehouse is still not open to the public and many…

The Massachusetts State House is showing signs of life after over a year of being all but deserted, with lawmakers voting in person and activists outside, too.

Four of the six statewide elected officials on Beacon Hill have rejected bumps in their salary this year, despite being entitled to increases worth as much as $9,000, but only two lawmakers – both Democrats – have turned down the raises that went into effect in the new year. Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Attorney General Maura Healey…

Two members of the Massachusetts House tested positive for COVID-19 Friday, according to an email Speaker Robert DeLeo sent to representatives and staff members that was obtained by the State House News Service. The representatives were last in the building on Thursday, the same day the House held its final budget session. Any member or staff person who came into…

Two homes displaying “Black Lives Matter” signs had bricks thrown through their windows over the weekend in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, police said Monday.

A proposed bill is working its way through Beacon Hill in an effort to put the MCAS graduation requirement for students on hold.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo is forming a special committee to investigate claims of inappropriate conduct against Rep. from Dedham

This week’s Restaurant Roundup includes a new gaming destination and the closing of a restaurant that is almost two centuries old.

In this edition of Restaurant Roundup, a closed cupcake spot and a gluten-free bakery is opening.

Massachusetts lawmakers filed legislation Monday that would seek to eliminate distracted driving after reaching a surprise agreement on the proposal last week. The House and Senate agreed to restrict the use of handheld devices while driving in an effort to increase safety. Lawmakers had long wrangled over how to collect racial data and whether or not to share it with...

Convenience stores across Massachusetts closed up shop for part of Wednesday so that owners could protest proposed regulations that would take menthol cigarettes off their shelves. About a thousand members of the Boston Convenience Store Owners Association and as well as owners of other stores across the Commonwealth, shut down their businesses in solidarity to take part in the noon...

Convenience stores across Massachusetts are planning to close for the day Wednesday as store owners protest proposed regulations that would take menthol cigarettes off their shelves.

Hundreds of convenience store owners will close their doors Wednesday and hold a rally at the Massachusetts State House to protest the proposed ban of menthol cigarette sales.

As Massachusetts lawmakers looked Wednesday to address the vaping crisis, convenience store owners say any solution should not be a reason to ban products like menthol cigarettes, which they say has nothing to do with the crisis. The convenience store owners rallied on City Hall Plaza in Boston to speak out against a proposed ban on all flavored tobacco products...

A Massachusetts lawmaker has introduced legislation that would make using the “b-word” to demean others illegal in the state. The bill, proposed by Rep. Daniel Hunt, would subject those who use the word “to accost, annoy, degrade or demean the other person” to penalties.