In the News

April 24, 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: Beacon Hill Roll Call: April 13 to April 17, 2026

April 22, 2026

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Mass Ready Act targets investment in Quabbin watershed towns

The Greenfield Recorder: Mass Ready Act clears Senate, targets investment in Quabbin watershed towns

April 21, 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: Regional Notebook: April 22, 2026

April 17, 2026

Amherst Indy: Little Agreement Emerges from Eversource Public Meeting with Residents, But Discussions Will Continue

April 16, 2026

Franklin County NOW: Senator Comerford makes statement on Hampshire College’s closing

The Greenfield Recorder: Beacon Hill Roll Call: April 6 to April 10, 2026

April 15, 2026

Athol Daily News: Massachusetts’ only freestanding birth center in Northampton at risk of closure

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Northampton marks $1.5M ValleyBike boost with ‘413 Day’ ride

State House News Service (paywall): BRIGHT Act conferees

April 14, 2026

NEPM: WMass leaders urge more state funding for rural areas

April 13, 2026

Athol Daily News: Regional school district voting proposal goes to state Legislature

WAMC Northeast Public Radio: ‘We simply cannot wait another farming season’: Mass. environmental groups demand ban on sludge use on soil

April 12, 2026

Franklin Observe and Medway Monitor: People, Power and Politics

April 11, 2026

CNHI: Birth centers slow to develop despite 2024 law

April 10, 2026

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Community meeting to address Eversource’s 30-mile tree-clearing project across 11 towns

The Greenfield Recorder: Beacon Hill Roll Call: March 30 to April 3, 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: Meeting to address Eversource’s 30-mile tree-clearing project across 11 towns

The Reminder: FARM Bill to support commonwealth’s farmers

April 8 , 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: Regional school district voting proposal goes to state Legislature

State House News Service (paywall): Constitutional Convention – Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Worcester Business Journal: Birth centers slow to develop despite 2024 law

April 5, 2025

MassLive: Rural Western Mass. schools demand equity as funding falls short

April 3, 2026

Amherst Indy: Public Meeting on Eversource’s Local Clear-cutting Plans

The Greenfield Recorder: Senate unanimously approves bill to lift farms

22News – WWLP: State House Spotlight: From the hill to the farms 

April 2, 2026

BusinessWest.com: Senate Passes FARM Bill to Support Farms That Feed Massachusetts

Telegram & Gazette: Will Worcester County get an agricultural school? Senator pushes for it

WGBH: Mass. Senate passes farm bill, as many farmers struggle to turn a profit

Worcester Business Journal: Senate signs off on effort to lower tax bills for small farmers

April 1, 2026

State House News Service (paywall): Senate unanimously approves bill to lift farms

NEPM: MA Senate passes farm bill, as many farmers struggle to turn a profit

22News – WWLP: Massachusetts Senate backs Bay State farming with new legislation

March 31, 2026

BusinessWest.com: Western Mass Arts Advocacy Coalition Makes Impact at State House

WGBH: A new bill aims to helps Mass. farms. But some say it should help farm workers, too.

March 30, 2026

Amherst Indy: Large Turnout in Amherst for National No Kings Day of Protest

March 27, 2026

Amherst Indy: More Than 3000 No Kings Events are Planned for March 28, Including One in Downtown Amherst

The Greenfield Recorder: Beacon Hill Roll Call: March 16 to March 20, 2026

March 25, 2026

NEPM: Mass. K-12 school funding approach creating chorus of complaints

March 23, 2026

Hoodline: Beacon Hill Pushes Big Farm Bill To Turn Bay State Fields Into Destinations

MassLive: Agritourism, local food access at the center of Mass. Senate’s farm bill

MassLive: No Kings rallies scheduled for Saturday in Western Mass. and beyond

March 17, 2026

Amherst Indy: Pelham Rallies in Support of Rural Schools

Boston University News Service: Comerford amendment aims for level funding under literacy mandate

WGBH: Following high court ruling, Mass. bar advocates turn to lobbying lawmakers

March 16, 2026

NEPM: WMass is losing population; Does Beacon Hill have a plan to stop the region’s slow drain?

WBUR: Mass. plans further cuts to emergency family shelter system

WGBH:  Lawmakers reflect on lessons learned from COVID

March 13, 2026

Athol Daily News: Lawmakers examine rail, roads during hearing on governor’s FY27 budget proposal at UMass

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Western Mass. students and parents send ‘SOS’ over rural school funding

Franklin Observer and Medway Monitor: From One Extreme to the Other

March 12, 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: Lawmakers examine rail, roads during hearing on governor’s FY27 budget proposal at UMass

March 11, 2026

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Lawmakers examine rail, roads during marathon budget hearing at UMass

MassLive: From overflowing to empty beds: What’s going on with Mass.’ family shelter system?

March 6, 2026

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Beacon Hill Roll Call

The Greenfield Recorder: Beacon Hill Roll Call: Feb. 23 to Feb. 27, 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: Rural school aid focus of advocacy week in region

March 5, 2026

BusinessWest.com: State Budget Provides $100,000 Through LifePath for Local Village Organizations

February 27, 2026

Boston Business Journal: Mass. public universities poised for largest capital investment in nearly two decades

Worcester Business Journal: Senate approves $3.28B borrowing bill for Mass. public higher education

February 26, 2026

Athol Daily News: ‘Farmers are part of the solution’: Legislation proposes tax credit for farms donating to food pantries

State Affairs (paywall): Mass. campuses in line for upgrades as Senate approves major borrowing 

State House News Service: Higher edu borrowing bill sails through Senate

Western Mass News: Massachusetts bill would set statewide goals to reduce driving miles

22News – WWLP: BRIGHT Act to bring funding to western Massachusetts

February 24, 2026

WWLP-22News: Caregivers want state to take better care of them

February 23, 2026

Athol Daily News: New Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley gets crash course in Franklin County’s needs

Daily Hampshire Gazette: ‘Farmers are part of the solution’: Legislation proposes tax credit for farms donating to food pantries

New England Public Media: Beacon Hill weighs big spending as the GOP tests voters

February 22, 2026

Athol Daily News: Comerford amendment aims for level funding under literacy mandate

February 21, 2026

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Beacon Hill Roll Call, Feb. 9-13

February 20, 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: Beacon Hill Roll Call: Feb. 9 to Feb. 13, 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: ‘Farmers are part of the solution’: Legislation proposes tax credit for farms donating to food pantries

The Greenfield Recorder: Shutesbury officials advocate for equitable treatment of Quabbin region

MassLive: State economic development head hears from Franklin County: No ‘one size fits all’ for WMass

February 19, 2026

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Shutesbury officials advocate for equitable treatment of Quabbin region

The Greenfield Recorder: Comerford amendment aims for equitable funding in literacy bill

The Greenfield Recorder: New Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley gets crash course in Franklin County’s needs

Politico: Senate adds Healey’s higher ed bill to agenda

State House News Service (paywall): Senate ready to take next step on higher education infrastructure

February 18, 2026

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Comerford amendment aims for level funding under literacy mandate

February 15, 2026

MassLive: Activists hopeful bill calling on U.S. to act to prohibit nukes advances in State House

February 13, 2026

Fresh Plaza: Massachusetts lawmakers propose asparagus as official state vegetable 

Politico: Beacon Hill’s bromance

February 12, 2026

BusinessWest.com: Successful MLK Day Community Food Drive Benefits Amherst Survival Center

February 11, 2026

Cape Cod Times: What Trump policies means for Massachusetts budget: 5 takeaways from first budget hearing

The Enterprise: New bill would crown asparagus as Massachusetts’s official state veggie

MetroWest Daily News: What Trump policies means for Massachusetts budget: 5 takeaways from first budget hearing

Telegram & Gazette: New bill would crown asparagus as Massachusetts’s official state veggie

February 6, 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: Beacon Hill Roll Call: Jan. 26 to Jan. 30, 2026

February 5, 2026

Amherst Indy: State Reps Seek to Equalize Aid to Western Mass, Prioritizing Education, Health, and Climate

Bloomberg: Massachusetts Eyes Its Millionaire Tax for Public Campus Revamp

Western Mass News: Jo Comerford successfully amends school bill

Western Mass News: New legislation ensures fair funding for rural school districts

February 4, 2026

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Amherst legislators tackle school funding, ICE fears in meeting with Town Council

February 2, 2026

WWLP-22News: InFocus featuring Senator Comerford on Freedom to Move Act

January 31, 2026

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Beacon Hill Roll Call, Jan. 19-23

January 30, 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: Beacon Hill Roll Call: Jan. 19 to Jan. 23, 2026

Politico: What Pressley saw in Minnesota

January 26, 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: Comerford, Whipps talk legislative progress with Orange Selectboard

January 24, 2026

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Beacon Hill Roll Call, Jan. 12-16

January 23, 2026

Amherst Bulletin: Comerford urges fair funding for rural towns during legislative update in Leverett

Athol Daily News: ‘Libraries are not luxuries’: Librarians advocate for $1M increase in public library aid

The Greenfield Recorder: Beacon Hill Roll Call: Jan. 12 to Jan. 16, 2026

January 22, 2026

Franklin County Now: Rural school districts to send urgent message to Healey

January 19, 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: New fire chief on board in Leverett

The Greenfield Recorder: Sen. Comerford talks legislative priorities with Gill Selectboard

January 17, 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: ‘The math doesn’t work’: State report sounds alarm on future of farms

January 16, 2026

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Comerford urges fair funding for rural towns during legislative update in Leverett

The Greenfield Recorder: ‘Libraries are not luxuries’: Librarians advocate for $1M increase in public library aid

MassLive: Western Mass. to Boston: Support the Quabbin communities you’ve relied on for generations

January 15, 2026

CommonWealth Beacon: Prospects shaky for real estate transfer fee

WWLP-22News: Negotiators begin hashing out CCC, hemp reform approaches

January 14, 2026

Athol Daily News: ‘The math doesn’t work’: State report sounds alarm on future of Massachusetts farms

State Affairs: Negotiators begin hashing out CCC, hemp reform approaches 

State House News Service: Negotiators begin hashing out CCC, hemp reform approaches

January 13, 2026

Daily Hampshire Gazette: ‘The math doesn’t work’: State report sounds alarm on future of Massachusetts farms

January 12, 2026

Franklin County Now: Hundreds gather for demonstrations this weekend

WBUR: Western Mass. lawmakers renew their call for support maintaining the Quabbin Reservoir

January 9, 2026

MassLive: Mass. Senate advances bill enabling businesses to shift credit card fees to customers

Yahoo! News: Mass. Senate advances bill enabling businesses to shift credit card fees to customers

January 8, 2026

Franklin Observer: Move Over Ladybug, Here Comes ‘Hadley Grass’

WBUR: Mass. to collect detailed racial and ethnic data, under new state law

January 7, 2026

State House News Service: Students, lawmakers aiming to spread “Hadley grass” across Mass.

WBUR: Hadley students push to make asparagus the official state vegetable

January 6, 2026

Wicked Local: Bill targets loopholes in MA distracted driving laws. Why can’t it pass?

January 5, 2026

MassLive: Business Monday ETC: Jan. 5, 2026

New England Public Media: Massachusetts lawmakers ring in 2026 with budgets, ballots and midterms

January 2, 2026

The Greenfield Recorder: Beacon Hill Roll Call: Dec. 22 to Dec. 26, 2025