News Archive
Aug 2 2016
Illegal in Massachusetts: Asking Your Salary in a Job Interview
The New York Times
Illegal in Massachusetts: Asking Your Salary in a Job Interview
By STACY COWLEY AUG. 2, 2016
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker with State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg after he signed the salary bill into law on Monday. Credit Elise...
Aug 1 2016
Massachusetts Becomes First State Ever To Ban Employers From Asking For Salary Histories
ThinkProgress
Massachusetts Becomes First State Ever To Ban Employers From Asking For Salary Histories
by Bryce Covert Aug 1, 2016 2:06 pm
CREDIT: AP Photo/Steven Senne
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) in January
Massachusetts has leapfrogged over all other...
Aug 1 2016
Gov. Baker Signs Law Requiring Equal Pay For Comparable Work
WBUR
Gov. Baker Signs Law Requiring Equal Pay For Comparable Work
August 01, 2016
Updated 08/01/2016 6:10 PM
By Steve LeBlanc, The Associated Press
Gov. Charlie Baker hands out pens to supporters, including state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, right, after...
Aug 1 2016
Massachusetts Just Took a Big Step Toward Closing the Wage Gap
Mother Jones
Massachusetts Just Took a Big Step Toward Closing the Wage Gap
It was the "nail in the coffin" for gender pay inequity.
Becca Andrews
Aug. 1, 2016 5:56 PM
ivector/Shutterstock
The Massachusetts Legislature unanimously passed the...
Aug 1 2016
As Session Closes, MA Lawmakers Approve Equal Pay And Energy Bills
WAMC Northeast Public Radio
As Session Closes, MA Lawmakers Approve Equal Pay And Energy Bills
By Jim Levulis • Aug 1, 2016
Jim Levulis / WAMC
Massachusetts lawmakers worked late into the night Sunday to hammer out legislation and send...
Aug 1 2016
Gov. Baker signs law requiring equal pay for comparable work
7 News Boston
BOSTON (AP) - Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has signed into law a bill requiring men and women be paid equally for comparable work in Massachusetts.
Baker signed the bill during a Statehouse ceremony Monday.
Women are currently paid on average about 82 percent of what...
Jul 15 2016
Liquor licenses could draw new business
Somerville Journal
Erin Tiernan etiernan@wickedlocal.com
Somerville officials are awaiting final approval of a bill that would allow the number of liquor license in the city to nearly double.
All of the city's 82 liquor licenses are currently assigned, said Jaclyn Rossetti, deputy...
Jul 13 2016
Pay equity bill a long time coming, but may soon be here
The Boston Globe
Pay equity bill a long time coming, but may soon be here
Globe Staff/File 2013
State Senator Pat Jehlen first cosponsored a version of the equal pay bill in 1998.
By Shirley Leung Globe Columnist July 13, 2016
A state equal pay bill took a key...
Jul 12 2016
Lowell schools part of task force working on alternative assessments
Lowell Sun
By Amelia Pak-Harvey
Updated: 07/12/2016 08:50:29 AM EDT
LOWELL -- A consortium of public-school districts across the state, including Lowell, are teaming up to create an alternative accountability system that grades public schools beyond the...
Jun 30 2016
Senate prohibits customer fees to pay for new gas pipelines
MassLive
By Shira Schoenberg | sschoenberg@repub.com
on June 30, 2016 at 6:53 PM, updated June 30, 2016 at 6:55 PM
BOSTON -- The Massachusetts Senate adopted an amendment Thursday as part of a comprehensive energy bill that would prohibit electric companies from...
Jun 25 2016
Senate passes bill strengthening economic security for older adults
Somerville Journal
Jun 25, 2016 at 4:04 PM
The Massachusetts Senate recently passed S. 1494, "An Act increasing the property tax deferral for seniors," sponsored by Sen. Patricia D. Jehlen, D-Somerville. This legislation would offer property tax...
Jun 17 2016
Mass. teachers union criticizes the new “impact ratings” system
WWLP
By wwlptiffanychan Published: June 16, 2016, 11:08 pm Updated: June 17, 2016, 12:47 am
BOSTON (WWLP) – The Massachusetts Teachers Association is urging state lawmakers to eliminate the new “impact rating system,” which requires students to...
May 9 2016
MBTA board approves scaled-back $2.29 billion Green Line Extension proposal
MassLive
By Shira Schoenberg | sschoenberg@repub.com
Follow on Twitter
on May 09, 2016 at 6:45 PM
BOSTON -- The board of the MBTA on Monday approved a scaled back version of the Green Line extension project.
The project includes 4.5 miles of new Green Line track in East...
May 3 2016
Senate Passes Criminal Justice Reform Legislation
Medford Transcript
The Massachusetts Senate continued its work of reforming the state's criminal justice system by passing four reform related bills: S-727, S-728, S-795 and S-2216. The bills address various criminal justice reform issues such as penalties for vandalism and graffiti...
Apr 25 2016
Medford Vocational students meet with state legislators
Medford Transcript
On March 31, Medford Vocational Technical High School Director and Principal Heidi Riccio and the SkillsUSA state leadership student team attended the Legislative Briefing and Advocacy Day for Vocational Technical Education event at the Massachusetts Statehouse.
Riccio and...
Apr 25 2016
Column: Education funding no longer fair and equitable
Somerville Journal
Column: Education funding no longer fair and equitable
Posted Apr 25, 2016 at 11:09 AM
By Sen. Pat Jehlen
In 1993, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Massachusetts has a constitutional obligation to offer all children an...
Apr 15 2016
Time to move terminally ill, aged convicts from ill-equipped prison, jail care facilities
Cambridge Day
By Tim Toomey and Pat Jehlen
Friday, April 15, 2016
A prisoner is admitted to a hospital in 2012 for care beyond what his facility could provide. (Photo: Tim Gruber via the ACLU)
There is a fiscal crisis looming over Massachusetts’ state prisons and county...
Apr 7 2016
Panel debates in Worcester: Smarter spending or more money for schools?
Worcester Telegram
By Scott O'Connell
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Posted Apr. 6, 2016 at 11:06 AM
Updated Apr 7, 2016 at 4:08 PM
WORCESTER – State Education Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester said at the start of his speech Wednesday on school funding that he would be...
Apr 5 2016
Medford Girl Scouts Meet With Local Female Leaders
Medford Transcript
By James Kossuth
medford@wickedlocal.com
Posted Apr. 5, 2016 at 8:48 AM
MEDFORD
Medford Junior Girl Scout Troop #65264 hosted a lively and informative panel discussion on March 24 at West Medford Community Center as part of the Juniors’ work on their “...
Mar 25 2016
Senate, House Pass Motor Vehicle License Suspension Bill
BOSTON - This week Senator Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville) and her colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature approved final passage of An Act relative to motor vehicle license suspension. This bill repeals the current law that subjects individuals convicted of a non-violent...
Nov 25 2015
Medford Pols Speak Out on Commuter Rail Service Changes- Updated
Inside Medford
Medford Pols Speak Out on Commuter Rail Service Changes- Updated
Story Updated 2:04 PM Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Update- statement from State Senator Pat Jehlen:
“The new commuter rail schedules that were originally slated to go into effect in December would have caused...
Nov 19 2015
Commuter Rail Concerns Raised by Legislators
Patch
Joined by a number of legislative colleagues, Senator Jason Lewis submitted a letter to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Keolis Commuter Services, the private operator contracted to operate the commuter rail lines, expressing serious concerns over...
Oct 27 2015
Group Of Legislators Push To Remove ‘High-Stakes’ Nature Of Standardized Testing
WBUR
Legislators critical of standardized testing are pushing five bills that could change how much sway test scores have in Massachusetts schooling. It comes just as the Obama administration is urging limits on school testing.
While the group of state legislators still want...
Oct 26 2015
Obama’s Push to Limit Testing Fuels Mass. Debate
The Boston Globe
President Obama’s call for schools to reduce time spent taking standardized tests fueled the debate in Massachusetts over the role of assessments, and injected a new element into a looming vote on whether the state should adopt a new test, keep the old one, or develop a...
Oct 16 2015
Senators from Cambridge Vote to Pass Opiate Addiction Prevention Bill
Cambridge Chronicle
Senators from the Cambridge delegation recently joined their colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate to pass legislation that addresses the ongoing substance abuse crisis in the Commonwealth. The legislation focuses on prevention and reducing the number of opiate pills...