n addition to the $3.5 million that Grubhub will pay to impacted restaurants, the company will also pay a $125,000 penalty to the Commonwealth.
COVID-19
Posted inHealth, State Government, State House News Service
State Police union claims victory over ‘tyranny’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE PRESIDENT of the State Police union took a victory lap on Monday after an arbitrator ruled in favor of seven troopers who had remained on unpaid leave after claiming a religious exemption from mandated COVID-19 vaccination two years ago. Against a backdrop of the State House with the governor’s office […]
Posted inOpinion
ARPA is giving local officials the tools they need
LIKE MANY MAYORS, I am often faced with the choice of investing taxpayer dollars to address immediate needs or to make investments whose benefits will be realized only in the long run. But when it came to the issue of childcare, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, I didn’t have to choose. Investing in more […]
Posted inHealth, State Government, State House News Service
Healey walking back vaccine mandate for state workers
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SOME OF THE LAST vestiges of the COVID-19 emergency declaration will end in May when Gov. Maura Healey will lift the modified public health emergency and walk back a vaccine mandate for tens of thousands of executive branch workers. The Healey administration announced Wednesday it will end the public health emergency […]
Posted inTransportation
State toll revenue getting back to pre-COVID levels
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE HIGHWAY system is bringing in nearly as much money from tolls as it did before the COVID-19 pandemic hit three years ago. The Department of Transportation collected $215.9 million from motorists using tolled roads in the first two quarters of fiscal 2023, only $5 million less than the same […]
Posted inOpinion
Public health is at a crossroads
This article was originally published in Harvard Public Health. NOW ENTERING the fourth year of a historic pandemic, the US public health system is at a crossroads. COVID-19 has exposed major weaknesses in our defenses against infectious diseases. Pre-pandemic, the US was thought to be the country best prepared to manage an infectious disease outbreak; […]
Posted inThe Download
Low birth rates, slow immigration harms state workforce
Almost every industry, from hospitals to restaurants, is struggling to hire in Massachusetts. And while some of this may be due to COVID-related factors that will eventually diminish, a new report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation says one major reason for the challenge is not going away any time soon: demographics. The new report puts […]
Posted inEconomy
Low birth rates, slow immigration harms state workforce
ALMOST EVERY INDUSTRY, from hospitals to restaurants, is struggling to hire in Massachusetts. And while some of this may be due to COVID-related factors that will eventually diminish, a new report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation says one major reason for the challenge is not going away any time soon: demographics. The new report puts […]
Posted inThe Download
Epidemiologist lays out her COVID-19 ‘campaign of honesty’
When the coronavirus vaccines first emerged, they were shown to have 94 to 95 percent efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19. It was a situation where the message from public health officials was fairly simple – get the shot and help prevent the spread of the disease. Vaccine mandates, passports, and other measures were all deemed […]
Posted inHealth, Health Care
Epidemiologist lays out her COVID-19 ‘campaign of honesty’
WHEN THE CORONAVIRUS vaccines first emerged, they were shown to have 94 to 95 percent efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19. It was a situation where the message from public health officials was fairly simple – get the shot and help prevent the spread of the disease. Vaccine mandates, passports, and other measures were all deemed […]