Massachusetts Legislature

For the past four years, La Parada Dominican Kitchen in Egleston Square has been dishing up mofongo, chofan — a Dominican fried rice — and bucketfuls of beans. Now, the restaurant is preparing to start serving wine and beer, as well as an expanded menu, after being awarded a liquor license, part of 225 new permits allocated under legislation passed by the State House.

The Massachusetts General Court may study its education formula during the two-year legislative session that began in January. Filed by Sen. Jason Lewis, the proposal could benefit gateway cities and less affluent towns.

State legislators passed two bills at the end of the legislative session that, if signed by Gov. Maura Healey, would add new health care reform in Massachusetts.

Many of us who have had a loved one in a nursing home or other long-term care (LTC) facility know that these facilities face systemic challenges.

An omnibus maternal health bill introduced to the legislature would have overhauled the way our state manages maternal health, marking a remarkable victory amid the public health crises that persist for pregnant and parenting individuals — especially those who are Black and Hispanic.

A multi-billion-dollar bond bill aiming to tackle the state’s housing crisis was passed by the state legislature last week. Barely.

In Nubian Square, the site of the new campus of Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology has been cleared, with the foundation soon to be laid. Across Eustis Street lies the Blair parking lot, where an office building is to rise, providing lab and classroom space for the college’s biotechnology students.

As we approach the end of formal sessions of the Massachusetts Legislature, state lawmakers have a chance to take a giant step toward addressing the wealth gap afflicting Black and brown communities in Boston.

At the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at the Elks Lodge in Randolph last week, political conversations largely revolved around strategies to increase Black representation in elected offices.

An education bill in the state legislature that supporters say would decrease the college debt burden on Massachusetts students is drawing widespread support for its promise to help erase a major financial barrier that often derails low-income students.

A bill pending in the Massachusetts legislature that would establish funding to address climate change also aims to amplify the voices of community organizations.

Following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody in Baltimore eight years ago, Leonore Dluhy and her father, Dr. Robert G. Dluhy, began to wonder what right to health care people have when they encounter police officers. Discussions with legal experts led them to conclude that no legal right to request medical care while in contact with the police exists anywhere in the country.