8:00am AIM January Executive Forum 2024 with Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Marriott Newton, 2345 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton

9:00am Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, Committee Hearing

10:00am Supplier Diversity Office Public Hearing, Via Zoom

11:00am Walk to the Hill for Civil Legal Aid, Grand Staircase & Great Hall, State House, Boston

11:00am House Session, Informal Session

11:00am Senate Session, Informal Session

11:30am 2024 Economic Outlook hosted by the Boston Business Journal, Seaport Hotel, One Seaport Lane, Boston

1:00pm Department of Environmental Protection Public Hearing, Via Zoom

6:00pm Department of Environmental Protection Public Hearing, Via Zoom

Healey's state budget reflects lowest growth in five years » Boston Business Journal

Mass. will close MCI-Concord, the Bay State’s oldest men’s prison » MassLive

Voters take Donald Trump ballot challenge to Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court » Boston Herald

Incarceration and crime rates both down sharply since 2018 reforms » Commonwealth Beacon

A state law could separate mothers from their children: Why is this happening? » Worcester Telegram

'Beyond terrible': With overflow shelters full, families huddle in cars and at Logan » WBUR

Guv's Big Reserve Raid Would Still Leave Shelter $$ Gap » State House News Service

Sunlight Act On Move, Targeting Legislature And Governor » State House News Service

State lawmakers explore hospital receivership amid Steward Health Care crisis » Boston Globe

NH: N.H. is a swing state. So what did the primary results tell us about the general election? » Boston Globe

CT: Students' fitness rate is at a 10-year low: 'We have an inactivity crisis' » CT Insider

NY: New York Mayor Eric Adams goes positive in key speech as he prepares for reelection » Politico

NY: What You Can’t Read Behind Bars in New York » New York Focus

NJ: Double-digit fare hikes coming to NJ Transit riders as agency faces massive deficit » Politico

VA: Virginia Senate votes to ban preferential treatment for public college legacy applicants » Boston Globe

FL: Florida Senate panel votes to ban police citizens review boards » Orlando Sentinel

FL: Florida plan to have taxpayers pay Trump’s legal bills nixed after DeSantis veto threat » Politico

FL: Florida’s GOP-controlled House passes strict social media restrictions for minors » Politico

AL: Why are states like Alabama, which is planning to use nitrogen gas, exploring new execution methods? » AP News

CA: Under the Shadow of the Extreme Case » Bolts

Marjorie Taylor Greene Puts Anti-Trump Republicans on Notice: ‘We Are Completely Eradicating Them from the Party’ » Mediaite

Nikki Haley Was an Illusion. It Just Shattered. » New York Times

Who Will Be Donald Trump’s VP Pick? » Vanity Fair

Trump's dominance in the GOP primaries is unprecedented » Axios

Ground water depletion accelerating in many parts of the world, study finds » Boston Globe

The U.S. economy boomed in 2023, thanks to consumers opening up wallets » Washington Post

Clerks for hire: The Supreme Court recruiting race » Washington Post

Ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro to be sentenced for defying Jan. 6 committee subpoena » ABC News

Gingrich: Trump will be the next President. Get over it » The Telegraph

Lobbying spending by top interest groups dipped amid 2023 gridlock » Roll Call

After Biden robocall scam, here’s what to know about election-era deepfakes » Boston Globe

Battenfeld: Joe Biden playing chicken over debates with Donald Trump » Boston Herald

Gaskin: Haley should carry on to GOP convention » Boston Herald

Opinion: Nikki Haley and the mean boys of the GOP » Boston Globe

Lucas: Maybe Biden’s no-show is the way to go » Boston Herald

Deepfake political messaging is light-years ahead of the law. It’s past time to change that. » Boston Globe

Empty office building near TD Garden may be reborn as a hotel » Boston Business Journal

Some Mass. residents want to make more money. Their solution? Side hustles. » Boston Globe

Massachusetts tourism officials eye historic opportunities » Gazette Net

Editorial: High-potency marijuana carries health risks » Boston Globe

More than 100 gather for Boston interfaith vigil calling for ceasefire in Israel-Hamas war » Boston.com

Anti-Defamation League’s New England regional director resigns after less than year in role » Boston Globe

Wu announces research teams for task force on reparations » The Bay State Banner

Newton public schools remain closed Wed. as teachers strike for 4th day » MassLive

Voters north of Boston resoundingly reject plan for new $445 million facility for Whittier Tech » Boston Globe

Opinion: Mass. schools have been failing kids with special needs for decades » Boston Globe

Claudine Gay’s departure as Harvard president only adds fuel to conservative attacks on schools and universities » Boston Globe

NY: Cookies, chicken tenders, dumplings: NYC cost-cutting axes faves from February school menu » Chalkbeat

Students appeal to Amherst Town Council to back free college bill » Gazette Net

Amherst-Pelham schools to make plea to town of Amherst for help closing $1.9M budget gap » Gazette Net

Following Globe investigation, Winchester, Lexington parents push school committees for literacy reform » Boston Globe

NJ: New Jersey Bag Ban Followed By Increased Use Of Plastic » Forbes

Balancing solar with farms and forestland: Experts tout middle way in picking sites » Gazette Net

Steward crisis has city leaders worried; local hospitals seen in peril by money woes » Dorchester Reporter

Researchers turn to AI to predict the risk of pancreatic cancer » Boston Globe

Logan airport sheltering migrants on ‘daily basis’ as crisis overwhelms shelter system » Boston Herald

Migrants sleep at Logan airport amid calls for more aid » NBC Boston

Northern Berkshire YMCA roof repair is back on track with a new contractor, addressing one of several ongoing issues at the Y » Berkshire Eagle

Mental Health Association secures $6.5 million in financing for new Chicopee headquarters » MassLive

Healey on board with reforms at southern border » Commonwealth Beacon

NY: The New Migrant Shelter Hurdle: Waiting for the City to Call No. 14,861 » New York Times

‘This is a hostage-taking — this is not a negotiation’: Senate immigration talks leave many on the left unsatisfied » Boston Globe

Immigrants and supporters in Fairhaven shaken by move to new shelter » The New Bedford Light

Mass. lawmakers revisit bill to limit police cooperation with immigration officials » New England Public Media

Return-to-office pushes can cause a ‘riot.’ These Boston-area companies are trying anyway. » Boston Globe

Newton school district shares anti-strike posts on official social media » WBUR

DiDomenico Champions Cover All Kids » Everett Independent

Mayors, town managers envision year ahead in the Merrimack Valley » The Eagle Tribune

Boston City Council blocks action on $13M anti-terror grant… again » Boston Herald

'Boatload of problems': City councilors take issue with Worcester snowplowing efforts » Worcester Telegram

Boston City Councilor Flynn heads to Israel for ‘educational seminar’ » Boston.com

Sale of old Attleboro high school appears to have strong city council backing » The Sun Chronicle

Perry sees Methuen reaching 'new heights' » The Eagle Tribune

Sarno names Akers as new Springfield police superintendent » The Reminder

After officer assaulted, push to permanently remove free weights from state prisons » WHDH

Healey Plans To Close MCI-Concord » State House News Service

MCI-Concord, the state’s oldest men’s prison, to close by this summer, officials say » Boston Globe

Massachusetts will close MCI-Concord, correction officers union is ‘adamantly against’ the move » Lowell Sun

=Animal cruelty task force formed in Suffolk County » Boston Herald

MassDOC 2023 prison pay: Your Tax Dollars at Work » Boston Herald

Woman struck and killed by snowplow truck near Boston Medical Center » Boston Globe

Concord prison, Massachusetts' oldest, to shut down » Axios

Broken pipe leaks diesel fuel at South Boston rail yard » WHDH

Report: Overall crime going down in Mass. since ‘18, but racial disparities widened » MassLive

Healey Budget Raises Spending By $2.1 Billion » State House News Service

Maura Healey files $58B budget that banks on legislative buy-in to cover shelter spending » Boston Herald

Guv Eyes Spending Restraints, One-Time Revenues As Budgetary Bridge » State House News Service

Healey Eyes Surtax To Finance Capital Upgrades » State House News Service

Healey wants more for MTBA, shelter » Axios

Five things to know about Gov. Maura Healey’s $58B 2024 budget plan » MassLive

State Auditor Diana DiZoglio talks her newly mastered song, the power of music » WGBH

Editorial: Healey’s self-tax bill would expand rich-poor divide » Sentinel & Enterprise

Healey releases $58 billion budget plan, with extra money for T and cuts elsewhere » Boston Globe

‘Double’ Meanings: What Gov. Healey’s 2025 Budget Proposal Means For the MBTA » StreetsBlog

NJ: New Jersey bets big on offshore wind after year of woe » Politico Pro

Social Media Spotlight

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GBH News After New Hampshire, does Nikki Haley still have a shot at the GOP nomination? CBS Boston Gov. Healey unveils $56 billion budget proposal, says "we are tightening our belts"

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Podcast Spotlight

WBUR The Common: Mass. hospitals will no longer ask doctors about their past mental health New York Times The Run-Up: The 'People's President' vs. the Donor Class

HB3643 - An Act authorizing Matthew K. Sonnabend to purchase creditable service from the Barnstable County Retirement Board

HB4169 - An Act authorizing the town of North Reading to use a portion of conservation land for public way purposes

SB2517 - An Act establishing a senior property tax deferral program in the city of Taunton

SB2525 - An Act establishing a sick leave bank for Seila Chhav, an employee of the Trial Court

HB4189 - An Act granting an additional liquor license for the sale of all alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the premises in the town of Chatham

HB4099 - An Act authorizing the town of Hull to lease certain property and to extend leases on certain property to promote economic development and the more effective use of town property

SB2452 - An Act establishing a sick leave bank for Rene Perez

Pioneer Institute Study Finds Massachusetts Saw Four-Fold Loss of Income to Net Outmigration » Pioneer Institute

Small Business Saturday to Kick off Free Parking at Select Locations on Saturdays Through Dc. 28 to Promote Local Engagement » City of Worcester

The Mass Leads Act Gains Momentum: Extending Permits and Offering Protections for Developers » Bowditch & Dewey

MTA statement on implementing new high-school graduation requirement » Massachusetts Teachers Association

MMA webinar covers key legal issues related to holiday displays » Mass. Municipal Association

Resident Charged with Arson in Apartment Complex Fire » MA Department of Fire Services

Critical Drought Declared Across Massachusetts » MA Department of Fire Services

Healey-Driscoll Administration, UMass Lowell and Boston University Launch New Initiative to Advance Clean Energy and Build Geothermal Workforce » MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

Governor Healey Signs Executive Order Granting State Recognition to Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe » Office of Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll

MSA Honors Individuals at 2024 Law Enforcement & Corrections Awards Ceremony » Mass. Sheriffs’ Association